According to the environment minister, the European Green Deal is not up for discussion — if anything, the opposite. He also calls for a further reduction in emissions. “We cannot give in to the logic of the old model”.
Listen to "07. Coronavirus, quando una pandemia apre il decennio più importante per il clima" on Spreaker.
"If not now, when." This could be the borrowed title of the debate animating experts working on the post-Covid-19 world. It is a view confirmed by Environment Minister Sergio Costa during the streaming press conference held on 1 April with journalists specialising in environmental issues. A landmark moment, then, one that must serve as a lever to accelerate and bring to the fore issues related to the circular economy, energy efficiency, waste management and, not least, the reduction of emissions — in short, the European Green Deal.
According to Minister Costa, this is precisely the moment to push forward on energy efficiency and to "incentivise companies and private citizens to shift towards less impactful technological systems, by introducing a tax credit for businesses and an ecobonus for citizens, both no lower than 90 per cent and with capital repayment faster than the current 10 years — I am thinking of around 3–5 years." And to resist the temptation to allow exemptions from pollution limits, especially when it is time to restart. "No exemptions that would put citizens' health at risk," the minister confirmed. "The response at this moment is concrete support for polluting less, through instruments that facilitate the real change in the production paradigm, which can be developed through the ecobonus system."
Waste management at national level is certainly keeping attention high, both as a matter of logistics and transport, and as a strictly health-related issue. Conai (Consorzio nazionale imballaggi) noted just a few days ago that the coronavirus emergency could put the collection of packaging waste at risk, speaking of "unavoidable problems for the entire supply chain managing the separate collection of packaging waste." Costa too explains that "the issue is very serious, because we risk a breakdown in waste management." For this reason "a guideline has been established for the application of article 191 of the environmental code. In this case, regions may, for emergency reasons, modify for 18 months the quantities and volumes of waste accepted within their own region."
While some quarters of the political world are calling for the European Green Deal pact to be cancelled or at least modified, Costa takes the opposite view: "the financial resources remain available. We need instead to understand how we want to rebuild — whether using the old blueprint, or by channelling financial resources to give new impetus aimed at a new paradigm." A green relaunch, therefore, which according to the minister could guarantee three to five jobs for every job that existed in the pre-Covid-19 situation. "We cannot give in to the logic of the old model." During the live broadcast with LifeGate the minister explains that "Poland is one of the countries that uses more coal than almost anyone, but the country is supported by an EU fund that provides resources of 7.5 billion euros for the energy transition."
The direction coming from the ministry in Via Cristoforo Colombo is confirmed by the signing of the new decree on end-of-life tyres. Today "we are giving a destination to an average of 400,000 tonnes per year of this type of waste, transforming them into secondary raw materials. This is a decree that the business world has long been waiting for. In two years we have managed to bring two of them home: on end-of-life tyres and absorbent hygiene products."
Confirmation of the possible postponement of the negotiations had already come during the afternoon, from Costa's own words, with official confirmation arriving only late in the evening. Cop 26 will be pushed back to 2021. "This does not, however, mean lowering the level of attention," the minister stresses. "On the contrary, the intention is to maintain high ambition by working through the Green Deal process. Italy is also among those countries that have signed a request to bring forward, by September of this year, the threshold level for emissions cuts set at 40 per cent, to move to 50–55 per cent."
Speaking again to LifeGate he confirms: "We have not halted the negotiations; they are continuing remotely, with the British Environment Minister and Patricia Espinosa to take stock of the situation. A sign that the negotiations are continuing." This is therefore only a postponement. "The preparatory phases have been pushed back to August–October. There is no date yet, but it is better to have a delay and ensure maximum participation, because participation is richness. We do not want to abandon the work, but we need to develop better political thinking." And on relations with other countries he explains that: "The Indian Environment Minister, met just a few days ago, wants to participate in the Agreement and to see Italy as a facilitating country. A choice like this was by no means a foregone conclusion. India has one billion 400 million inhabitants, with an enormous environmental impact. It is beginning to believe in the agreements, and that is certainly no small thing."
