“In effect, it is the poor who suffer the worst impacts of the climate crisis,” Francis elucidated. “The poor are those most vulnerable to hurricanes, droughts, floods and other extreme climatic events,” he added. “At the same time, future generations stand to inherit a greatly spoiled world. Our children and grandchildren should not have to pay the cost of our generation’s irresponsibility.”  The pontiff stressed the need for a “radical energy transition” in order to reduce our collective carbon footprint and keep global temperature rises within manageable bounds in coming decades.