In a meeting held on Sunday at the Department of Environment (DoE) headquarters in Tehran’s Pardisan Park, department head Masoumeh Ebtekar signed a memorandum of understanding with Gian Luca Galletti, Italian minister of environment, to promote increased cooperation and communication between Iran and Italy in their efforts to protect the environment.
The MoU is an extension of an agreement signed in November 2014 between the parties during Ebtekar’s trip to Italy.
The agreement obliges both nations to help with identification and implementation of Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action (NAMA) based on the objective and principles of the Climate Change Convention and Kyoto Protocol. Facilitation of technology transfer is also covered in the memorandum.
They will also collaborate closely on initiatives to protect biodiversity and marine environment; both of which are issues plaguing the two countries.
Galletti and Ebtekar emphasized that environmental issues such as climate change do not recognize borders and a global approach is needed to effectively tackle them. All countries must unite against the challenges threatening life on Earth.
In response to Financial Tribune’s question regarding Italy’s plan to reduce CO2 emissions without hurting its economy, Galletti pointed to the UN Climate Change Conference to be held in December in Paris and said, “All countries, including Italy, are supposed to present their solutions in full detail at the conference.”
The goal is to reduce global temperature by 2 degrees Celsius; failure will result in calamity, he stressed.
Galletti said a document is to be signed in Paris, outlining measures to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, such as CO2, by imposing restrictions on the energy and transportation industries.
