Italy will host the pre-Cop and an event dedicated to young people ahead of Cop 26. We discuss it with the Minister of the Environment, Sergio Costa.
To prevent the climate from changing, it is our society that must do so. And for Italy's Minister of the Environment, Sergio Costa, it is young people who represent the driving force of change. New generations are able to imagine the world in which they would like to live, unlike those who are by now prisoners of habit or pessimism, trapped in the conviction that it is too late to act or too risky to challenge the establishment. Young people have not only found the courage to do so, but are also ready to put forward concrete proposals. Because many of them study climate-related subjects out of passion. Or they have experienced first-hand what it means to be forced to leave their home, their land, because of increasingly destructive phenomena such as wildfires and hurricanes. Others, like Mosab al-Hindi, fight to protect the territory in which they live and its resources. Others still, like Gabby Tan, travel the world to raise public awareness of the threats looming over the oceans. And then there is Lea Namugerwa, 16, who watched the forest behind her home disappear to make way for concrete. "If adults won't take the initiative, I will," she decided.
This time, our country wants to take the initiative. That is why from 30 September to 2 October 2021 it will host the pre-Cop in preparation for the United Nations Climate Conference scheduled to take place in Glasgow, Scotland, from 1 to 12 November. Above all, however, the aim of the Italian Ministry of the Environment is to involve young people. To listen to what they have to say, try to give them answers, or rather to bet on them to find those answers. That is why, in Milan, ahead of the start of negotiations, an event reserved for them will be held. An event they are already preparing for, by taking part in a series of online meetings of which LifeGate is a media partner: Youth4Climate Live. We asked Minister Costa what he expects from all of this.
What is the aim of the Youth4Climate Live series?
Ever since the Climate Action Summit, organised by the Secretary-General of the United Nations in New York in September 2019, Italy has committed to supporting the participation of young people in processes related to climate change. Indeed, spurred on by the success and enthusiasm of that experience, as a partner of the United Kingdom in the presidency of the 26th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Climate Change, we decided to organise an unprecedented event entirely dedicated to young people.
As is well known, these events were postponed by a year. Nevertheless, we were not discouraged; on the contrary, with the help of the Youth Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General and the World Bank programme Connect4Climate, we devised an even more inclusive process, capable of enabling an ever-growing number of young people to take centre stage and participate in discussions on climate change.
From this came the idea of the virtual events programme: Youth4Climate Live Series, which features eight events that, since last June, will accompany us every month. The topics addressed are structured around broad general macro-themes, which aim to combine climate change negotiations with policies in favour of sustainable development at a global level, placing young people at the centre of attention.
The purpose of the series is to provide young people from all over the world with a new and unique space for in-depth discussion; a path of dialogue with the leading representatives of international institutions; a network for sharing experiences and ideas. I believe that dialogue and sharing are the first step towards building an intergenerational cause, and finding effective solutions to combat the climate crisis. Furthermore, the series represents a forge from which to draw inspiration for building the 2021 Milan event aimed at young people.
What signal does Italy wish to send by hosting the pre-Cop 26, and what role does the country intend to play in the fight against the climate crisis?
It has now been demonstrated that economic growth and pollution are no longer an indissoluble pairing. That is why our aim is to push businesses and the economy to set aside the use of fossil fuels. Supporting sustainable development on a global scale means reconciling the demands of the economy with those of the environment, and working to decouple the GDP/emissions relationship is the true revolution our planet needs.
Now we also need to recover from the global pandemic, and with our British partners we have agreed that the recovery will be green or it will not happen at all. And we all need to play our part. In this scenario of global change, not all states are still rowing with the same intensity and in the same direction; therefore, Italy will have the task of acting as a facilitator in relations with the other countries participating in Cop 26. That is why I have proposed that our country, given its tradition and its close ties with many of these nations, can act as a trailblazer and mediator so that the Glasgow conference can be a full success.
What role, on the other hand, do you think young people can play? What do you expect from the event dedicated to them in Milan 2021?
Young people are our most important resource for driving change. They have the capacity to inspire bold and innovative action. The Fridays for Future movement, for example, has been, and continues to be, the most powerful tool for mobilisation and awareness-raising on the issue of climate change. Thanks to the determination and commitment of young people, the whole world knows about the devastating effects that can be caused by a failure to act on global warming.
On the basis of these considerations, I strongly wanted an event dedicated to young people to be held alongside the preparatory event for the 26th Conference of the Parties, commonly known as the pre-Cop. A two-and-a-half-day meeting to be held in Milan from 28 to 30 September 2021, at which Italy will host two young people from each of the 197 countries that make up the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
The Milan event adds to the series of virtual meetings. It represents an important milestone, which should guide the transition from protest to action and, at the same time, falls at a particular historical moment that I hope will never be repeated. We must arrive at the Milan meeting with the idea of working on a governance framework that allows young people to be more represented at decision-making tables, but also with actionable proposals. The pandemic has imposed a new pace on us, but not a standstill. This time will not be given back to us; on the contrary, we should work twice as hard both to make up for the past and to chart a new course of action.
Will the pandemic we are living through lead to a leap forward in the race against time to save the planet?
The pandemic has highlighted all the limits of individual action and national resources, while at the same time underscoring the effectiveness of shared solutions, mutual support and scientific and technical collaboration. The harsh lesson we are learning in these months should be a stimulus to reflect on how our commitment to the climate must generate common action that combines economic recovery and environmental protection, job creation and the defence of natural resources, capital formation and resilience to climate change, above all for the countries most exposed to it.
2021 will be a crucial year for addressing the global emergencies that afflict us and for relaunching our societies, integrating climate priorities with pressing economic development needs. The need for global cooperation is more visible than ever, and we should be more determined than ever to create the conditions to make it more universally accepted. At the European level, we are already moving in this direction, as demonstrated by the Green Deal and the commitment to reducing emissions by 2050.
