Here’s something to warm the heart of Al Gore (and hopefully, not warm the rest of the planet.) The Vatican is taking steps to become the first entirely carbon neutral sovreign state in the world:

In a brief July 5 ceremony, the Vatican declared that it had accepted a proposal to create a new Vatican climate forest in Europe that will offset all of the Vatican City State’s carbon dioxide omissions for this year.

“Environmental protection,” said Cardinal Paul Poupard, head of the Pontifical Council for Culture, “is not a political issue.”

“It is not enough to have a simple commitment for a few people. Instead it is necessary, as underlined by his holiness, to have the dawn of a new culture, of new attitudes and a new mode of living that makes man aware of his place a caretaker of the earth.”

Planktos/KlimaFa, a climate ecorestoration company, made the donation of forestland in Hungary’s Bukk National Park to create the new Vatican climate forest.

“I am honored to receive this donation,” Cardinal Poupard said. “In this way, the Vatican will do its small part in contributing to the elimination of polluting emissions from carbon dioxide which is threatening the survival of the planet.”

A “carbon footprint” is a measure of the amount of carbon dioxide emitted through the combustion of fossil fuels. Carbon dioxide is recognized as a greenhouse gas, of which increasing levels in the atmosphere are linked to global warming and climate change. As plant life gives off oxygen, the planting of forests is seen as a way of mitigating the environmental impact of the consumption of natural resources.

“As the holy father, Pope Benedict XVI, had recently stated, the international community needs to respect and encourage a ‘green culture,’ characterized by ethical values,” Cardinal Poupard said.

It seems the Holy See is embracing the liturgical color of Ordinary Time — green — very seriously.