Policies, Costs and Funding for the Green Revolution in Europe and the United States
Rome, 7 December 2020 – Aspen Institute Italia, in partnership with Enel, will be holding an Aspenia Talk on “A new Green Deal between Europe and the USA” in digital mode. The talk will he hosted on the Zoom platform.
The future of energy market
David Livingston
Deputy Director Climate and Advanced Energy, Atlantic Council
A new Green Deal between Europe and the US
The European Union has finally taken a vanguard position on green energy and climate change, approving major steps by other nations, such as China, Japan, South Africa, South Korea and the United States. The election of Joe Biden to the White House and the appointment of John Kerry as special climate envoy strongly suggest that transatlantic cooperation on the Green Deal, among other things, will be relaunched.
The Pandemic and the power sector
An overall energy transition is under way, and has been for several years despite significant structural obstacles and cyclical ups and downs. The ongoing pandemic and the related economic slowdown have come at a critical juncture in this respect. Today’s situation has highlighted a connection between GDP levels, population density and the impact of Covid-19 infections – likely through air quality – as manifested in various areas of Northern Italy and probably elsewhere.
Infrastructure for a better growth
In the July 21 agreement guaranteeing the arrival of resources from Europe in response to the economic consequences of Covid-19, strategic sectors such as infrastructure are to receive significant support. Nevertheless, a series of both technical and institutional complexities threaten to slow the distribution of these funds. The controversy that has developed around a mechanism that hinges on the rule of law is paradigmatic: both the so-called “frugal four” countries and Finland consider the theme central, in contrast to the bitter opposition of countries such as Poland and Hungary.
For a sustainable and responsible economy: the role of finance
Sustainability has been a concern in the financial world for some time now, with steady and significant growth over recent years in investments centered on ESG (environment, sustainability and governance) criteria. Far from slowing that trend, the Corona virus epidemic is proving an accelerator, with investors seizing on the opportunities associated with a “green” recovery and reconstruction.
Global health and climate change: why the Green Deal remains crucial
With lockdowns in place practically all over the world, the peak of the pandemic has morphed into a sort of vast air pollution control experiment, especially in major urban areas, whose very tangible public health benefits will certainly be short-lived and are still difficult to quantify but, in any case, point to an abnormal and clearly unsustainable “remedy”. Nevertheless, there is a considerable overlap between post-pandemic measures and environmental protection efforts.
A new start for post-pandemic tourism
The pandemic crisis now under way is only the latest chronologically since 9/11, the Arab Spring, the 2008 financial downturn and Brexit; not to mention climate change, which acts as a sort of umbrella for all recent emergencies.
Proposals for the future from Aspen Institute Italia Junior Fellows
The economic, social and geopolitical impact of Covid-19 presents challenges that, as they are confronted, will have significant, long-term consequences for the country’s future. In Italy, one of the nations most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, preexisting economic structural weaknesses make an effective response to the emergency not only strategic but especially difficult.
The great convergence. Innovation in the energy sector and and the new economy
The technological and economic convergence of electrical and gas grids will be what marks the future energy transition, and it will be up to a modern delivery system to create a more sustainable, efficient and circular energy system. The move is toward a change in the energy mix. Indeed, although 46% of electrical power is produced today from coal and nuclear, considerable growth in the use of renewable energies is expected for 2030. The most effective management of the transition, then, will mean keeping environmental and economic sustainability in mind.
XXI Annual Meeting of the Friends of Aspen – Climate change and the air we breathe
Every year there are millions of premature and preventable deaths owing to air indoor and outdoor pollution. Various sources provide differing data, but still there are millions of deaths (between 7 and 9), and 88,000 of these in Italy alone. Diseases that strike all the organs – brain, lungs, heart, and metabolism – and are always traceable to the effects of pollutants, many of which even cross the blood-brain barrier and are therefore neurotoxic. Of particular concern is the impact on the more fragile segments of the population, such as pregnant women and children.
Aspen Junior Fellows Annual Conference – Reconciling the environment and development
The 2019 annual Aspen Junior Fellows conference was dedicated to the choices that must be made to reconcile environment and development, and the importance of the time factor. As the perception of climate change spreads, the emergence of the “Greta phenomenon” and demonstrations by young people around the world demanding attention, are proof of the individual and collective ethical questions that have come to the surface and of the increasing intergenerational friction. Some doubts remain on the conclusions of some scientific analyses and related responses.
Making the most of Italy’s energy resources
Wealth creation, energy demand and CO2 emissions continued even through 2018, building on the trend of the previous year. With every day that passes, the problem of reducing emissions becomes more urgent and its complexity more evident. A complexity that began to emerge at the very beginning of annual emission measurement but that does not offer a holistic rendering of the phenomenon.
A new role for business: environmental and territorial challenges
The second conference of the Aspen Corporate Initiative for the directors of external and institutional relations and communications of Aspen’s corporate members opened with a session on the future of transatlantic relations. The crisis in relations between Europe and the United States is not owed solely to Donald Trump’s recent policy decisions, but has much older roots and, most importantly, has had a considerable impact on the entire international geopolitical scenario.
Women empowerment, financial inclusion and sustainable development: public choices and private partnership
The empowerment of women calls for a combination of measures capable of invoking the Sustainable Development Goals and their social, economic and environmental dimension; and in equal measure the financial dimension, which is gaining growing importance in this contemporary world and where women are under-represented. What is needed are policies and actions aimed at a sustainable finance sector that sees women as essential players in economic growth and, even more importantly, in all aspects that regard inclusion.
The circular economy and sustainable development
Italy is, by far, leader of Europe’s circular economy, recuperating double the European average of raw material, much more than the Germans in all sectors, but especially in hypercompetitive ones such as wood/furniture. Much needs to be improved, however, in the proper management of every phase of the waste cycle (from collection to recovery to disposal) which is an integral part of the circular economy. A single southern Italian region – Sardinia – reports recycling and reuse percentages far above the European average.
The car of the future: Made in Italy, technology, competition
The automobile industry is riding the crest of a major innovative wave involving the digitalization of products and processes, the science of materials and solutions for sustainable mobility. This automotive evolution concerns automobiles produced for “mobility” and vehicles for “fun”. Indeed, these two broad categories are becoming increasingly divergent and often have antithetic specifications.
Infrastructure and sustainable mobility
The theme of mobility is central to current reflections on economic development, and considerations on the mobility of persons and goods – to which approximately 29% of global CO2 emissions can be attributed – is a special focus.
Climate change, soil, food: from crisis to growth
Contemporary society is paradoxical: the number of global deaths for lack of food is equal to those linked with illnesses due to over-eating. This immoral division of food resources is all the more problematic if you consider that the food production chain (from farm to consumer table) accounts for nearly 40% of harmful gas emissions.
Efficiency, innovation and sustainability in the water industry
Water is an undeniable human right essential to the life and health of all citizens. Its distribution, however, is a complex process that presupposes the existence of a proper industrial sector equipped to deliver it from the supply source to the private home while maintaining high standards of quality and service.