Greek Orthodox Patriarch to attend Philippines climate change forum on French president’s invitation

ISTANBUL

REUTERS Photo

Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew will attend a climate change forum in the Philippines on Feb. 26-27, on the invitation of French President François Hollande. 

Bartholomew will give a speech at a climate change forum in the Philippines’ capital, Manila, where he will be attending as a special guest of Hollande, according to a press release issued by the Greek Fener Orthodox Patriarchate.

French Metropolitan Emmanuel Adamakis and Prof. John Chryssavgis will accompany Bartholomew on the trip.

The Patriarchate said in a written statement that it is sensitive about climate change and has contributed many kinds of work on the issue, adding that Bartholemew has happily accepted the French president’s invitation.

Since becoming Patriarch in 1991, Bartholemew has gained a reputation as an environmentalist, with some giving him the nickname “the Green Patriarch.”

The climate change forum in the Philippines is organized as a preliminary meeting of the U.N. Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP 21), which will be held in Paris between Nov. 30 and Dec. 11, 2015.