The Vatican announced on Wednesday the signing of an agreement with German automaker Volkswagen to replace the city-state’s entire fleet with electric vehicles by the end of this decade, Reuters reported.

The Vatican prefecture did not provide financial details of the contract, but said in a press release that it is medium to long-term and that it covers both Volkswagen cars and the Skoda brand, which is owned by the German company.

The Vatican also said the “partnership agreement” with Volkswagen Group is one way the city-state, the world’s smallest country, can achieve its long-term goal of becoming carbon neutral and relying only on renewable energy.

The fleet of the Holy See includes dozens of cars, most of which are dark blue in color. Drivers hired by the Vatican take representatives of the Holy See to events in Rome, as well as outside the Italian capital. The fleet also includes numerous maintenance, gardening and delivery vehicles.

But Reuters notes that many less important Vatican officials use their own cars to get to work in the city-state of Rome.

The communiqué of the Holy See regarding the partnership with Volkswagen also reports on the construction of a network of charging stations for electric cars both in the Vatican and at other facilities in the Italian capital.

The Vatican wants to convince its employees to switch to electric cars

The Vatican also says the grid will be able to be used by its staff to charge their private electric cars, another measure aimed at persuading them to ditch combustion engine cars.

Pope Francis now drives around the Vatican in a Ford Focus or a Fiat 500, both entry-level models, because he didn’t want to use the fuel-powered bulletproof limousines of his predecessors.

A press release issued Wednesday did not say whether Volkswagen would also build a “popemobile,” a special Vatican vehicle for the sovereign pontiff’s public trips to St. Peter’s Square and the countries he visits. Currently, the “popemobile” used by Pope Francis is a Mercedes.

At the age of 86, Pope Francis has made environmental protection one of the pillars of his pontificate, making numerous calls to abandon fossil fuels. The sovereign pontiff recently warned that the world is “falling apart” because of insufficient measures to combat the effects of climate change.

The Vatican announced the electrification of its fleet about two weeks before the United Arab Emirates’ COP 28 climate change summit.

During the summit, which will take place from November 30 to December 12, Pope Francis will address world leaders.