NEW YORK, SEPTEMBER 19 – The Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte will address the climate summit next week at UN Headquarters in New York during the afternoon panel on “The Economy, moving from grey to green” which promises “announcements of concrete and ambitious actions to get carbon neutrality before 2050”. One of the few heads of State selected for this unique and very concrete opportunity, Conte is scheduled to speak at the end of the summit, ahead of the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and of the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres’ closing remarks. The Italian Prime Minister will showcase a flagship initiative on the digitalization of energy networks, illustrate the Italian government green agenda and present the upcoming role of Italy, in tandem with the UK, to lead the organization of the next Cop 26 agenda in 2020.
As global leaders prepare to convene in New York next week to debate the best way forward for the planet, Mr. Guterres is urging them to “do what is necessary” to ensure that “we are able to solve the dramatic problems we face.” The UN chief is urging Member States to bring “concrete plans” to the 74th session of the General Assembly, in hopes of bolstering the Paris Agreement on climate change, and the ambitious goals that are the bedrock of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
In a special interview for UN News conducted this week by newly-appointed head of Global Communications, Melissa Fleming, Mr. Guterres lamented that “we are not on track” to meet a 2030 deadline in many aspects, highlighting that the first-ever SDG summit on 24 and 25 September, will inject more momentum.
The UN chief told Ms. Fleming that “more and more of the crises we face, have a multiplicity of factors, from different parts of the world” and resolving these issues begs “more international cooperation” with the UN firmly “at the centre of it.”
Guterres will open next Monday summit followed by leaders from New Zealand, the Marshalls Island and Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel. Among the panelists of the morning session, IRENA Director Francesco La Camera will speak on SIDS (Small Island Development States). (@OnuItalia)