Pope Francis to Discuss Climate Change With Big Oil, Investors

Pope Francis will meet with executives from major oil producing companies and investment firms next week to discuss what can be done to address climate change, Axios is reporting.

The website, which attributed its information to people familiar with the event, said the meeting will take place at the Vatican

Among those reportedly participating in the conference will be: Bob Dudley, CEO of BP; Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, Ernest Moniz, who served as energy secretary under President Barack Obama and a representative of ExxonMobil.

A spokesman for BP said Dudley is "looking forward to the Vatican dialogue. He believes gatherings of this kind help develop a better understanding of the energy transition and the best ways for corporations, countries and wider society to participate in it."

According to Axios the University of Notre Dame is helping convene the meeting.

"All along the way, we have said that any energy-related meeting involving the Vatican and Notre Dame would be a private dialogue among the attendees," said Leo Burke, director of the Notre Dame business school’s climate investing initiative.

The meeting comes just over a year after President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. would withdraw from the Paris climate agreement.

In the past, Pope Francis has blamed human greed and selfishness for damaging the planet, according to a BBC report. He has called for action to stop climate change.

• NASA's Bridenstine Validates Climate Change, Human Impact
• Hurricanes Over Warming Waters – Like Harvey – to Keep Getting Worse, Study Says