From February 26-27, 2015, His All-Holiness accompanied French President François Hollande on his official state visit to the Philippines, together with Metropolitan Emmanuel of France and Rev. Archdeacon John Chryssavgis. One of the primary purposes of the trip by the President of France was the joint signing of a call to action on climate change in light of the journey toward the UN Climate Change Conference to be held in Le Bourget in Paris from November 30 to December 11, 2015.
On Thursday, February 26, 2015, His All-Holiness addressed the climate change forum held at the National Museum in the Philippine capital Manila. The title of the forum was “Civil Society Mobilized for climate,” while the assigned title of the Ecumenical Patriarch’s address was “Creation Care, Ecological Justice, and Ethics.” The forum served as a preliminary meeting for the international United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 21) that will take place in Paris later this year. Other speakers included the director general of the WWF (M. Lambertini), journalist and special ambassador of President Hollande for the protection of the planet (N. Hulot), the French minister for environment (S. Royal), French actress and environmentalist Melanie Laurent, the executive director of UNEP (A. Steiner) and the executive secretary of the COP convention (C. Figueres).
On Thursday night, His All-Holiness met with the priests of the Orthodox Metropolitanate of Hong Kong and South East Asia who serve in Philippines and with the nuns of the Orthodox Monastery of the Nativity of Theotokos.
On Friday, February 27, 2015, His All-Holiness and the Patriarchal delegation traveled with President Hollande to the town of Guiuan, which was devastated by Typhoon Haiyan in November of 2013. Before departing the Philippines, His All-Holiness also met with Cardinal Tagle, Archbishop of Manila.
His All-Holiness was welcomed in Philippines by His Eminence Metropolitan Nektarios of Hong Kong and South East Asia. The Orthodox Communities in Philippines are under the spiritual jurisdiction of the Orthodox Metropolitanate of Hong Kong and South East Asia.
Metropolitan Nektarios along with Metropolitan Konstantinos of Singapore and South Asia were also in attendance at the climate change forum held at the National Museum in the Philippine capital Manila.