The data emerging from the States general of the green economy are clear: 3.3 million more employed and revenues of 370 billion euros if the focus is on the environment.
To revitalise the country and create more jobs, greater investment is needed in the key environmental sectors. The idea is to view current problems – from the accumulation of plastic in the sea to hydrogeological instability, from urban traffic to land consumption – not merely as emergencies to be solved, but also as opportunities to make Italy a better country with higher-quality employment. This is what emerged during the first day of proceedings of the States general of the green economy, the two-day event on 6 and 7 November that, within Ecomondo, takes stock of the "green" economy in Italy.
The figures contained in the 2018 report on the state of the green economy in Italy provide the main support for this argument. The report was presented on the opening day of the States general by Edo Ronchi, president of the Foundation for Sustainable Development and of the National Council of the green economy. All participants in the opening session of the conference addressed its themes, including Maria Alessandra Gallone (Forza Italia), Andrea Orlando (Partito democratico), Riccardo Pase (Lega), as well as Environment Minister Sergio Costa.
According to the document presented by Ronchi, the country is not only not starting from scratch, but is already a leader in certain areas, such as the circularity rate (equal to 18.5 per cent), which places Italy first in Europe, and the disposal of special waste. Data on organics are also positive, having grown by 20 per cent from 2016 to 2017 and reaching 1.8 million hectares. Less encouraging are the emissions figures, which have started rising again with a slight increase in GDP, along with data on land consumption (a full 15 hectares are wasted per day) and illegal construction (in the south this reaches as high as 50 per cent). The good news, however, is that these issues can be addressed. Indeed, if these shortcomings are viewed as opportunities not only for the environment but also for the economy, the figures are staggering.
By investing in ten specific measures — namely to double renewable energy sources, improve the energy efficiency of buildings, achieve the new European waste recycling targets, implement urban regeneration programmes, double current investment in eco-innovation, introduce sustainable mobility measures, boost sustainable and organic farming, upgrade the water system, strengthen the prevention of hydrogeological risk and remediate contaminated sites — within five years revenues of 370 billion euros and an additional 129 billion in added value would be generated, with a total of 3.3 million new jobs, including the supply chain. Truly promising figures, which require a concrete plan from the government as a whole, clearly involving not only the environment ministry but, in a cross-cutting way, the other ministries as well.
For this scenario to materialise, the National Council of the green economy identifies seven priorities that the government should concretely take into consideration. Revitalise renewables, bringing them to 35% of the energy mix and reducing energy consumption by 35%; focus on the circular economy, improving the recyclability of products through ecodesign and acting on the End of Waste regulation, which allows waste to be reclassified as secondary raw materials; focus on a made-in-Italy of sustainable and ecological quality, improving and simplifying administrative and bureaucratic procedures; focus on sustainable and organic agriculture and promote its products across the entire country; restructure urban mobility along sustainable lines, reducing the car fleet and equipping cities with infrastructure suited to new means of transport; promote urban regeneration interventions, acting on older buildings with maintenance and recovery projects and avoiding land consumption; protect and enhance natural, cultural and historical capital — in practice, Italy's magnificent landscape — by both relaunching sustainable tourism and implementing mitigation and adaptation measures in response to the climate change already under way.
Among the major hot-button topics to be addressed not as a problem but as an opportunity is that of plastic. According to Ronchi, "we need to boost recycling and also reduce production, in order to limit waste. Too much plastic is still not being properly recycled, which is why we need to work on products, ecodesign and eco-innovation. As regards persistence in the environment, long-term biodegradability still plays a role. Here too there is the technological solution of biodegradable plastics. These are still niche areas, but the technology is already fully available. More research and development is needed, supporting innovative start-ups, which do exist and need backing. We will be recognising some of them right here at the fair."
The positive prospects for the economy and employment, in short, are there.
They just need to be seized.