The main multilateral organisations in the environment and energy fields followed by MAECI, in cooperation and coordination with the other relevant Administrations, are the following:
UNFCCC – United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change – It is the main international convention on climate, with a universal membership (198 Parties). It was adopted at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit together with the Convention to Combat Desertification and the Convention on Biodiversity. The goal of UNFCCC is to stabilise the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere at an adequate level to prevent harmful anthropogenic interferences on the climate system. The Conference of Parties (COP) is the UNFCCC’s decisional body and gathers Member States yearly to monitor the advancement of the Convention’s goals and revise its implementation tools.
Website: https://unfccc.int/
IEA – International Energy Agency – Established in 1974, after the 1973 oil shock, by 17 countries (including Italy) as a semi-autonomous OECD agency, the role of the IEA has evolved over time: from a consultation forum for oil-importing countries to a primary observatory of world energy markets, up to a true leading agency in the energy transition towards climate neutrality, an increasingly necessary condition for the achievement of the goals of the Paris Agreement. The IEA currently has 32 Member States.
Website: https://www.iea.org/
IRENA – International Renewable Energy Agency – Established in 2009, with Italy among its founding Members, IRENA is headquartered in Abu Dhabi and aims at promoting renewable technologies worldwide, applying them to all necessary fields as required to effectively fight climate change and contain the rise of global temperatures in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement+. IRENA has quickly established itself as a primary global forum, with a quasi-universal membership (171 Parties) and hundreds of partners and observers among corporations, NGOs, public and semi-public agencies. From 2019 the Agency is leaded by an Italian Director General, Francesco La Camera.
Website: https://www.irena.org/
IEF – International Energy Forum – Established in 1991 and headquartered in Riyadh, its purpose is to promote the cooperation between energy-producing and energy-importing countries. The IEF has 73 Members and is currently reimagining its nature as a discussion forum for clean energy transition in the field of hydrocarbons and related technologies, also thanks to the action of Italy.
Website: https://www.ief.org/
WEC – World Energy Council – Active since 1923, its mission is to promote a sustainable energy use and supply. Recognised at UN level, the WEC is active in about 100 countries and gathers more than 3,000 companies and trade organisations in the energy sector, with affiliations also in research centres and the academia.
The multilateral energy diplomacy carried out by the Farnesina unfolds also within the following initiatives, providing input, support, and collaboration.
SE4ALL – Sustainable Energy for All – A United Nations’ body whose chairman acts also as Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for the universal access to energy. Its purpose is to streamline policies and carry out projects aimed at achieving 2030 Agenda’s Sustainable Development Goal n. 7: “Sustainable, reliable, affordable and modern energy for all”.
Website: https://www.seforall.org/
CEM – Clean Energy Ministerial, and MI – Mission Innovation – Two high-level fora for dialogue and cooperation in the fields of technology innovation and energy efficiency, established respectively in 2009 and 2015. CEM and MI organise once per year a Ministerial conference, where Italy is represented by the Minister for energy policy (currently, the Minister of the Environment and Energy Security). Italy plays a leading role within Mission Innovation in the electrification sector.
Website: https://www.cleanenergyministerial.org/
Website: https://mission-innovation.net/
EMGF – East Mediterranean Gas Forum – A dialogue forum originally established in 2019 and later institutionalised in March 2021 as a regional international organisation, with headquarters in Cairo. Italy is one of its founding Members, alongside Egypt, Greece, Cyprus, Israel, Jordan and Palestine; France has also joined the organisation recently. EMGF aims at a coordinated use of natural gas resources in Eastern Mediterranean for the benefit of its members, also through the effective involvement of the private sector via a dedicated consultative committee, in which also major Italian gas companies actively participate.
Sito web: https://emgf.org/