Policy Updates

On August 14, 2025, the resumed 5^th session of the INC-5.2]{title="Fifth Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee"} in Geneva, Switzerland, concluded without reaching a consensus on a legally binding treaty to end plastic pollution, though UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen and UN Secretary-General António Guterres noted that all member states agreed to continue negotiations.

Negotiations to establish a legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution concluded without an agreement. UN officials, including UNEP Executive Director Andersen and UN Secretary-General Guterres, acknowledged the outcome but emphasized that all countries remained committed to the process. The talks, which included delegates from 183 nations and representatives from over 400 CSOs faced significant differences on key issues.

The US delegation supported an agreement that allows for tailored, country-specific solutions to reduce plastic pollution while opposing prescriptive, top-down regulations. INC Chair Luis Vayas Valdivieso and INC Executive Secretary Jyoti Mathur-Filipp reaffirmed their dedication to moving forward and achieving a future agreement.

From June 9-13, 2025, the 3^rd UN Ocean Conference was hosted in Nice, France, ending with over 170 countries adopting a joint declaration committing to urgent measures for ocean conservation and sustainable use.

The event featured 55 heads of state and government as well as upwards of 15,000 participants from civil society, business, and science. The Nice Ocean Action Plan, combining this declaration with voluntary pledges, was said to mark renewed global political will for marine protection.

Key commitments included:

• A European Commission pledge of EUR1 billion (US$1.1 billion) for ocean conservation;
• A pledge by French Polynesia to create the world’s largest marine protected area;
• A pledge by New Zealand of US$52 million for Pacific Ocean governance;
• A pledge by Italy of EUR6.5 million (US$7 million) to strengthen Coast Guard surveillance in marine protected areas and on oil platforms;
• A pledge by Spain to establish five new marine protected areas, aiming to safeguard 25% of its marine territory;
• A pledge by Germany of EUR100 million (US$115 million) for Baltic and North Sea munitions clearance;
• The launch of a Coral Bond for reef conservation by Indonesia, WB, and partners.

37 countries, led by Panama and Canada, launched the High Ambition Coalition for a Quiet Ocean, while Canada pledged US$9 million to the Ocean Risk and Resilience Alliance. UN agencies and global partners also launched a co-design process for One Ocean Finance to unlock billions in new financing from ocean-dependent industries and blue economy sectors.

Nineteen more states ratified the Marine Biodiversity Treaty, bringing total signatures to 136 and ratifications to 50 states, plus the EU. Ten more ratifications are needed for the Agreement to enter into force. The 4^th UN Ocean Conference, in 2028, will be co-hosted by Chile and the Republic of Korea.

On May 16, 2025, Italian Minister of Environment and Energy Security Gilberto Pichetto Fratin announced the renewal and expansion of Italy's financial commitment to the Youth4Climate initiative at the Turin International Book Fair 2025, this renewed funding will support 50 new youth-led climate actions globally through the 2025 Call for Solutions.

Co-led by the Italian Ministry of Environment and Energy Security and the UNDP, Youth4Climate has already supported over 100 projects in developing economies such as India and Colombia. The initiative also features a digital platform with over 25,000 young climate leaders, offering learning and collaboration opportunities.

Youth4Climate is recognized internationally, including in the 2024 G7 Leaders’ Communiqué, as a model for youth engagement in climate policy. As the world prepares for COP30 in Brazil, the initiative exemplifies intergenerational cooperation and Italy’s commitment to fostering innovative, youth-driven climate solutions.

On November 25, 2024, AOI, the network of the major NGOs working in international cooperation, published a report marking one year since the official launch of the Mattei Plan,.

The report highlighted the Mattei Plan's major issues:

• Resource constraints: The EUR5.5 billion (US$6 billion) allocated to the Mattei Plan are mainly derived from existing funds. AOI denounces the lack of additional investment and recalls the importance of allocating significant resources to address African challenges;
• Assistance reduction: In 2023, Italy cut bilateral funds for African countries by 32% and humanitarian assistance by 36%, starkly contrasting the continent's growing needs; and
• Migration: AOI  called the idea that more development leads to less migration into question, pointing out that migration does not necessarily decrease correlated to economic growth. Instead, the organization recommended promoting regular and well-managed migration pathways and highlighted diasporas and remittances as tools for development.

AOI outlined recommendations to improve the implementation of the Mattei Plan, including:

• Place local communities at the center of development policy;
• Implement a transformative approach to addressing gender inequality, including promoting the rights of women and girls, with a focus on SRHR and countering GBV and harmful practices such as child marriage and forced genital cutting;
• Invest in renewable energy, reducing dependence on fossil fuels;
• Improve access to clean water and sanitation, as they are crucial for health and sustainable development;
• Invest in youth training and employment;
• Ensure transparency in managing financial resources and avoid actions perceived as neocolonialist or predatory; and
• Reinforce the pivotal role of the Italian CSOs representing a strategic bridge between Italy and Africa.

