President Meloni’s speech at the 29th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29)

Dear Colleagues,

this Summit, for which I thank Azerbaijan’s Presidency, is called upon to contribute further momentum to the effort to limit the global temperature increase to within 1.5°C.

In Dubai we set ambitious goals: tripling the world’s capacity to generate renewable energy and doubling the global rate of energy efficiency improvements by 2030.

Reaching these goals requires everyone’s cooperation – starting with the major emitters of greenhouse gases – and adequate financial support. During this Conference we will work to adopt the new climate finance target. Reaching a valuable compromise requires sharing responsibilities, overcoming divisions between developed Nations and emerging and developing economies.

Italy intends to continue to do its own part. We are already allocating a large amount of the more-than-four-billion-euro budget of our Climate Fund to Africa, and we will continue to support initiatives such as the Green Climate Fund and the Loss and Damage Fund, as well as continue to promote the involvement of Multilateral Development Banks. But it is equally a priority that decarbonisation takes into consideration our production and social systems’ sustainability. We must protect nature with man at its core. An approach that is too ideological and not pragmatic on this matter risks taking us off the road to success. Technology neutrality is the right approach, as currently there is no single alternative to fossil fuel supply.

We must have a realistic global outlook. The world population will reach 8.5 billion by 2030 and global GDP will double in the next decade. This will boost energy consumption, also considering the increasing demand for Artificial Intelligence development.

We need a balanced energy mix to enhance the transition process. We must use all available technologies. Not only renewables, but also gas, biofuels, hydrogen, CO2 capture and, in future, nuclear fusion which could produce clean, safe and limitless energy. Italy is at the forefront on nuclear fusion. In the framework of our G7 Presidency, we organized the first meeting of the World Fusion Energy Group, sponsored by the International Atomic Energy Agency. We intend to relaunch this technology which could be a game-changer as it can turn energy from a geopolitical weapon into a widely accessible resource.

And then, let’s work for a new energy diplomacy to multiply opportunities for cooperation between the Global North and the Global South. Our destinies are interconnected, and from energy connections we can draw great opportunities. This is the reason why the climate-energy nexus is one of the pillars of our Mattei Plan for Africa, the peer-to-peer cooperation strategy that Italy is pursuing, and that I am very pleased to see Azerbaijan as President of the COP29 has valued as part of the Climate for Peace Initiative.

Under the Italian Presidency, the G7 has promoted new and concrete initiatives, such as: Energy for Growth in Africa, to develop infrastructure for green energy production and distribution; and the Adaptation Accelerator Hub, to support the world’s most vulnerable Nations in their climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts.

Dear Colleagues,

Like any COP, it is up to us to determine whether this will be a success or a failure. We know that we may not personally benefit from the results of the efforts we are making. But this is not the important thing. I’m a mother, and as a mother nothing gives me more satisfaction than when I work for policies that will enable my daughter and her generation to live in a better place.

So, as William James would say, “Act as if what you do makes a difference, for it makes it.”

Thank you.