In Praise of Sustainability: The Encyclical Letter Laudato Sì and Its Legal-Economic Implications

Abstract

The Encyclical Letter “Laudato Sì. On Care For Our Common Home”, issued by Pope Francis in May 2015, contains some legal and economic aspects that go beyond a purely religious relevance, touching upon the political, social, and ethical spheres. The present contribution aims to identify these aspects of the Encyclical Letter, providing a brief reasoned analysis of its most interesting and relevant features, namely the emergence and the human origin of the ecological crisis, the critique of the dominant technocratic paradigm, the weakness of the institutional and legal international response, and the major paths of dialogue proposed by the Encyclical Letter to overcome “the spiral of self-destruction” which humanity is currently confronting. This contribution then focuses on integral ecology as the proposed solution to tackle the present ecological crisis and the call for an ecological conversion. On the basis of the analysis, a final section highlights some tipping points which are worthy of further comment, and contextualises Pope Francis’ views in the light of the most relevant scientific literature on these topics.