Pope could help cut world's carbon emissions with call for return to meat-free Fridays

Pope Francis has previously called for "radical" responses to climate change. File picture: Guglielmo Mangiapane

The Pope could bring about a major reduction in global carbon emissions by urging Catholics to return to the traditional practice of not eating meat on a Friday, a study suggests.

Cambridge University researchers assessed the impact of a return, in 2011, to meat-free Fridays for Catholics in England and Wales.