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Concern for the environment is one of the newer dimensions of Catholic social teaching, paralleling the growing awareness in society as a whole. Prior to the industrial revolution, human impact on the environment was limited and localized. With the growth of economies, the use of fossil fuels, and the demand for consumer goods, the amount of natural resources people pulled from the planet rose substantially.

In 1971, Pope Paul VI commented on the trend in an Apostolic Letter: "Man is suddenly becoming aware that by an ill considered exploitation of nature he risks destroying it and becoming in his turn the victim of the degradation. Not only is the material environment becoming a permanent menace - pollution and refuse, new illnesses and absolute destructive capacity - but the human framework is no longer under man's control, thus creating an environment for tomorrow which may well be intolerable. This is a wide-ranging social problem which concerns the entire human family. (21)" Octogesima Adveniens  (On the Eightieth Anniversary of Rerum Novarum)