Baku, Nov 13 (EFE).- Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni advocated the use of nuclear energy as an alternative to fossil fuels, given the absence of other practical options, during her speech on Wednesday at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) held in Baku.
“Currently there is no single alternative to fossil fuel supply. We must have a realistic global outlook,” Meloni said.
“We need a balanced energy mix to enhance the transition process. We must use all available technologies. Not only renewables, but also gas, biofuels, hydrogen, CO2 capture and, in future, nuclear fusion which could produce clean, safe and limitless energy,” she added.
Meloni stressed that Italy “is at the forefront on nuclear fusion” and organized the first meeting of the World Fusion Energy Group, sponsored by the International Atomic Energy Agency, during its presidency of the G7,” even though in Italy there are no nuclear power plants after they were closed in 1987 after a referendum.
“It is equally a priority that decarbonisation takes into consideration our production and social systems’ sustainability,” she said.
“We intend to relaunch this technology which could be a game-changer as it can turn energy from a geopolitical weapon into a widely accessible resource,” the prime minister added.
She further pointed out that a “too ideological and not pragmatic” approach would not be successful and that “technology and technological neutrality was the need of the hour.
In her speech, Meloni remarked that the previous climate summit in Dubai set “ambitious goals” but “reaching these goals requires everyone’s cooperation – starting with the major emitters of greenhouse gasses – and adequate financial support.”
This, in turn, would require sharing responsibilities, overcoming divisions between developed nations and emerging and developing economies, she underlined.
In this regard, the prime minister announced that Italy was allocating a large amount of the more-than-four-billion-euro budget of their Climate Fund to Africa, and would continue to support initiatives such as the Green Climate Fund and the Loss and Damage Fund.
“It is up to us to determine whether this will be a success or a failure. We know that we may not personally benefit from the results of the efforts we are making. But this is not the important thing. I’m a mother, and as a mother nothing gives me more satisfaction than when I work for policies that will enable my daughter and her generation to live in a better place,” she concluded. EFE
ccg/sc
