Pope Francis invites Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and other Bay State leaders to speak at Vatican Climate Summit

BOSTON — According to scientists at the Vatican, “the Climate Crisis is upon us” and it will get worse before it gets better.

In light of that disconcerting finding and at the invitation of the Pope, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, Bay State Climate Chief Melissa Hoffer, and UMass Boston Chancellor Marcelo Suárez-Orozco have all been asked to join the Holy Father next month for a “Vatican Climate Summit.”

Focused on shifting the conversation around preventing climate change and toward resiliency, the international conference will bring together state leaders, climate scientists, social scientists, and philanthropists from across the globe to address a problem which will impact all people regardless of their faith or distance from Rome.

“This is a global social issue and one intimately related to the dignity of human life. The Bishops of the United States have expressed very well this social meaning of our concern about climate change, which goes beyond a merely ecological approach, because ‘our care for one another and our care for the earth are intimately bound together,’” Holy Father Pope Francis wrote in his invitations. “Climate change is one of the principal challenges facing society and the global community. The effects of climate change are borne by the most vulnerable people, whether at home or around the world.”

According to governor’s office, the event, scheduled from May 15 to May 17, is being organized by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, and the Pope will personally preside over the summit.

Healey and Wu have been asked to address the summit, with the governor set to discuss “Governing in the Age of Climate Change” and the mayor “Governance, Health and Energy.” Healey said it is an “immense honor” to receive the invitation from the Vatican.

“Massachusetts is a global leader in the fight against climate change and the transition to a clean energy economy, and that’s in large part thanks to our innovative elected leaders and universities like UMass Boston. This is a global problem that cannot be solved by any one nation alone, and we look forward to collaborating with the mayors, governors, academic institutions, and scientists on solutions at the summit. We are deeply grateful for His Holiness Pope Francis for hosting this important gathering and for his leadership in bringing people together to address climate change,” Healey said in a statement.

Bay State leaders will speak alongside Ram Ramanathan, a Distinguished Research Professor at UC San Diego and climate solutions scholar at Cornell University known for discovering the greenhouse effect of halocarbons which eventually led to the global shift away from the use of CFCs, or chlorofluorocarbons.

According to Ramanathan, with most of the world less than inclined to take action to stop the changing climate, the situation will only get worse for the next 20 years, and the political conversations have to shift away from just mitigation to adaptation.

“Governors and mayors from across the world will benefit from their leadership and the best practices being implemented in Massachusetts and Boston. We will bring out a planetary protocol for climate resilience to benefit all the world’s regions,” he said in a statement.

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