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De Blasio, After Diverted Flight, Joins Climate Conference at Vatican De Blasio, After Diverted Flight, Addresses Climate Conference at Vatican
(about 9 hours later)
VATICAN CITY — Leaders from around the globe, some stifling yawns, settled in their seats as a Vatican official approached the lectern. A rare gathering of mayors, beckoned to this holy city by Pope Francis from as far as away as Johannesburg, was about to begin. VATICAN CITY — There would be no special recognition from the papal lectern. And when the time came for Pope Francis to greet some of the leaders he had beckoned to this holy city, Mayor Bill de Blasio was not among the select few granted a clasped hand.
One participant, however, was missing: the mayor of New York. But afterward, Mr. de Blasio, a star attraction in Italy for the second summer in a row, made his feelings clear.
Scheduled to arrive in Rome on Tuesday morning for a two-day conference on climate change, Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York instead found himself in Milan, thanks to fog that forced a brief diversion of his overnight flight from Kennedy Airport. “It was fun,” the mayor said, with a touch of awe, “even to be close to him.”
The mayor arrived at the Vatican about 80 minutes after his scheduled speaking slot. When he finally did speak there, he was unfazed, delivering an impassioned charge to his fellow mayors to resist “powerful corporate interests” and to aggressively battle climate change. A day that began, unexpectedly, in Milan — courtesy of Roman fog that forced a brief diversion of the mayor’s overnight flight — ended with Mr. de Blasio elated about his first audience with Francis, calling it “an energy boost” to see the reform-minded pontiff up close.
“This is a leader such as we haven’t seen before,” Mr. de Blasio told reporters as he headed to a Vatican-hosted dinner with dozens of other city officials, who were gathered here for a two-day conference on climate change. Some had traveled from as far away as Johannesburg. (On the menu: turkey with mushrooms and spinach ravioli.)
If Mr. de Blasio’s vacation in Italy last year had its share of pomp — hometown festivals, formal news conferences — this one has been all about the pope.
In an impassioned speech, Mr. de Blasio praised the recent papal encyclical on the destructive effects of climate change, saying the pope’s writing “burns with urgency.” And he commended Francis for resisting “powerful corporate interests,” saying that the pontiff had “awakened people across the globe to the dangers we face as a planet.”
“Is it not the definition of insanity to propagate corporate policies and consumer habits that hasten the destruction of the earth?” Mr. de Blasio said.“Is it not the definition of insanity to propagate corporate policies and consumer habits that hasten the destruction of the earth?” Mr. de Blasio said.
He pledged that his administration would work to reduce the city’s carbon emissions by 40 percent by 2030. The Vatican event, part of an effort by Francis to focus on environmental issues, attracted mayors from across Europe, South America and the United States, but Mr. de Blasio, with his preacher’s cadence, stood out as a speaker. He decried “a status quo that is slowly killing our earth” and earned applause for a pledge to reduce New York City’s carbon emissions by 40 percent by 2030.
The Vatican event is part of an effort by Francis to focus world leaders on environmental causes, and mayors from across Europe, South America, and the United States were in attendance. The pope had been expected to address the gathering on Tuesday morning, but his appearance was changed to take place in the afternoon — a stroke of good fortune for Mr. de Blasio. But when the conference began on Tuesday morning, the mayor’s seat was conspicuously empty.
The mayor has taken pains recently to fight his reputation for tardiness, arriving more promptly at events in New York. But the vagaries of international travel can be trickier than a traffic snag on the Brooklyn Bridge. Mr. de Blasio, who is expected to be in Italy for less than 48 hours, opted for an overnight flight that was scheduled to arrive in Rome about two hours before he was scheduled to speak at the Vatican. (Aides to Mr. de Blasio, aware of criticism about his frequent travels, had emphasized last week that his Vatican visit — his fourth European excursion in a year — would be kept short.)
Mr. de Blasio, who is expected to be in Rome for less than 48 hours, opted for an overnight flight that was scheduled to arrive about two hours before he was due at the Vatican. (Aides to Mr. de Blasio, aware of criticism about his frequent travels, had emphasized last week that his Vatican visit — his fourth European excursion in a year — would be kept short.) His plans were foiled by fog, according to an American Airlines spokesman, who said the pilot of the mayor’s nonstop flight “elected to divert to Milan as a precaution.” The flight continued to Rome after an hour’s delay, once the fog was “burned off by the increasingly warm sun,” the spokesman, Ian Bradley, said.
But his plans were foiled by Roman fog, according to an American Airlines spokesman, who said the pilot of the mayor’s flight “elected to divert to Milan as a precaution.” The flight continued on to Rome after about an hour’s delay, once the fog was “burned off by the increasingly warm sun,” the spokesman, Ian Bradley, said. The mayor, who has struggled with tardiness at home, arrived at the Vatican about 80 minutes after his scheduled speaking slot. He appeared unfazed, greeting friends, including Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, with a warm smile. “He settled right in,” said Mayor Martin J. Walsh of Boston, who was seated behind Mr. de Blasio in the Vatican auditorium. “He’s always settled.”
Mr. de Blasio was not the only person to miss a scheduled slot for speaking. Mayor Eduardo Paes of Rio de Janeiro sent an aide in his stead, citing unrest in his home country. He also had time for a bit of municipal business. Mr. de Blasio, embroiled in a political and policy fight with the cab-sharing company Uber, compared notes with Ms. Hidalgo, whose country has faced its own Uber-related unrest. “She’s having a very similar experience,” he said later.
The gathering at the Vatican was prompted in part by a recent papal encyclical warning of the destructive effects of climate change. In his remarks, Mr. de Blasio said the encyclical “burns with urgency,” and he praised the pope, saying he had “awakened people across the globe to the dangers we face as a planet.” The weather in Rome underscored the theme of Tuesday’s conference: The ancient city has been experiencing record heat. Mr. de Blasio, who is traveling with a pair of aides and his security detail and is staying at a hotel near the Vatican — his aides declined to say exactly where — spent most of the day mixing with other officials inside a 1970s-era Vatican building, whose air-conditioning system strained to keep up.
“The encyclical is not a call to arms,” Mr. de Blasio said. “It is a call to sanity.” Mr. de Blasio had been invited to attend a light show at the Roman Forum on Tuesday evening, and he planned another environmental speech at the Vatican on Wednesday morning.
Mr. de Blasio is scheduled to attend an official dinner at the Vatican on Tuesday evening and to speak again on Wednesday morning. The mayor is expected to leave for New York on Wednesday afternoon — weather permitting. The mayor is expected to fly back to New York on Wednesday afternoon — weather permitting.