I was honoured to meet Pope Francis at the Vatican to secure his support for several key UN Environment initiatives. Along with legendary hockey player and UN Environment Patron of the Polar region, Slava Fetisov, we updated Pope Francis on the ‘Last Game’, a ice hockey match on the Artic aiming to draw attention to the catastrophic impact of climate change on the Artic. The Pope accepted an ice hockey jersey to serve as honorary captain of the match. We also spoke about the Interfaith Rainforest Initiative, an international, multi-faith alliance that is highlighting faith-based leadership and the moral imperative of global efforts to end tropical deforestation.
It was inspired by Laudato Si, the second encyclical of Pope Francis wherein he critiques consumerism and irresponsible development, laments environmental degradation and global warming, and calls all people of the world to take "swift and unified global action". I believe that securing support from faith-based institutions is absolutely critical in our fight against climate change. I look forward to engaging further with the Pope to spread the message of environmental awareness around the world.
