Governo Italiano
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The establishment of the former “Centre for Climate and Sustainable Development of Africa – ACSD”, today “Rome Centre for Sustainable Development” was born from a proposal presented by the Italian government to the G7 of the Ministers of the Environment in 2017, with the aim to facilitate the exchange of information among the G7 countries on initiatives in Africa, to increase the effectiveness, synergies and complementarity of the action to achieve the objectives set by the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda.
During 2020, also on the basis of the guidelines contained in the political priorities, in the General Directive and in the “Guidance act on international environmental cooperation”, Ministerial Decree 170/2020, an intense debate was carried out with the top management of the UNDP aimed at strengthening and adapting the mandate of the Centre so as to ensure an effective and optimal role in the context of MASE-UNDP cooperation.
The renewed reference framework is the one established by the 2030 Agenda (and its 17 SDGs), the Addis Ababa Agenda, the SAMOA Pathway and the Paris Agreement, in a geographical context that reflects the new priorities of the MASE taking into account the geographical areas in which UNDP is active.
As presented in the Vision Statement, the centre in its new name of Rome Centre for Sustainable Development (RCSD) performs the following functions:
- facilitates the connection between the G7 countries and the MASE-UNDP Rome Centre;
- promotes wider partnerships with key players on the international agenda for sustainable development;
- stimulates cooperation between institutions and specialized research centres in Italy and in other parts of the world to build capacity;
- provides input for the elaboration of global UNDP policies;
- offers the bases of knowledge, experience and support services in relation to specific cooperation activities.
The strategic lines of action are presented in the 2021-23 Strategic Framework (Draft Strategic Framework 2021-23), the which illustrates the mandate of the Centre, the thematic priorities, possible areas of innovation (emerging key topic is sustainable finance), priority areas geographical area, partnerships, activities present and planned in alignment with the content of the Vision and the steps to be implemented for the 2021 Work Plan (currently being finalized).
In its broader framework, the strategic framework for the Centre is articulated on three interrelated strategic pushes: climate change, sustainable development and nature protection.
For the year 2021, the definition of activities is closely related to the calendar of international events in the context of the Rio Conventions and to contribute to a coordinated and strategic outcome of the negotiations, in line with emerging issues, the priorities of the G20 and the initiatives in course and areas of particular interest for the Italian Presidency of the G20, the Italian co-presidency of CoP 26, the United Nations pre-Summit on food systems.
