From the sprint on renewables to the acceleration on efficiency and green mobility: young people's proposals for the G7 in Turin

Seven concrete proposals to tackle climate change and build a more sustainable society, starting with the request to accelerate the decarbonisation process by favouring the development of renewable energies. This is the route mapped out by the meeting of Youth 7 (Y7) Climate, Energy and Environment, the official youth engagement group of the G7 in Turin, which took place on Saturday 27 April at the Energy Center of the Politecnico di Torino, in the presence of the Minister for the Environment and Energy Security, Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, the special envoy for Climate Change of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Francesco Corvaro, and the Councillor for Ecological and Digital Transition of the City of Turin, Chiara Foglietta.

The proposals are the result of discussions between the more than one hundred young people of the Young Ambassador Society (YAS), the association that manages the G7 and G20 youth engagement processes for Italy, with institutions and private sector companies to discuss climate, energy and the environment. On the occasion of the G7 Italy 2024, Yas is chairman of Y7 Italy, in collaboration with the Italian G7 Presidency. The Y7 Climate, Energy and Environment event, in line with the priorities of the G7 ministerial, which officially opens on Sunday 28 April with the arrival in the Piedmontese capital of the delegations invited to the summit staged at the Reggia di Venaria, and the themes of Planet Week, thus aims to create a discussion space for young people aged between 18 and 35, where they can meet and work together to propose innovative policies to be presented to the G7 leaders. The participants, about one hundred young people aged between 18 and 35 from all over Italy, were divided into working groups and drew up seven proposals to be shared with the G7 leaders.

"For us young people, the issue of environmental sustainability is a top priority. Climate change is affecting our planet more and more, with serious consequences for the society that will be entrusted to us tomorrow. This is why we ask the institutions to listen to the voice of young people, we can make an important contribution with ideas and proposals,' explained Yas President Alberta Pelino, who shared the document with Minister Pichetto Fratin.

Proposals range from the need to rethink the economic system towards a circular economy, including the promotion of measures to reduce energy consumption, to the need to accelerate the decarbonisation process by favouring the development of renewable energies. They also emphasise the importance of increasing public-private synergies for the energy transition in order to cope with the high investments that are needed. According to Yas, it is also necessary to strengthen innovation funding, especially for companies set up by young people, as well as to ensure constant dialogue with the global South in order to achieve global goals. Then there is the need to renew the education system to prepare young people for green jobs. Finally, the document insists on the implementation of mitigation and adaptation measures to transform cities into carbon neutral zones and to prepare them for climate change, promoting sustainable mobility, reducing land consumption and encouraging urban reforestation.

Other speakers on the day included Patrizia Lombardi, Vice Rector of the Politecnico di Torino for Sustainable Campus and Living Lab, Paolo Gentili, Sustainability Consulting Partner at EY, Nicola Tagliafierro, Head of Sustainability at Enel X Global Retail, Roberto Carnicelli, CEO of Eoliann, Ettore Bompard, Professor at the Department of Energy at the Politecnico di Torino and Marcello Romano, Professor at the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the Politecnico di Torino.