Wu touts Boston’s climate policy on Vatican trip

Mayor Michelle Wu addressed her first international audience at the Vatican on Thursday to tout Boston’s position as a leader on climate action.

Wu spoke during a discussion titled “Governance, Energy,” where she detailed some of Boston’s climate-friendly policies, including a utility program allowing residents to choose greener energy and an ordinance requiring large buildings to slowly reduce their emissions.

“(We) then heard from mayors and governors around the world about what’s happening in their communities on the front lines, both the risks and challenges, but also incredibly important and inspiring stories about the progress that happen every day,” Wu shared on social media.

Wu said that with so little snow this year, her 6- and 9-year-old sons won’t be able to enjoy Boston’s frigid winters. The Boston Globe reported from the Vatican.

“The energy I’m talking about now is the energy of a mother who doesn’t want to have her last snow day with her kids,” she said. World reported. “It’s the energy of a mother who wants her children to know how beautiful the Charles is, frozen on a clear December night.”

Wu joined Gov. Maura Healey and state climate chief Melissa Hoffer in the city-state for the “Vatican Climate Summit: From Climate Crisis to Climate Resilience.” Two Boston Public Schools students from BCLA-McCormack — recently renamed Ruth Batson Academy — also joined a summit of eight youth for “Voices of the Youth.”

Healey gave a speech at the summit’s opening session on Wednesday, during which she announced a new initiative, the Climate Careers Fund.

“The heroes of the clean energy revolution are the rail operators, the farmers, the electricians, the heat pump installers, the wind turbine technicians – the workers who make it all possible. We need people who are qualified and ready to fill these jobs,” Healey said in a statement.

The multi-day conference is organized by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and their Academy of Social Sciences, under the leadership of UMass Boston Chancellor Marcelo Suárez-Orozco.

California Governor Gavin Newsom and New York Governor Kathy Hochul also attended the summit. Wu is the only American mayor to attend the conference, according to the World.

Also on Wu’s agenda: a meeting with the mayor of Rome, Roberto Gualtieri, and visits to some Italian cities after the conference. She will travel Saturday to Sulmona, a town of about 25,000 east of Rome that has ties to Boston’s North End.

Next, she will visit Coreno Ausonio, a small town south of Rome where her children have family ties. Her children’s great-great grandparents emigrated from the small town liberated from Nazi occupation 80 years ago. Wu and his family will attend an anniversary celebration on Sunday and meet the city’s mayor.

“Our goal in Boston is to make our city a home for everyone, from all backgrounds, all generations and all walks of life,” Wu said. World said: “and for me it has been a treasure to represent the jewel of our house. »