COP28 President-Designate meets with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to discuss ambitious, pragmatic climate action ahead of COP28

• Prime Minister Giorgia and COP28 President Sultan Al Jaber met in Rome today, reaffirming their commitment to work together to deliver a successful outcome at COP28.
• In keeping with COP28 Action Agenda, their shared vision calls for climate action across advancing the energy transition, climate finance and improving lives, underscored by full inclusivity.
• Meeting builds on, close relations between the leadership of both countries to strengthen bilateral ties.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and COP28 President Sultan Al Jaber met in Rome today where they held discussions on delivering ambitious climate action outcomes at COP28. This builds on the UAE-Italy Declaration of Intent on enhancing cooperation within the COP28 and climate action, which was signed in March this year.

During the meeting, the COP 28 President-Designate Dr. Sultan Al Jaber extended the best wishes of the President and Prime Minister of the UAE to the Prime Minister of Italy and the people of Italy. Dr. Sultan emphasized the urgency to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, ensuring that 1.5-degrees Celsius remains within reach. They discussed the importance of delivering on COP28’s Climate Action Agenda to help accelerate global decarbonization efforts.

Dr. Al Jaber thanked Prime Minister Meloni for championing climate action, including scaling-up clean energy while decarbonizing the current energy system. The COP28 Presidency is advocating for the world to triple the world’s renewable energy capacity by 2030, while comprehensively eliminating emissions from all energy sources.

Amidst the meeting, additional discussion was held on the importance of strengthening adaptation and resilience measures worldwide, including through investments in food and water security, health, nature-based solutions and the protection of natural ecosystems. Prime Minister Meloni and Dr. Al Jaber also discussed fixing global finance, which is urgently needed.

“We reaffirm our commitment to strengthening the bilateral relationship between the UAE and Italy. Our collaborative efforts within the framework of COP28 and climate action are crucial in addressing the pressing challenges of climate change and building a sustainable future for all. Together, we can make a lasting impact on the global stage,” said Dr. Sultan Al Jaber.

The leaders also discussed the importance of delivering the Global Stocktake to advance global climate action. Both noted that the Global Stocktake is critical towards addressing the issues and the solutions required in the global climate effort.