A seguire traduzione di cortesia.

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Dear colleagues, Dear guests,

This Summit, for which I thank the leadership of the United Arab Emirates, is a key moment in our efforts to contain global temperature rise to within 1.5°C. We have reached the first Global Stocktake, and while there are reasons to be optimistic, the goal remains far off. COP28 must be a turning point. We are called upon to set a clear direction and enact concrete actions – reasonable but concrete - such as tripling the world’s renewable energy generation capacity by 2030 and doubling the global rate of annual energy efficiency improvements, as also outlined by the Presidency.

Italy is doing its part in the decarbonization process, and it does it in a pragmatic way, that means with a technology-neutral approach, free from unnecessary radicalism. My idea is that if we want to be effective, if we want environmental sustainability that does not compromise the economic and social sphere, what we must pursue is an ecological transition, and not an ideological one. 

We are gradually replacing coal-fired power generation with renewables, we have adopted a new Energy and Climate Plan, and we are investing resources and attention on biofuels, so much so that we are among the founders of the Global Biofuels Alliance. In the European context, we have charted a path to carbon neutrality by 2050 and to reduce emissions by at least 55 percent by 2030. 
But we are also committed to ensuring, through the EU "Fit for 55" program, a multi-sectoral approach that strengthens labor markets and mitigates the impact on our citizens. And this is an essential point, because if we think that the green transition can result in unbearable costs, particularly for the most vulnerable, we condemn it to failure.

Italy intends to direct an extremely significant share of the Italian Climate Fund – whose overall endowment is 4 billion euro – to the African continent. Not, however, through a charitable approach, because Africa does not need charity. It needs to be put in the condition to compete on an equal footing, in order to grow and prosper thanks to the multitude of resources that the continent possesses. A cooperation between equals, rejecting paternalistic and predatory approaches.

Energy is one of the cornerstones of the Mattei Plan for Africa, the cooperation and development plan on which Italy is working with great determination to build mutually beneficial partnerships and support the energy security of African and Mediterranean Nations. And we are also, in this way, working towards becoming a strategic hub for clean energy, by developing the necessary infrastructure and generation capacity, in our homeland and in the Mediterranean. 

After the Rome Conference on Development and Migration, two new financial instruments were established to address the root causes of migration, combat human traffickers, and guarantee the right not to emigrate. 

We will continue to support the Green Climate Fund also in the next cycle, and as I’ve already announced yesterday, we will contribute with 100 million euro to the new loss and damage fund, strongly pursued by the Emirates’ Presidency. 

And all these priorities will also be at the heart of Italy's G7 Presidency, in 2024.

I want to thank, in conclusion, the Emirati Chair and Sultan Al Jaber and express my congratulations for a COP28 of absolute success. 

We are all aware, colleagues, that many of the efforts we are making today will likely produce visible results when many of us no longer have roles of responsibility. But doing it anyway – not for ourselves but for those who will come after us – defines the value of our leadership. 

As Warren Buffet wrote, "There is someone sitting in the shade today because someone else planted a tree long ago."

Thank you.

***

Cari colleghi, cari ospiti,

Questo Vertice, per il quale ringrazio la leadership degli Emirati Arabi Uniti, rappresenta un momento chiave nel nostro impegno per contenere l'aumento della temperatura globale entro 1,5°C.
Siamo arrivati al primo Global Stocktake e, sebbene ci siano ragioni per essere ottimisti, l'obiettivo rimane lontano. La COP28 deve essere un punto di svolta. Siamo chiamati a stabilire una direzione chiara e a mettere in atto azioni concrete - ragionevoli ma concrete - come la triplicazione della capacità di generazione di energia rinnovabile nel mondo entro il 2030 ed il raddoppiamento del tasso globale di miglioramento annuale dell'efficienza energetica, come indicato anche dalla Presidenza.

L'Italia sta facendo la sua parte nel processo di decarbonizzazione, e lo fa in modo pragmatico, ovvero con un approccio tecnologicamente neutrale, privo di inutili radicalismi. La mia idea è che se vogliamo essere efficaci, se vogliamo una sostenibilità ambientale che non comprometta la sfera economica e sociale, ciò che dobbiamo perseguire è una transizione ecologica e non ideologica.

Stiamo gradualmente sostituendo la produzione di energia a carbone con le energie rinnovabili, abbiamo adottato un nuovo Piano per l'Energia e il Clima e stiamo dedicando risorse e attenzione ai biocarburanti, tanto da essere tra i fondatori della Global Biofuels Alliance. Nel contesto europeo, abbiamo tracciato un percorso per raggiungere la neutralità carbonica entro il 2050 e per ridurre le emissioni di almeno il 55% entro il 2030. 
Ma siamo anche impegnati a garantire, attraverso il programma UE "Fit for 55", un approccio multisettoriale che rafforzi i mercati del lavoro e attenui l'impatto sui nostri cittadini. E questo è un punto fondamentale, perché se pensiamo che la transizione verde possa comportare costi insostenibili, soprattutto per i più vulnerabili, la condanniamo al fallimento.

