Daily US Times: The climate minister of Italy says he acknowledges the criticism of climate activist Greta Thunberg who accused politicians of “30 years of blah, blah, blah”.
Roberto Cingolani said the Swedish climate activist raised “a serious problem, we were not credible in the past”.
The climate minister criticised those who “want renewable energy ” but do not want “the power station in their back yard”.
Mr Cingolani was speaking as the world’s climate ministers gather in the Italian city of Milan for the final UN talks before COP26 in Glasgow.
The ministers are under pressure to clear the way for their bosses, prime ministers and presidents, who will arrive in Glasgow in early November.
Earlier this week, Ms Greta Thunberg mocked the promises of world leaders in her speech at the Youth4Climate conference in Milan.
She used soundbites from Boris Johnson, the UK Prime Minister, such as “expensive bunny hugging” and “build back better”, to highlight what Ms Thunberg called the “empty words and promises” of politicians.
Mr Cingolani said that, while the activist’s language may have been provocative, but her “message was correct, we didn’t do enough”.
He referred to another activist from Uganda, Vanessa Nakate, 24, who criticised rich countries for failing to provide the funds they promised for poorer countries vulnerable to extreme weather events.
The Italian climate minister said COP26 must “seriously reinforce financial aid” to vulnerable countries, accelerate the phasing out of carbon and coal, and strive to keep global temperatures at the 1.5C threshold.
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