Pope to publish follow-up to landmark climate text

VATICAN CITY, Holy See — Eight years after warning in a landmark thesis of the devastation of man-made climate change, Pope Francis is publishing an update Wednesday to take stock and offer ideas for action.

The short follow-up to the 2015 encyclical "Laudato Si" ("Praise Be To You") comes just weeks before the next round of UN climate talks kick off in Dubai amid warnings that the world is perilously off course in meeting its goals on reducing carbon emissions.

The new papal text, "Laudate Deum" (Praise to God), will be "a look at what has happened and say what needs to be done", Francis, 86, said last month.

The original document, which ran to almost 200 pages, was aimed not just at the world's 1.3 billion Catholics but everyone on the planet, a call to global solidarity to act together to protect "our common home".

Grounded in climate research, it clearly stated that humanity was responsible for global warming, and warned that the rapid pace of change and degradation had brought the world to near "breaking point".

But it also had a strong moral message, with Francis blaming consumerism, individualism and a pursuit of economic growth for leading to "the planet being squeezed dry".

The pontiff also argued that rich countries must accept they are most responsible for the climate crisis and help poorer countries who are suffering the most.

The document sparked a global debate unprecedented for a religious text, including commentaries in scientific journals.

Months later, there was a breakthrough in UN climate talks in Paris, in which experts said the Vatican played a significant behind-the-scenes role.

Nearly every nation on Earth committed to limit warming to "well below" two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

But the UN warned last month that the world is not on track to meet these goals, while climate monitors predict 2023 will be the hottest in human history, with the Northern Hemisphere's summer marked by heatwaves, droughts and wildfires. 

"It's time to work together to stop the ecological catastrophe before it's too late," Pope Francis said last month in a video address to the UN General Assembly.

The new text is expected to be much shorter than