Makati Mayor Binay joins Pope Francis, other leaders in climate summit

MANILA, Philippines—Makati City Mayor Abby Binay discussed climate strategies with Pope Francis and other leaders in view of the head of the Catholic church’s call to action against global warming.

Binay said she had the privilege of meeting the Pope during the Mayors and Governors Summit in Vatican City on May 16.

“The audience with the Pope was a crucial moment, allowing us to discuss our climate strategies and challenges in line with his call to action in Laudate Deum,” Binay said in a statement over the weekend.

Pope Francis has been very vocal on climate change issues, urging world leaders to do something more concrete to limit polluting emissions.

Binay joined fellow mayors and governors from all over the world at a global roundtable where innovative and scalable solutions for climate resilience were showcased.

This engagement is part of the summit called “From Climate Crisis to Climate Resilience” held at the Casina Pio IV, Vatican City from May 15 to 17. 

This summit also brought together scientists, policy makers and faith leaders to understand the scientific and societal challenges of climate change and recommend solutions, according to the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy of Sciences (PAS).

“We no longer have the luxury of relying just on mitigation of emissions,” the PAS said in a statement.

“We need to embark on building climate resilience so that people can bend the emissions curve and bounce back from the climate crisis safer, healthier, wealthier to a sustainable world.”