Mayor Michelle Wu to attend climate summit at the Vatican to showcase Boston's leadership on climate action to global audience

Mayor Michelle Wu today shared the events she will participate in while attending a climate summit at the Vatican, hosted by Pope Francis, “From Climate Crisis to Climate Resilience.” Mayor Wu will give remarks for a discussion called “Governance, Energy,” as part of Vatican Summit Session VII - Best Practice in Governance and co-chair a discussion called Session XI - Financing Resiliency. As a participant at the summit, Mayor Wu will showcase Boston as a champion on climate action, while learning from other global leaders about best practices. A key part of Boston’s Green New Deal is ensuring that the City’s work supports the climate, livability and opportunity of Boston’s neighborhoods for residents, taking action to address environmental protection while also enhancing public health, housing affordability, better public transit options, and access to green jobs.

While in Italy, she will also meet with the Mayor of Rome and visit towns with ties to Boston’s heritage and that of her own family. The Mayor will visit Sulmona, a town with strong ties through immigration to Boston’s North End; and attend a commemorative event in Coreno Ausonio, where her children will see the hometown that their great great-grandparents emigrated from. Two students from Boston Public Schools’ BCLA-McCormack will also be attending the Vatican summit. They will be two of eight young people from around the world to participate in Session XII - Voices of the Youth. 

“As the climate crisis takes on growing urgency across the globe, communities must come together to take collective action for a safer, brighter future,” said Mayor Michelle Wu. “Boston is proof of what’s possible for cities tackling the climate crisis while creating green jobs and healthier communities. I’m honored to represent Boston at this important convening led by Pope Francis, and look forward to shining a spotlight on our community’s work and also bringing home solutions from innovative cities around the world.”

Tuesday, May 14 

5:30 p.m. (CEST) 

Mayor Wu will attend a welcome reception hosted by U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See, Joseph Donnelly.

Closed to press.

Wednesday, May 15

9:30 a.m. (CEST)

Mayor Wu will attend Vatican Summit Session I - Setting the Stage, chaired by Mohamed Hassan, Pontifical Academy of Sciences (PAS). The session will also feature remarks from Hoesung Lee, IPCC Chair;  Veerabhadran Ramanathan PAS Council, UC San Diego & Cornell; Marcelo Suárez-Orozco PASS Council & UMass Boston; Judit Senarriaga-Esteve UMass Boston & Spain; and Governor Maura Healey.

Location: Casina Pio IV, Vatican 

Media interested in attending must RSVP to Dicastery for Communications to receive credentials: accreditamenti@salastampa.va

2:30 p.m. (CEST)

Mayor Wu will meet with Mayor of Rome Roberto Gualtieri.

Location: Via del Tempio di Giove, 2, 00186 Roma RM, Italy

Thursday, May 16

10:00 a.m. (CEST)

Mayor Wu will attend Vatican Summit Session VII - Best Practice in Governance, chaired by Michael Berkowitz Executive Director, Climate Resilience Academy, University of Miami and Gina McCarthy Former White House Climate Advisor. The session will also feature Mayor Sadiq Khan of London; Governor Claudio Orrego of Santiago Metropolitan Region; Governor Kathy Hochul of New York; and Mayor Roberto Gualtieri of Rome.

Location: Casina Pio IV, Vatican 

Media interested in attending must RSVP to Dicastery for Communications to receive credentials: accreditamenti@salastampa.va

11:00 a.m. (CEST)

Mayor Wu will attend the audience with His Holiness Pope Francis.

Closed to press.

1:50 p.m. (CEST)

Mayor Wu will give remarks for a discussion called “Governance, Energy,” as part of Vatican Summit Session VII - Best Practice in Governance. 

Location: Casina Pio IV, Vatican 

Media interested in attending must RSVP to Dicastery for Communications to receive credentials: accreditamenti@salastampa.va

2:30 p.m. (CEST)

Mayor Wu will meet with the BCLA-McCormack students who will participate in the Vatican summit on Friday.

If media would like to attend, please RSVP to press.office@boston.gov.

Friday, May 17

2:25 p.m. (CEST)

Mayor Wu will co-chair Vatican Summit Session XI - Financing Resiliency. Her co-chair will be Virgilio Viana, General Director of the Foundation of Amazon Sustainability, Brazil. The session will also feature Craig Cogut, CEO of Pegasus; Tracy Palandjian CEO, Social Finance; Jim & Cathy Stone, James M. & Cathleen D. Stone Foundation; Andrew Forrest Mining Industry, Australia.

Location: Casina Pio IV, Vatican 

Media interested in attending must RSVP to Dicastery for Communications to receive credentials: accreditamenti@salastampa.va

Saturday, May 18

Mayor Wu will visit Sulmona, Italy, which has local ties to Boston’s North End.

Closed to press.

Sunday, May 19

Mayor Wu will visit Coreno Ausonio, Italy, which has ties to her family.

10:00 a.m. (CEST)

Mayor Wu will meet with Mayor of Coreno Ausonio, Simone Costanzo.

Closed to press.

11:00 a.m. (CEST)

Mayor Wu will attend a town commemoration marking the 80th anniversary of Coreno Ausonio being liberated from Nazi occupation.

Location: Marinaranne Monument, Grisano area, Coreno Ausonio

Mayor Wu is champion of climate action for Boston. The City’s leadership has delivered results through growing its PowerCorps green jobs program and Boston’s Community Choice Electricity program, transitioning to electric school buses and vehicles, decarbonizing existing buildings and adopting green building standards for new construction, launching networked geothermal energy in public housing, enhancing Boston’s green spaces and building green infrastructure to protect against flooding, bolstering electric vehicle infrastructure, and aggressively fighting for federal funding. Mayor Wu has set an ambitious agenda.

Mayor Wu’s commitment to climate action advances sustainability, resilience, and environmental justice. Last month, Mayor Wu shared her FY25 Budget which included groundbreaking investments in climate action and adaptation. These investments range from new personnel investments, such as a park administrator and six new maintenance staff to maintain Franklin Park, to transformative Capital investments, such as a new $75 million City fund that leverages State and Federal climate resilience grants. Under Mayor Wu’s leadership, the City will enhance climate resilience across Boston to prepare for climate change while supporting the lives of Boston residents.

The international conference is organized by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences under the leadership of UMass Boston Chancellor Marcelo Suárez-Orozco and Ram Ramanathan, Distinguished Research Professor at UC San Diego and climate solutions scholar at Cornell University. Pope Francis will preside over the summit