Earth day: ministers Costa and Sharma, the whole world is active

"The world is facing an extraordinary challenge today, that of Covid-19, which has caused a devastating impact all over the planet" and today "Earth day, Earth Day, which turns 50, reminds us that the same level of global attention and determination is required of us to solve another major challenge, that of climate change ". For real change, it is necessary that "the whole world becomes active, that all governments join forces against the climate crisis and the coronavirus". Thus, the Minister of the Environment Sergio Costa and the President of Cop 26 (United Nations Climate Conference) and United Kingdom Undersecretary for Energy and Industrial Strategy Alok Sharma, in an exclusive letter on the Lifegate website.

"The upheaval of the global economy has left millions of women and men and thousands of businesses with an uncertain future" write the two ministers, noting that "our destinies are intrinsically connected". "We could not foresee the events we are now witnessing when, last September, the United Kingdom - in partnership with Italy - received the mandate to organize the crucial Cop 26 conference in Glasgow and the preparatory events in Milan: the Pre Cop and Youth 4 climate ", continues the letter. Even if everything has had to be postponed until next year, "Italy and the United Kingdom will continue to work tirelessly to increase the global ambition necessary to combat the climate crisis - assure the two ministers - When we meet for the conference, we will need representatives from all countries are present and that decision makers, delegates and young people participate from all over the world, to make it as ambitious and inclusive as possible. For real change, the whole world must be active ".

From here to Cop 26, "efforts will be launched to rebuild the global economy and we must seize the opportunities offered by technology. We believe that these efforts should focus on supporting green, inclusive and resilient reconstruction, developing the principles of the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals. We will work together to address the related challenges of public health, climate change and biodiversity. " 

Countries, Costa and Sharma urge, "must commit themselves to ambitiously reduce CO2 emissions and we must continue to intensify climate action worldwide to achieve the objective of the Paris Agreement to limit the increase temperature well below 2 degrees centigrade and pursuing the limit of 1.5 degrees. This is important for global health and for our economies. Credible and ambitious climate plans in the form of nationally determined contributions (so-called Ndc), and long-term strategies to achieve zero net greenhouse gas emissions, are therefore essential. Italy in the European context and the United Kingdom are committed to working on reinforced Ndc. We appeal to each country to act and follow the example of the Marshall Islands, Suriname, Norway and Chile, the current president of the COP ".

For the two ministers, "innovations in energy storage technologies, high efficiency intelligent electricity grids, zero emission vehicles, eco-friendly buildings are some of the tools available to us. The economic convenience of the offer is clear. Energy sources renewable as solar and wind are in many cases already cheaper than coal. Next week we will take part in the Petersberg Dialogue on Climate, which will bring us together, together with the German organizers, with over 30 countries to discuss the critical issues of climate action. As organizers of COP 26 and its preparatory events - the two ministers anticipate - we are committed to focusing on the voices of those most affected by global warming. We are committed to pursuing greater ambition in support of the most vulnerable and to ensure that this ambition translates into action ".

Finally, they note, "the time from here to COP 26 is crucial. As soon as we emerge from the Covid-19 crisis, we will have to continue to exploit the collaboration and adherence to science that we have experienced in the pandemic to combat climate change. For the good for people, future generations and the planet ".