Earth Commissioners at the Vatican: Bridging Science and Faith

09/04/2026

A new initiative from the Vatican is bridging science and faith to confront the world’s biggest challenges. Three Commissioners were invited to join its launch and shared how scientific frameworks can guide faith-based actions.

In March, Earth Commissioners Joyeeta Gupta and David Obura joined more than 60 representatives from universities and international organisations at the Vatican to help inform the Catholic church’s work on sustainability. 

The pair, along with former Commissioner Diana Liverman, were among the academics gathered at the Laudato si’ Village, a Vatican center of lush Italian gardens that promotes sustainability and a circular and generative economy.

“Faith leaders can mobilize people to take science seriously. The Laudato si’ builds on existing science and Catholic values to mobilize Catholic institutions and others to take action on climate change and ecological conversion”, said Joyeeta Gupta, who was invited to talk about climate justice. 

Our ‘Common Home’

Laudato si’ – On Care For Our Common Home is a landmark letter from 2015 on climate change and inequality published by the late Pope Francis. In it, he wrote how environmental damage and social injustice were intertwined and that urgent, unified action was needed to turn away from a world that favored profit over planetary and social well-being.

This year, the Laudato si’ Center for Higher Education and the University of Notre Dame launched the Global Alliance, an initiative bringing actors together to promote integral ecology and sustainability.  

“Faith leaders can mobilize people to take science seriously.”

Commissioner Joyeeta Gupta

David Obura was invited to speak about the justice dimensions of his work as chair of IPBES, the Intergovernmental Science Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, with a special focus on our economic and societal dependence on nature.

“The Catholic church has immense reach globally, particularly in Africa and developing regions where population growth is high and future development is needed but will have immense impacts on the exceedance of planetary boundaries,” he said. “The Laudato si’ is an immensely important document. The initiative might be instrumental in mainstreaming it and increasing the potential of the Catholic church to have positive impacts on sustainability.”

Bridging Science and Faith

In Laudato si’ Pope Francis wrote about the need for integral ecology, an approach that sees the planet and people part of one larger, interlocking system. It’s a way of thinking that aligns closely with other frameworks developed by scientists and researchers grappling with the same social and ecological challenges. 

David Obura said that while scientific frameworks like the Earth Commission’s Safe and Just Boundaries are recognized by religious leaders, they are primarily used to highlight how humanity has already exceeded the Earth’s limits. 

He emphasized that the Commission’s next assessment on power, inequality, and justice could help make these concepts more relevant to choices and actions among faith-based and other groups.

“Building synergies across these sets of principals could be very impactful, bridging gaps that we currently maintain,” he said.

Joyeeta Gupta presented the Earth Commission’s 1°C “just boundary” for climate, connecting ethical responsibility with scientific limits, noting how the Laudato si’ references reducing human harm which could result in a useful discussion in future.

Read more about Laudato si’ and the Global Alliance here.

Photo credit: Donatella Parisi – Borgo Laudato si’