Governor Newsom To Visit Vatican For Climate Change Conference

According to a new announcement from the office of Governor Gavin Newsom, he is to travel to the Vatican next month to speak at a climate change conference.

The Summit, which will be held from May 15th to May 17th, is to go over the impact of rising temperatures in local communities. It is also to touch climate resilience, which covers mitigation to reduce climate risks, adaptation to manage unavoidable risks and societal transformation to enable mitigation and adaptation. The Vatican, Mayors, and Governors are also to go over climate change solutions.

According to Newsom’s office, the Governor is expected to address Pope Francis and talk about the recent fires, floods, and droughts in California. The speech overall is likely to mention his numerous climate policy dates ahead, including his 2045 goal of California being 100% green power and carbon neutral and his 2035 goal of the state no longer selling new gas-powered cars.

“This year holds unprecedented significance for democracy and the climate, two intertwined issues which will define our future,” Newsom said on Monday. “With half the world’s population poised to elect their leaders amidst a backdrop of escalating political extremism, and global temperatures hurtling towards alarming new heights, the stakes could not be higher. There is no greater authority than moral authority — and the Pope’s leadership on the climate crisis inspires us all to push further and faster. ”

Newsom climate advisor Lauren Sanchez added, “We think the governor stands alone among elected officials around the world who are really willing to say that this crisis is created by the burning of coal and oil and gas, and that we need to move away from those fossil fuels as quickly as possible.”

Newsom in Rome

For Newsom, the trip won’t be his first international trip nor his first climate change conference. In September of last year, Newsom spoke at a United Nations climate summit in New York. This was followed up the next month by a humanitarian trip to Israel and a climate and economic based trip to China. However, the latter two trips were criticized as little more than publicity stunts to gain international experience ahead of a presidential run. Others pointed out that, outside of a few questions during a meeting in Beijing, Newsom ignored critical issues such as human rights abuses, industrial espionage by China in California, fentanyl production, anti-democratic efforts throughout China, and the possible release of California pastor David Lin, who has been held prisoner in China since 2006.

However, Newsom’s planned speech has brought some early criticism, as he could easily skirt many of the intricacies of climate policy in California, and/or the speech may be just another attempt to build up international experience before the 2028 presidential election.

“Newsom isn’t going to be telling Pope Francis that he is going to put millions of Californians at risk because green energy isn’t keeping up at the pace fossil fuel plants are closing in California,” Russ Wayne, a North American energy analyst, told the Globe. “I mean, I would love it if Pope Francis called him out on Newsom’s morality of going green at the expense of leaving millions of Californians in the dark for awhile. Poor Californians at that. Or how he is complaining of drought and floods in the same area so soon.”

“And then there is the political side of it. Newsom always likes these high profile events or any place where a camera is. So he’s at the UN in New York or Beijing, or other flashy places saying all this. And then he’s going to point out that he talked with the pope in the Vatican the next presidential election. It’s obvious what he is doing.”

Newsom is expected to be in Rome and the Vatican in mid-May.