The Vatican will be supplied entirely with solar power in the future after Pope Francis ordered the construction of an agrivoltaic plant on a site north of Rome that is controlled by the Vatican.

The Santa Maria di Galeria plant is intended to supply the Vatican Radio broadcasting centre with electricity and the entire Vatican.

The pope wrote in a letter entitled “Brother Sun’’ dated Wednesday.

“There must be a transition towards a sustainable development model that reduces the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere to achieve climate neutrality,’’ a letter signed by Francis indicated.

Humanity has the technological means to manage this ecological change and its harmful social, economic, and political consequences, and solar energy has a key role in this, he added.

With the construction of the plant, the pope set out to contribute to the efforts of all states to find an appropriate response to climate change by their respective responsibilities and capabilities.

It initially remained unclear when exactly the agrivoltaic system in Santa Maria di Galeria would be installed and go into operation.

Pope Francis attaches great importance to environmental protection.
In the spirit of its 2015 environmental encyclical Laudato Si (Praised Be) and 2023 apostolic letter Laudate Deum (Praise God), the Vatican wants to become climate neutral.

Last year, for example, Mr Francis decided to completely replace the Vatican’s vehicle fleet with electric cars by 2030.

(dpa/NAN)