The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Luigi Di Maio, received today at the Foreign Ministry the President of COP26, Alok Sharma, for a meeting focusing on the priorities of the UK-Italy partnership on COP26, six months ahead of the Climate Change Conference and within the framework of the “parallel” G7 and G20 presidencies.
Confirming to his interlocutor Italy’s commitment to a green, sustainable and inclusive recovery, Minister Di Maio expressed his appreciation for the results of the recent Summit on Climate sponsored by the United States, thanks to which many countries announced new and more ambitious environmental commitments. In this context, Italy is strongly committed to fostering wider acceptance of the carbon neutrality objective among the G20 countries, which account for 75% of global emissions. For the first time in the history of the forum, the Italian G20 Presidency will host a Climate and Energy Joint Ministerial Session in Naples, which will be an important step towards the Glasgow Conference. Italy will also host the G20 Conference on Climate in July and the second Finance in Common Summit in the autumn. There will also be a special focus on environmental and sustainable development issues at the “Compact with Africa” event, to be held in Rome in October as part of Italy’s G20 Presidency.
