Cities must lead the charge against the climate crisis, especially now that national and international leadership is lacking. With these words, Beppe Sala opened the proceedings of the third Observatory on the Milan lifestyle.
The participation of Milan mayor Beppe Sala in the third Osservatorio Milano sostenibile had a dual purpose: on one hand, to present the model Milan intends to adopt between now and 2030 to become a city that is attentive to the quality of life of its citizens, starting with the environment. On the other, to report on what emerged from the global summit of the organisation of mayors fighting the climate crisis: C40.
"For Milan," Sala stated, "it is important to remain in this virtuous environment of mayors who believe that the environmental crisis must be tackled in a genuine, operational way. The debate is focusing on issues related to the city's future development — that is, how mobility and energy systems will change." The C40 World Summit took place in Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, from 9 to 12 October, featuring figures of the calibre of founder and former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, former United States vice president and climate activist Al Gore, and the youngest member of the US Congress, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who recently proposed a green plan called the Green New Deal.
According to the mayor, there is also a need to fill the leadership vacuum at a global level — "of national politicians who are genuinely convinced that the environmental issue must be addressed. That is why mayors must play their part; they want to be a constructive driving force to push politics in that direction."
Turning to the local context, Sala explained how Milan 2030 is "a plan that aims to envision a different city, built around urban development, a mobility system and green spaces. It is like a table with three legs: two are not enough to keep it balanced. We do not deny the need to be able to build, because for young people, for example, it is not easy to find rental housing at low prices. But we must build with common sense and without eliminating green spaces."
On 16 October, the Osservatorio Milano sostenibile 2019 was presented at the Triennale di Milano. Produced by LifeGate in collaboration with Eumetra MR, the survey was born in the wake of the national Observatory on the sustainable lifestyle and focuses specifically on the city of Milan, monitoring citizens' awareness, attitudes and behaviour towards sustainability. By surveying a representative sample of 800 people, it emerged that Milanese residents are on average better informed and more attentive than their fellow citizens nationally. Overall, 75 per cent of citizens feel personally involved in sustainability.
Following the presentation of the data in the presence of Mayor Beppe Sala, a range of guests took to the stage — diverse in background and expertise, but united by a concrete commitment to the environment and society: Lisa Casali, manager at Pool Ambiente; Luca Morari, vice president Southern Europe at Ricola and chief executive of Divita; Andrea Farinet, president of the Socialing Institute; Stefano Virgilio, communications director of Opel Italia; Ambrogio Beccaria, ocean navigator; Filippo Gallizia, general director of Geomagworld; Rossana Orlandi, gallerist; and finally the two artists Helidon Xhixha and Giacomo "Jack" Braglia, creators of the work "The twin bottles: message in a bottle", exhibited for the occasion at Triennale Milano.
The research is under the patronage of the European Commission, the Ministry of the Environment, Regione Lombardia, the Comune di Milano, Assolombarda and Confcommercio, and was made possible by the contribution of Aimo Room, Collistar, Geomagworld, Gruppo Helsinn, Just Eat, Opel, Ricola, Visitas and Lavazza. Share your thoughts on the Observatory data with us, using the hashtag #MiSoste19.