{Courtesy Translation}
ENVIRONMENT, MIN. BARBARO: MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING SIGNED WITH UN-HABITAT FOR SUSTAINABLE SPORT DEVELOPMENT AND DIALOGUE WITH THE IOC “Today at the ‘United Nations High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development’ in New York, we signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-Habitat), in the presence of Michal Mlynár, Assistant to the Secretary-General of the United Nations and Acting Executive Director of UN-Habitat. A collaboration is thus strengthened that we believe is fundamental to contribute to achieving the objectives of the 2030 Agenda. We are very pleased that in Article 3 of the protocol there is a reference to the facilitation of dialogue and cooperation with the International Olympic Committee and other relevant organizations. Thanks to this reference, countries will commit to investments to improve urban biodiversity by enabling sport to build a lasting and socially positive legacy in cities, such as encouranging leisure time in green spaces and outdoor sport activities”, explained Claudio Barbaro, Undersecretary for the Environment and Energy Security, also with portfolio for sport, representing Italy in New York.
“The Memorandum of Understanding is important for two reasons. On the one hand it is the culmination and consolidation of a year-long journey, carried out both by UN-Habitat and by the Italian government. The efforts were aimed to applying the Sustainable Development Goals to the territory and to the fully involving local administrative entities, being aware that only multilevel governance, inclusion and consistency of policies can allow countries to move more quickly towards achieving the objectives of the 2030 Agenda. On the other hand, it wants to be and will be a new beginning: the inclusion in the G7 Communiqué Climate, Energy and Environment, of a paragraph on the localization of the SDGs and the launch of a dedicated Partnership Platform, represents a strong commitment for the future”.
