Greg Asner, Director of Arizona State University’s Center for Global Discovery and Conservation Science, met Pope Francis in 2021 to discuss climate action. He tells CNN’s Eleni Giokos about his experience.

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Climate Crisis

Pope Francis, the first Latin American pontiff, has died at age 88 from a cerebral stroke and subsequent heart failure, the Vatican said.

Pope Francis Dies

Greg Asner, Director of Arizona State University’s Center for Global Discovery and Conservation Science, had the opportunity to meet Pope Francis to discuss climate action. This interaction occurred as part of a documentary film titled "The Letter with Pope Francis," featuring various voices the pope aimed to highlight, based on his 2015 encyclical focusing on the environment. Asner and his wife participated as representatives of biodiversity voices in this project.

During their visit to the Vatican, Asner shared information with Pope Francis regarding the state of the planet, particularly concerning coral reefs. These reefs are considered indicators of the impact of climate change, being highly sensitive and covering much of the Earth's ocean surface. Over the past 30 years, half of the world's coral reefs have been lost, with recent reports indicating that nearly 80% are undergoing severe heat stress, resulting in processes like coral bleaching.

Asner highlighted the urgent nature of the environmental crisis during his discussions with Pope Francis. He emphasized the critical stage of the climate issue, with coral reefs serving as a crucial example of ecosystems under threat. The ongoing decline of these ecosystems underlines the pressing need for global climate action and the importance of continued advocacy and leadership in addressing environmental concerns.



How Pope Francis helped inspire global climate action

Tell me about this experience and what you discussed. Thanks for having me. Yeah, it was an incredible experience. It was part of a movie, a documentary movie, that was made called The Letter with Pope Francis. And the cast was comprised of different unheard voices that the pope wanted to bring out. And it's based on his 2015 encyclical that focuses on the environment. My wife and I were asked to participate in the project as the voice of biodiversity. And in that process, we had the opportunity to go to the Vatican, to meet with Pope Francis, to share information, knowledge, and emotions about the state of the planet and the challenges that we face together. Well, the climate crisis we know is getting worse. It's growing more dire. We are in an urgent scenario. It's code red. And we've seen a new report finding that 84% of the world's coral reefs hit by worst beaching events on record. How hard is it to lose a champion of this cause? And do you hope that the next pope also advocates for the climate? Yes. One of the major projects that I lead is a program that monitors the world's coral reefs. And in the visit to the Vatican, I was given the opportunity to present and explain to the pope and to share with the pope the state of our coral reefs. And coral reefs are an important example because they really are on the front lines of climate change and global environmental stress that our ecosystems and biodiversity are encountering and are undergoing today. And we think of coral reefs as the canary in the coal mine. They really are sensitive animals. And they cover the Earth's surface, much of the ocean. So these are incredibly sensitive ecosystems that have declined. In my career of 30 years, we've lost half worldwide. And as you said, the new report just out shows that about 80% of our coral reefs today are under severe heat stress. And it leads to this process known as coral bleaching, which often leads to the death of these corals. So we are at the very critical stage of this problem right now.

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Climate Crisis

Pope Francis Dies