Moral Obligation to Act on Climate Change and What We Can Do
Videos
Grades9, 10, 11, 12Science, Civics
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Provided by TED
What it is
- In this video, Pope Francis delivers a speech describing his thoughts about the moral responsibility to act on climate change for current and future generations.
- Pope Francis outlines three courses of action, including recognizing that environmental problems and human needs are intertwined, focusing on access to water and nutrition for all, and transitioning to clean energy sources.
Teaching tips
Positives
- Students can listen to a religious leader describe the reasons everyone, no matter their faith or views, should take action to stop contributing to climate change.
- The video uses an English language voice-over but a transcript of the Pope's speech is provided with a read-along feature.
Additional Prerequisites
- Students should already have a basic understanding of climate change before watching this video.
- There may be an ad before the video.
Differentiation
- Providing subtitles or a printed version of the transcript may be helpful for students.
- Students in social studies classes can use this resource to talk about the shared responsibilities of world leaders and citizens to address climate change or to analyze the effectiveness of the Pope's speech.
- Pair this resource with this speech writing activity or this guided activity for creating a TED-style climate talk.
From the scientist review
This 13-minute TED talk given by Pope Francis (dubbed in English) discusses the urgency of the climate crisis and the moral imperative for us to act. This resource touches on many topics including morality, ecology, economics, and politics. Three major approaches for addressing the climate crisis are outlined. This resource is recommended for teaching.
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