Rossella Muroni, 41, is the new president of Legambiente, Italy's leading environmental organisation. The decision was made by 900 delegates during the tenth national congress, which concluded on Sunday 13 December after three days of discussion, in Milan. The new director general is Stefano Ciafani, Edoardo Zanchini has been confirmed as vice president, and Nunzio Cirino Groccia is the administrator. A young but experienced team – Muroni had been director general – ready to face the next four years of environmental challenges and complete a peaceful revolution, already under way, towards a sustainable and circular economy. In her first interview as national president of Legambiente, here is what she had to say.

A woman, and young. Two characteristics that in Italy can bring difficulties and sacrifices. Is it possible to build a career and a family?

The problem is not making sacrifices, but finding the strength to change the patterns and free yourself from other people's judgement. It is possible to love and care for your children while also believing deeply in your work. You just need to know how to interpret and value being a woman – changing the dominant model also means changing the language.

Is there a woman who has inspired you and contributed to your success?

The first thing women need to do is stop trying to be men; we must assert our difference. There is no particular role model that has inspired me. Of course, I could name Rita Levi Montalcini or Samantha Cristoforetti, but they chose to dedicate their lives almost exclusively to their profession. I think that in this respect too, women should not work towards becoming an icon – it is more important that they work as a team to contribute, each in her own field, to changing the patterns.

Can you give us an example?

Women – and I speak from personal experience – I believe are better at combining the everyday and the concrete with ideals and values. Our language, our storytelling, passes through concreteness. Having to look after others almost by necessity, being at the centre of the family, has given us a method and a sensitivity, a centrality that is inevitably forced to reach compromises with a broader vision. We have one extra secret ingredient compared to men.

How will Legambiente change with you at the helm? What will the main challenges of 2016 be?

I would like to make associative engagement increasingly open to young people, so that they do not have to leave their homes, the places they love, to build a future. For Legambiente the new challenge is to create green economy projects at local level, bringing together political organisation with the realisation of grassroots experiences that give young people the opportunity to take part in person.

Rossella Muroni @RossellaMuroni

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Oggi sono venuti al congresso anche i beagle che abbiamo liberato da green hill! @Legambiente @V_CogliatiDezza

♥ 7 12 dic 2015 · Apri su X →

Do you think Legambiente is ready to open up to the sphere of animal rights?

Yes, the outgoing president and I signed a political motion at the congress called Spazio agli animali, because Legambiente too must change and open up to new cultural approaches. I think the time has come to take care of animals for what they are – living beings, independent of humans, who have no less right than humans to live well on Earth. Our approach will not be an ethical or ideological one; I believe it is possible to talk about animals in a different way, starting from concrete actions, such as the experience of Green Hill in Montichiari or the cat shelter Mondo gatto in Milan. Perhaps it is from there, from concrete gestures, that Legambiente must start, alongside denouncing intensive farming operations that damage the environment and the health of the Earth and of humans.

So can we expect animals to find a place on the homepage?

Yes, bringing animals onto the homepage is one of our objectives (as well as being a great slogan).

Cop 21. What is your view of the Paris Agreement?

The agreement exists, and that in itself is already a victory for civil society, which asked politics not to betray public expectations once again. It is an agreement that also shows how the word "climate" is synonymous with "peace," because the model of negotiations that led to a text agreed upon by the international community can be used to resolve other issues too.

Who will be responsible for monitoring that the promises are kept?

The agreement needs to be watched over year after year, step by step. Legambiente and the other organisations will keep politicians on their toes. For example, it seems to me a positive sign that Matteo Renzi's government has renounced extending oil drilling in the Adriatic Sea by restoring the twelve-mile limit. You cannot approve projects of this scale by decree without respecting the will of the citizens. Renzi has acknowledged that there is no future in oil drilling. Fossil fuels are a legacy of the twentieth century; renewable energies are democratic and distributed across the territory.