Questo sito utilizza cookies tecnici (necessari) e analitici.
Proseguendo nella navigazione accetti l'utilizzo dei cookies.

Youth Climate Summit 2019

Intervento pronunciato dal Ministro dell’Ambiente e della Tutela del Territorio e del Mare, Sergio Costa, al  Youth Climate Summit 2019 – New Commitments by & for Youth —

Thank you,

I am very pleased to be here, before an audience of so many young people that I feel invested with a great responsibility. You, more than anyone else, hold in your hearts the attention to the planet and sustainability.

Climate change is, without a doubt, one of the greatest challenges we are called to face today and in the next decades. Recent data and scientific reports have further confirmed what we all already know: it is a real threat for current and future generations, and we have little time left to adopt the policies needed to avert its worst effects, especially on the most vulnerable. This notion was clearly expressed by many great personalities of every creed and belief. Today it is our duty, as Pope Francis stated, “to integrate questions of justice in debates on the environment, so as to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.”

A great German philosopher, Georg Friedrich Hegel, had this to say about human nature: “Nothing in the world has ever been accomplished without passion.” Indeed, I feel that I belong to that progressive world that captured your passion, your cry, your will to be part of the change that is needed to guarantee the world a sustainable future. This is why Italy has made a significant contribution to the making of today’s Summit.

As you may know, Italy and the United Kingdom have reached an agreement to share the Presidency of the COP26 in 2020: in this framework, Italy will host, during the pre-COP preparatory events, an important global event for youth on Climate Change. ,
We want to give young people the opportunity to make concrete proposals on some of the most important issues on the climate agenda, including the increase in global ambition, the spread of environmental education, and the implementation of intergenerational equity – a principle that Italy vigorously supported in negotiations until it was inserted in the Paris Agreement. This outcome was made possible also thanks to the hard work carried out by you, and this why I want to thank you for this.

On the trail of the important events taking place here in New York, the “Youth Summit” in Italy will offer an unprecedented opportunity for young people to participate, in the decision-making processes in an authentic and structured manner. We will concretely support your participation in the event to ensure its inclusiveness, recognizing the vital contribution of so many young men and women to raising the awareness of the global public and I say to you with all the passion in my heart, ‘Please, come and participate’, ‘Please come to the Youth COP26 and 2020 next fall’ because it will be a time to dare and we can dare together.

Thank you. 1000 grazie!