Draghi promised to speak up for climate funding at G20, activist says

MILAN (Reuters) – Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi promised activists he would speak up at the G20 summit in Rome to accelerate the pledge of $100 billion per year for vulnerable nations to mitigate the impact of climate change, Ugandan delegate Vanessa Nakate said.

Nakate, Sweden’s Greta Thunberg and Italy’s Martina Comparelli met Draghi in a private meeting on Thursday, before the premier and president of the G20 spoke in front of thousands of other activists at the Youth4Climate conference in Milan.

“I hope Draghi will fulfill his promise,” Nakate said on the sidelines of the conference.

Italy, which is co-hosting the COP26 U.N. climate summit in November, also holds the G20 presidency.

(Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari, writing by Agnieszka Flak, editing by Giulia Segreti)