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Italy is focused on pursuing the Sustainable Development Goals of the Agenda 2030, signed in September 2015 by the governments of the 193 UN Member States, and the goals of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
As of January 2022, Italy is counted among the 54 members of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), a body that plays a central coordinating role in the area of sustainable development and for the discussion of social and economic issues, and of which Ambassador Maurizio Massari held the Vice-Presidency from July 2022 to July 2023. On June 7, 2024, Italy was re-elected in New York as a member of ECOSOC for the three-year period 2025-2027. At ECOSOC election, Italy garnered the most votes among Western Countries, which bears witness to the strong reputation our country has built through its long-standing commitment in support of issues related to environment and sustainability. This commitment was the driving force behind the event Youth 4 Climate, which Italy hosted for the first time in Milan in 2021, when it was co-chair of the COP26 on climate change with the UK, and that gathered more than 400 youth from all over the world.
In the same spirit, Italy scaled up its efforts during the 2022 High Level Political Forum for Sustainable Development – HLPF 2022. In its framework, Italy co-facilitated with Nauru a long and complex negotiation on the Ministerial Declaration on the status of implementation of Agenda 2030 and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals – the SDGs, adopted on 18 July 2022 by ECOSOC.
We host the UN food hub in Rome (FAO, WFP, IFAD), which has always facilitated between the UN and Italy communication and mutual enrichment in terms of proposals and good practices, especially with reference to SDG 2 “Zero Hunger”. From the G8 Summits to the organization of “Expo Milano 2015,” the United Nations’ presence in Italy has historically encouraged the creation of innovative proposals, such as: the L’Aquila Food Security Initiative (AFSI), the food security initiative adopted by the 2009 G8 L’Aquila Summit, the Milan Charter, which aims to present the legacy of “Expo Milano 2015” to future generations, and the G7 Apulia Food Systems Initiative (2024). In this context, it can also be recalled how Italy hosted the UN Food Systems Pre-Summit (2021) and the UN Food Systems Summit’s “Stocktaking Moment” (2023). Italy in New York also plays a leading role as Chair of the Group of Friends of Food Security and Nutrition.
We support an integrated approach to development policies based on the harmonization, coordination and efficacy of aid, as well as on a balanced understanding of the main drivers of development. Another fundamental aspect of Italy’s action is its support for the activities of United Nations Funds and Programs (UNDP, UNICEF, UNFPA, UN Women) by participating in their Executive Boards and through financial contributions by the Italian Development Cooperation. Our work with UNICEF is an excellent example of cooperation. Italy hosts in Florence the Innocenti Research Center and the UNICEF Office for Research Facilitation and Knowledge Management, and is one of its major donors. Italy has long enjoyed close cooperation with the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), which is regulated by a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding of 1996, attested to by the presence in Rome of the only UNDESA office located outside of New York.
UN Photo/Logan Abassi
In light of our special sensitivity to environmental issues, we are deeply concerned by the situation of Small Island States – whose existence is sometimes threatened by climate change – and Countries with high biodiversity, where preserving the environment reflects the collective interest of the international community. Italy’s commitment to cooperation for the Small Island States of the Pacific, especially in the field of renewable energies, is recognized internationally as a good practice and used as an exemplary approach to sustainable development.
Also with a view to implementing the Pact for the Future (adopted at the United Nations in September 2024), on February 6, 2025 Italy together with Cyprus, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Mexico formed the Group of Friends of Culture at the United Nations, open to the whole UN membership, with the aim of expanding the role of culture as an enabler of sustainable development.