Our common home

The document outlines the interconnectedness of the climate crisis, biodiversity loss, pollution, and social injustice, arguing that the current fossil-fuel-based economic model is unsustainable. It calls for a fundamental shift toward circular economies, restorative agriculture, and a 'just transition' to protect the most vulnerable populations and the planet's life-support systems.

• The global climate crisis is primarily caused by an economy dependent on fossil fuels, with greenhouse gas emissions from coal, oil, and gas since the 18th century driving global warming.
• Biodiversity is in severe decline, with global wildlife populations dropping by two-thirds since 1970 and freshwater plant and animal life falling by 84 per cent in the same period.
• Water scarcity is a growing global challenge, with approximately 4 billion people experiencing severe water scarcity for at least one month annually, and a projection that two-thirds of the world's population could face shortages by 2025.
• Air pollution causes millions of deaths annually, with over 4 million deaths from outdoor pollution and at least 3 million from indoor pollution, primarily affecting the poor, women, and children.
• Industrial agriculture is unsustainable, contributing to roughly one-third of greenhouse gas emissions and causing the loss of unique crop varieties and fertile soil.
• Current consumption patterns are ecologically unsustainable; 20 per cent of the population uses 80 per cent of the world's resources, and by 2050, three planets would be needed to support current lifestyles.
• Plastic pollution is a critical symptom of over-consumption, with an estimated 12 million tonnes of plastic entering oceans annually and over 5 trillion pieces of plastic currently floating in the seas.
• Environmental crises disproportionately affect the marginalized; by 2050, over 140 million people in Southeast Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and Latin America could be forced to migrate due to the climate crisis.

APA

Gill, T. (2023). Our common home. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/vatican-sei-v10-20231205.pdf

Chicago

Gill, Tom. Our common home. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2023. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/vatican-sei-v10-20231205.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Gill |first1=Tom |title=Our common home |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=14 February 2023 |url=https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/vatican-sei-v10-20231205.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{gill2023our, author = {Gill, Tom}, title = {{Our common home}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2023}, month = feb, url = {https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/vatican-sei-v10-20231205.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }