The Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM) participated and actively contributed, as Observer, to the 21st Conference of the Parties of the UNEP/MAP Barcelona Convention, which took place in Naples, Italy, from 2 to 5 December 2019, under the Presidency of Italian Ministry of Environment.
The Conference gathered Ministers and senior officials representing all Contracting Parties – 21 Mediterranean States, and more than 300 participants, including civil society and intergovernmental organizations, to take stock of the most pressing environmental challenges for the Mediterranean basin with a specific focus on Marine Litter, Blue Economy, Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and Biodiversity and Climate Change.
The Ministerial Segment of COP21 opened on 4 December 2019 with statements from H.E. Mr. Sergio Costa, Minister for Environment, Land and Sea Protection of Italy, and Ms. Joyce Msuya, Deputy Executive Director of UNEP.
Hon. Gennaro Migliore, Member of the Italian Delegation to PAM, represented the Assembly at the Ministerial session. In his intervention, Hon. Migliore highlighted the extreme vulnerability of the Mediterranean, widely recognised as a climate hot spot and where efforts to limit the raising temperature at 1.5 degree above pre-industrial levels in the Mediterranean region have already failed.
He referred to three main issues, namely the failure of governments in implementing their international commitments on the protection of the environment; the need for specific policies to guide enterprises and the private sector to become more green oriented; the worrying anti-scientific movements, which require more awareness to address the severe environmental threats facing our region to be contrasted.
He further stressed the need of serious national legislations, policies and regulations, combined with regional and subnational actions to implement the Paris agreement, and reaffirmed the crucial role of National and international parliaments in these efforts.
The Naples Declaration was fully adopted as a strong political support to the UNEP/MAP mandate in four priority areas, namely marine litter, the blue economy, biodiversity and marine protected areas, and climate change
On the margins of the Conference, Hon. Migliore participated and actively contributed in the side event “the Mediterranean Sea. Sustainable Tourism, marine protected areas, #PlasticFree” organized by Univerde Foundation, praising the role of young generations in advocating for climate change action through social media.