The Vatican has invited Big Oil bosses for the second time in a year as part of Pope Francis\u2019s campaign to counter climate change, according to people familiar with the plan.<\/p>\n
Top executives from\u00a0BP Plc\u00a0and\u00a0Eni SpA\u00a0are among those invited to attend a two-day meeting from June 13, the people said, asking not to be identified before a formal announcement. The officials could meet the Pope on the second day, they said.<\/p>\n
Chief executive officers of\u00a0Exxon Mobil Corp., Eni and BP, along with asset manager BlackRock Inc.\u2019s Larry Fink, attended a similar meeting last year, in which they agreed the\u00a0world needed\u00a0to transition to lower-carbon fuels while ensuring adequate supply. Since then, little progress has been made on some of the key points agreed at that meeting, such as carbon pricing.<\/p>\n
The Pope\u2019s spokesman declined to comment when asked about this year\u2019s meeting.<\/p>\n
The interest of Pope Francis, who has made climate change a cornerstone of his papacy, adds to the pressure companies are already facing on emissions.\u00a0Royal Dutch Shell Plc\u00a0gave in to demands from investors last year to set short-term climate targets, while BP has said it will disclose more information about the alignment of its business model with the Paris accord. Exxon Mobil has\u00a0successfully blocked\u00a0a measure from investors on climate change.<\/p>\n
In its strategy update last month, Eni said it will plant 20 million acres of\u00a0forest in Africa\u00a0to help offset all carbon dioxide emissions from its oil and gas exploration and production operations by the end of the next decade.<\/p>\n
The Pope said in an\u00a0encyclical letter\u00a0in 2015 that the science around the topic is clear and that the Catholic Church should view it as a moral issue. The Vatican, which has diplomatic relations with over 180 countries and has permanent observer status at the United Nations, has also fervently backed the Paris climate agreement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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