Paving the way for COP26: recent developments and opportunities

While the manifold impacts of the coronavirus crisis have affected domestic environmental policymaking and climate talks across the world, current circumstances even more vividly illustrate the greater speed and depth of the changes needed to fight climate change, whose impacts are unevenly distributed. In a critical year for climate diplomacy and action, 2021 presents an opportunity to kick-start a green and inclusive economic recovery and to support low-carbon development models across the world.

The Italian-led G20 and the November COP 26 negotiations – hosted by the UK in collaboration with Italy – are of particular significance to pursue global coordination on the most urgent questions – from raising global climate ambition to delivering on climate finance and building resilience. Although progress has been made on many fronts since the adoption of the landmark Paris Agreement in 2015, this has not been fast enough and part of the Paris rulebook is still to be discussed in the upcoming COP26 agenda.

The purpose of the event is to discuss with Minister Roberto Cingolani and international experts the main findings of the research work carried out by IAI. A first session will be dedicated to the prospects for green growth in the multilateral setting of the G20 and to the open questions to be discussed in Glasgow. A second session will look deeper into the G20 and COP26 role in strengthening climate action in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), whose green recovery is undermined by shortcomings in the development and climate finance systems.