Current:Home > ContactVatican plans to gradually replace car fleet with electric vehicles in deal with VW -EliteFunds
Vatican plans to gradually replace car fleet with electric vehicles in deal with VW
View
Date:2025-04-18 10:55:24
ROME (AP) — The Vatican signed an agreement Wednesday with German carmaker Volkswagen AG to gradually replace its auto fleet with electric vehicles as part of the Vatican’s efforts to reduce its carbon emissions.
The announcement did not give any details on the value of the deal or set a timetable for completing the switch to electric vehicles.
The partnership falls under the Vatican’s “Ecological Conversion 2030” plan, which aims to pursue sustainable, carbon-neutral projects and technologies in the 44-hectare (109-acre) city state in the center of Rome.
Pope Francis has made caring for the planet a hallmark of his papacy and will become the first pope to address a U.N. climate conference when he attends the upcoming COP28 meeting in Dubai.
Last month, in a prelude to what he will likely say in Dubai, the Argentine Jesuit issued an urgent update to his landmark 2015 encyclical on the environment. In it, he challenged world leaders to commit to binding targets to slow climate change, warning that God’s increasingly warming creation was fast reaching a “point of no return.”
But even before Francis, Pope Benedict XVI was known as the “green pope,” in part because of his sustainability initiatives in Vatican City, which included the installation of solar panels on the main Vatican audience hall.
A statement Wednesday from the Vatican City State administration said it was committed to pursuing net-zero emissions technologies and sustainable transport projects to reduce the carbon footprint of its auto fleet. Francis currently moves around the Vatican in a Fiat.
The Vatican said its partnership with Volkwagen and its Skoda brand involves medium- and long-term leases, calling the carmaker its top “strategic partner for the project to renovate the state’s car park.”
The administration said it intends to gradually replace its fleet with electric vehicles by 2030, will increase the number of charging stations throughout the territory and ensure the city state’s energy needs are provided exclusively by renewable sources.
Volkswagen’s Italia group didn’t immediately reply to an email seeking details about the partnership.
veryGood! (5)
Related
- In ‘Nickel Boys,’ striving for a new way to see
- Dwayne Johnson to star in Mark Kerr biopic from 'Uncut Gems' director Benny Safdie
- An investigation opens into the death of a French actress who accused Depardieu of sexual misconduct
- Virginia 4th graders fall ill after eating gummy bears contaminated with fentanyl
- Buckingham Palace staff under investigation for 'bar brawl'
- Illinois State apologizes to Norfolk State after fan shouts racial slur during game
- NBA All-Star George McGinnis dies at 73 after complications from a cardiac arrest
- Men charged with illegal killing of 3,600 birds, including bald and golden eagles to sell
- Rolling Loud 2024: Lineup, how to stream the world's largest hip hop music festival
- Finland, NATO’s newest member, will sign a defense pact with the United States
Ranking
- Can Bill Belichick turn North Carolina into a winner? At 72, he's chasing one last high
- Here's How You Can Score Free Shipping on EVERYTHING During Free Shipping Day 2023
- Promising new gene therapies for sickle cell are out of reach in countries where they’re needed most
- In 'Asgard's Wrath 2,' VR gaming reaches a new God mode
- Federal court filings allege official committed perjury in lawsuit tied to Louisiana grain terminal
- WSJ reporter Gershkovich to remain in detention until end of January after court rejects his appeal
- How Taylor Swift Celebrated Her Enchanting Birthday Without Travis Kelce
- Pennsylvania house legislators vote to make 2023 the Taylor Swift era
Recommendation
Charges tied to China weigh on GM in Q4, but profit and revenue top expectations
Jonathan Majors' text messages, audio recordings to ex-girlfriend unsealed in assault trial: Reports
South Korean Olympic chief defends move to send athletes to train at military camp
Coal mine accident kills 3 in northern China’s Shanxi province, a major coal-producing region
Opinion: Gianni Infantino, FIFA sell souls and 2034 World Cup for Saudi Arabia's billions
Ex-Tokyo Olympics official pleads not guilty to taking bribes in exchange for Games contracts
Updating the 'message in a bottle' to aliens: Do we need a new Golden Record?
Ireland’s prime minister urges EU leaders to call for Gaza cease-fire at their summit