STOCKHOLM, JUNE 2 – Today in Sweden the Secretary-General spoke at the opening of the Stockholm+50 conference. He said that, today, global well-being is in jeopardy, in large part because we have not kept our promises on the environment. As we have become more populous and more prosperous, our environmental footprint has become unbearably heavy.
The Secretary-General added that we know what to do to address the crises that our planet faces, and, increasingly, we have the tools to do it. But we still lack the leadership and cooperation. Guterres appealed to leaders in all sectors to lead the world out of this mess. He called on G20 governments to dismantle coal infrastructure, with a full phase-out by 2030 in OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries and 2040 for all others. He called on all financial actors to abandon fossil fuel finance and invest in renewable energy. The Secretary-General added that we must place true value on the environment and go beyond Gross Domestic Product as a measure of human progress and well-being. “Let us not forget that when we destroy a forest, we are creating GDP. When we overfish, we are creating GDP. GDP is not a way to measure richness in the present situation in the world.”
On Italy’s behalf the Undersecretary for the Ecological Transition, Ilaria fontana, attended the conference, as well as the Mayor of Florence, Dario Nardella. Also as president of Eurocities, Nardella spoke on the panel “Engaging communities in shaping green solutions” and brought the example of Florence in engaging citizens in listening marathons and other participatory initiatives that are proving to be key to achieving the 2030 environmental sustainability and climate neutrality goals. “A strategy,” said Mayor Nardella, “that sees Florence among the 100 climate-neutral cities selected by the European Commission, a milestone in the shared journey of the city and its inhabitants to help save the planet”. (@OnuItalia)
