Vatican delegates going to Copenhagen

VATICAN CITY, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- A six-person delegation from the Vatican will attend the United Nations climate change conference in Copenhagen next week, the Holy See press office announced.

The delegation will be led by Vatican's permanent representative to the United Nations, Archbishop Celestino Migliore, Italy's ANSA news agency reported Friday.

Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi will also be attending the conference.

Although the Vatican has not been asked to sign the Kyoto protocol, senior church figures, including Pope Benedict XVI, have spoken out about the need to address climate change.

"Responsible human stewardship of the Earth (must be placed) at the center of international, national and individual efforts to address the causes and consequences of climate change," Archbishop Migliore told the U.N. General Assembly in a recent address.

Last year the Vatican installed 2,400 rooftop solar panels to try to draw 20 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020.