L'Italia intende destinare una quota estremamente significativa del Fondo italiano per il clima - la cui dotazione complessiva è di 4 miliardi di euro - al continente africano. Ma non attraverso un approccio di beneficenza, perché l'Africa non ha bisogno di beneficenza. Ha bisogno di essere messo nelle condizioni di competere su un piano di parità, per crescere e prosperare grazie alla moltitudine di risorse di cui il continente dispone. Una cooperazione tra pari, rifiutando approcci paternalistici e predatori.

L'energia è uno dei cardini del Piano Mattei per l'Africa, il piano di cooperazione e sviluppo a cui l'Italia sta lavorando con grande determinazione per costruire partenariati reciprocamente vantaggiosi e sostenere la sicurezza energetica delle Nazioni africane e mediterranee. In questo modo stiamo anche lavorando per diventare un polo strategico per l'energia pulita, sviluppando le infrastrutture e capacità di generazione necessarie, nella nostra Patria e nel Mediterraneo.

Dopo la Conferenza di Roma su Sviluppo e Migrazioni, sono stati istituiti due nuovi strumenti finanziari per affrontare le cause profonde della migrazione, combattere i trafficanti di esseri umani e garantire il diritto a non emigrare.

Continueremo a sostenere il Green Climate Fund anche nel prossimo ciclo e, come ho già annunciato ieri, contribuiremo con 100 milioni di euro al nuovo loss and damage fund, fortemente voluto dalla Presidenza emiratina.

E tutte queste priorità saranno anche al centro della Presidenza italiana del G7, nel 2024.

In conclusione, voglio ringraziare la Presidenza emiratina e Sultan Al Jaber ed esprimo le mie congratulazioni per una COP28 di assoluto successo.

Siamo tutti consapevoli, colleghi, che molti degli sforzi che stiamo facendo oggi probabilmente produrranno risultati visibili quando molti di noi non avranno più ruoli di responsabilità. Ma farlo comunque, non per noi stessi ma per coloro che verranno dopo di noi, definisce il valore della nostra leadership.

Come scrisse Warren Buffet, “C'è qualcuno seduto all'ombra oggi perché qualcun altro ha piantato un albero molto tempo fa".

Grazie.

[Traduzione di cortesia]

Dear colleagues, dear guests,
let me first of all thank the Presidency for the invitation to this important event, and for its leadership’s firm engagement – including with the Declaration we are adopting today – to an issue on which Italy has a long-standing commitment. As the United Nations recognized by choosing to host the headquarters of the UN food system agencies in Rome, and as demonstrated by the recent UN Food Systems Summit that was held in July in Rome. 
And it couldn’t be otherwise, for Italy’s food system is among the most advanced and renowned across the world. I am thinking, for example, about the principles of the Mediterranean Diet, that do not only belong to Italy and the Mediterranean; they belong to all the world. We are aware of how precious our know-how can be for others as well, so that food security for all is also one of the strategic priorities of our foreign policy. 
This is why a very substantial share of our Mattei Plan for Africa – which is a project based on collaboration on an equal footing with the African continent – is directed to the agricultural sector. But our aim is not to do charity, for my idea is that Africa doesn’t need charity, it needs something different, which is the possibility to compete on a level playing field. So, we need to help the continent prosper on its own resources, and Africa holds, among other things, 65% of the planet’s arable land, which – with adequate technology and adequate training – can ensure self-sufficient food production and economic growth. 

And I will say more. We are not only firmly engaged on food security, we want to be engaged on food safety. The challenge we have is not only to ensure food for all, it is to ensure healthy food for all. We don’t want to consider food production as fuel for survival, we want to consider it as a means to live healthy lives. 
The role of research is essential in this context, but – I want to state this clearly – not to produce food in laboratories, and perhaps move towards a world in which the rich are able to eat natural food while synthetic food is directed to the poor, with impacts on health that we cannot predict. This is not the world I want to see. 
The world I want to see is a world in which the bond that has united land and humankind, work and nutrition across millennia is preserved, and research is able to help optimize that bond. Ensuring disease-resistant crops resilient to climate change, but also devising ever more modern and innovative agricultural techniques, able to improve both quality and quantity of production and reduce negative externalities such as excessive water consumption. That is what we are engaged in.
Adequate resources must obviously be dedicated to the climate-food systems nexus. This is among the aims of the 4-billion-euro Italian Climate Fund, of which 70% will be directed towards the African countries.  
We are also contributing to the loss and damage fund with EUR 100 million to help achieve the goals of this COP28.
Finally, these challenges will also be at the heart of the Italian G7 Presidency next year, where we intend to foster innovative instruments, building on the achievements of COP28, starting with the important Declaration we sign today. Thank you.