Mauro Petriccione, who has headed the European Commission’s DG Climate since 2018, has died. The news was confirmed on Tuesday, August 23, by messages from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and Vice President Frans Timmermans.

Petriccione was a leading figure in shaping European climate policies, admired internationally for his professional and human qualities, as evidenced by the messages that are being paid tribute to him in these hours by many leading figures in European and national politics.

CMCC honours Mauro Petriccione, who used to consider the contribution of climate science essential in building effective strategies to address the climate crisis. Petriccione generously brought his expertise and vision on the future of European climate policies to the event Foresight Dialogues, the inauguration of CMCC’s headquarters in Lecce, where he gave a speech on topics that have been crucial in the work of the DG Climate that he headed, such as the ambition of climate targets, investment in knowledge, and the tools needed to achieve a just and equitable transition.

“We often hear that we have ten years to solve the problem [of climate change],” – Mauro Petriccione said in his speech.
“That’s not true. We have a few decades. But we have ten years to equip ourselves with the tools to do it. We need to accelerate the energy transition and invest in technologies, business models, and individual behaviours that can go in this direction. We need investment in knowledge, both scientific and applied. The ingredients are: zero-emission energy, near-zero-emission industry, diverse land use, and clean mobility. Climate sciences keep on advancing and tell us that it is getting worse. But, on the other hand, there is a gap between the accelerating impacts and the timing of decisions. The only tool to shorten these timescales is scientific knowledge, which is essential to make it clear to politicians and administrators that there is no time to waste.”

Video of the full speech is available at this link. (video in Italian language)