On November 13, 2024, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni emphasized Italy's commitment to advancing nuclear fusion at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan.

In her speech, Meloni highlighted the need for a balanced energy mix to support the transition process, stating that all available technologies should be utilized. She emphasized the importance of renewable energy sources and the role of gas, biofuels, hydrogen, CO2 capture, and nuclear fusion.

Meloni underscored the importance of intermediate steps, stating that fourth-generation fission reactors should be considered when pursuing fusion. Meloni said Italy has already allocated more than EUR4 billion (US$4.3 billion) to the Climate Fund in Africa and will continue to support initiatives such as the Green Climate Fund,the Loss and Damage Fund, and continue to promote the involvement of MDBs.

On June 20, 2024, the G7's Accountability Working Group released the G7 Apulia Progress Report 2024: Advancing Sustainable Development in Africa.

The annual Progress Report is an accountability tool that monitors the implementation of the development policies adopted by the richest countries in the G7 framework.

The report reviewed progress on G7 development commitments from 2015-2022, showing increased ODA flows to Africa despite regional and global crises. G7 cooperation supported key areas such as economic transformation, food security, climate resilience, and gender equality. Significant initiatives included the African Continental Free Trade Area, the Global Shield against Climate Risks, and the Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa. The report emphasized the need for enhanced G7 cooperation with African partners, especially in addressing economic and climate challenges.

The Italian G7 Presidency selected Africa as the focus for the Report, recognizing the continent's significant potential for sustainable development and its crucial role as a partner in advancing progress towards achieving the SDGs, Agenda 2063, and the Paris Agreement.

On May 23-25, 2024, the G7 Ministers of Finance met at a summit in Stresa, Italy, where the ministers voiced support for contributions to the IDA, WHO, Gavi, and the Global Fund in the resulting communiqué.

The G7 ministers supported efforts towards a successful 21^st replenishment of the IDA by the end of 2024 through an ambitious policy and financing package. Notably, they did not give a concrete signal that the critical US$100 billion threshold requested by the World Bank will be crossed, nor any indication of the US$120 billion expected by African leaders.

The ministers reaffirmed their dedication to strengthening the governance and finance of the global health architecture and voiced support for refinancing processes of several GHIs, such as Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the WHO, and the Global Fund, and expressed support for the Pandemic Fund. The communiqué called on the donor community to coordinate efforts and increase investments in global health in line with their capacities to ensure sustainable funding and maximize the impact of available resources.

Following the summit, the C7 pointed out the G7's lack of ambition and financial commitment to international development, including climate adaptation. International civil society organizations criticized the lack of any reference to allocating SDRs to global solidarity.

On May 14-15, 2024, the C7 summit was held at the UN FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy, organized by the Italian Civil Society Coalition that led, coordinated, and moderated the C7 2024 process.

Approximately 400 global representatives took part in the event, as well as international decision-makers, including FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu, Italian G7 sherpa Ambassador Elisabetta Belloni, Cardinal, President of the Italian Episcopal Conference, Pope’s envoy for the Russian-Ukrainian conflict Matteo Maria Zuppi, and Director of the UN SDG Action Campaign Marina Ponti.

The official C7 communiqué that listed the international civil society recommendation to the G7’s Leaders around seven key issues was released at the event, which included:

• Economic justice and transformation;
• Climate, energy transformation, and environmental justice;
• Global health;
• Principled humanitarian assistance;
• Peace, common security, and nuclear disarmament;
• Human mobility and migration; and
• Food justice and food systems transformation.

On April 30, 2024, it was announced that, as a part of the G7 Finance Track, the Italian MEF and ISTAT will host the seventh edition of the OECD World Forum on Wellbeing, entitled Strengthening Wellbeing Approaches for a Changing World, in Rome from November 4-6, 2024.

The event is part of the G7 Finance Track promoted by the Italian government. The Forum will be structured into five round tables that will discuss topics, including:

• The development of policy frameworks oriented towards equitable and sustainable well-being;
• The measurement and statistical methodology, as well as the analysis of well-being indicators;
• Climate change;
• Technological innovation and the use of artificial intelligence; and
• The next steps in the well-being agenda.

Other topics to be addressed include gender inequalities, inequalities and poverty, physical and mental health, and the aging population.

On February 26, 2024, AICS and the Italian Ministry of Environment and Energy Security entered a Collaboration Agreement, totaling EUR982 million (US$1 billion), to finance pathways of transformative promotion and awareness-raising for sustainable development and global citizenship through 2027.

The funding is intended to support the experimentation of collaborative modalities among different institutional, research, and non-state actors.

The partnership was described as pivotal to fully implementing Italy's National Strategy for Sustainable Development and the Strategy for Education for Global Citizenship.