Science tells us that temperatures are reaching record highs, greenhouse gas levels are rising, sea levels are rising, and natural disasters are increasingly devastating. The success of the Paris Agreement and the ability to tackle climate change depend on how seriously countries and all stakeholders, including the private sector, take ambitious and effective actions in line with science. To bridge the gap between existing national commitments and the level of ambition needed to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5 ° C, political leaders and beyond are called upon to do their part to complete and, if possible, integrate the objectives set in international fora.
This will be the main theme that will address the webinar with young people attended by the Minister of the Environment Sergio Costa and the Secretary General of the United Nations António Guterres.
“Driving ambition” is the title of the webinar open to young people from all over the world, scheduled for today 18 November at 16.00, organized by the Ministry of the Environment in collaboration with Connect4Climate – World Bank Group and with the Office of the United Nations Special Envoy for Youth, as part of the cycle of meetings Youth4Climate, the preparatory path for the Pre-COP26 of 2021 through which young people are called to make their own contribution to the Conference of the Parties (COP 26 ) of the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
“2020 is a crucial year for the fight against climate change – explains Minister Costa – and, despite the health crisis, we need to meet the deadlines we have agreed with the Paris Agreement. The EU and Italy are looking with commitment and determination to achieve the goal of climate neutrality by 2050 “.
The aim of the seminar is the deepening on the topic of how to increase the ambition on climate change to achieve the goal of the Paris Agreement, to limit global warming well below 2ºC and continuing, ensuring the maximum commitment to limit it 1.5ºC.
An opportunity to also address the issues that the United Nations Secretary General highlighted in the Climate Action Summit (2019) – and on which the political message of “building back better” is being built, concerning green, sustainable and inclusive recovery.
The Paris Agreement requires the assumption of greater “ambition”. The international community should therefore focus on how to progressively reduce the gap between commitments and time. For a broader reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, they should be accompanied by broader actions, which go beyond the commitments made by each country.
“The Italian Presidency of the G20 – adds Minister Costa – aims to favor structural actions that can facilitate the acceleration of the energy transition, the green economy and environmental sustainability, to the advantage of the Paris Agreement and the transition to climate neutrality” .
As part of the meeting, particular attention will be paid to the role of the international community, governments and the private sector, as well as obviously the expectations, proposals and actions of young people.
Halla Tómasdóttir, managing director of “B Team”, a non-profit initiative formed by a global group of entrepreneurs to encourage a sustainable way of doing business, is also expected to attend the meeting. Three young leaders will also participate, selected on the basis of their local or international commitment: Nisreen Elsaim (Sudan), President of the Youth Council of the UN National Secretary on Climate Issues and President of Sudan’s largest youth organization on climate change issues. recently named one of the 100 most influential young people on the African continent; Màximo Mazzocco (Argentina), founder of the non-governmental organization Eco House, which counts the largest number of environmental activists in the country, co-founder of the Climate Alliance Argentina and, recently, appointed young leader of the UNDP 2030 Agenda Initiative ( Generation17). The third young speaker is the German actor Luisa Marie Neubauer of Fridays for Future.
