Istanbul (AsiaNews) – The moral implications linked to safeguarding ecology and the importance of the upcoming 7th conference on Ecumenical Patriarchate on the Environment, in Greenland, were the principal themes under discussion in a meeting between Patriarch Bartholomew and the former US vice-president, Al Gore, was in Istanbul to attend a conference organised by the Turkish Garanti Bank, to celebrate 30 years since the foundation of WWF.
The initiative which took place on June 12 and 13 is nota n unusual one in recent times in Turkey, given the country’s rapid economic development, which has provoked grave environmental consequences on the environment as is seen in the country’s most industrialized areas, such as the regions around Istanbul, Izmir and others.
Events which above all, are raising awareness above Turkey’s younger generation.
The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople was also present at the conference. He was the first religious leader to have initiated since 1991 various events to promote environmental protection. This role was underlined by Gore, who made a personal visit to the Phanar to speak with Bartholomew whom he described as “the green patriarch” thanking him for his example to Christians and the world as a whole.
Gore then quote the Patriarch, saying “the imposition of modern society which is totally disinterested in human impact on the environment not only impedes sustainable development it is also un just”. (NT)