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.
The Recovery Fund: how to revive Italy’s economy?
Approval of the Recovery Fund is an important sign that Europe is finally ready to embrace a shared development process; what had long seemed a remote possibility has begun to materialize. Nevertheless, the most delicate part of the process – putting political consensus into practise – now begins for the European institutions and members concerned.
Future mobility: smart, innovative, sustainable
The Covid-19 emergency has forced millions of people into quarantine and has interrupted the ordinary flow of local and international traffic. The sudden emptying of urban spaces traditionally perceived as dense and congested is the most glaring evidence of the alteration in lifestyles and of the impact of thousands of city dwellers’ inevitable recourse to more streamlined and flexible work solutions.
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.
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.
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.
New city-states: power, growth, inequality
According to UN estimates, 65% of the world’s population will be living in urban settings by 2050, resulting in an increase in consumer and energy needs and development opportunities. Major metropolises already cover approximately 3% of the planet’s total land surface: The “city” of 103 million inhabitants now forming around Beijing is struggling with serious logistic problems, beginning with those related to transportation.
Transportation and logistics: smart infrastructure
(Italian Version)
Un Paese moderno e competitivo deve avere tra i suoi asset fondamentali un sistema di trasporto e logistica basato su infrastrutture efficienti, tecnologicamente avanzate e multimodali. Questo è un problema che riguarda, in misura diversa, tutto l’Occidente. Si tratta di investire risorse tanto nella manutenzione e nell’aggiornamento della rete esistente quanto nello sviluppo di nuove infrastrutture adatte alle esigenze di mobilità create dall’economia digitale.
Building a new silk road: Sicily’s role
Kicking off discussions at this National Conference was the observation that southern Italy’s ports, intermodal facilities, and adjacent hinterland areas have a strategic opportunity within their grasp, with Mediterranean routes now serving as crossroads for global traffic. It was felt, however, that in order to seize these opportunities, medium and long-term choices need to be made, with a commitment at the governmental level to ensure that the right incentives, an apposite regulatory framework, and a coherent vision for pursuing Italy’s economic interests are all in place.
Shifting to sustainable transportation in Italy: social and economic consequences
The participants at this roundtable noted that there is practically unanimous consensus on the need to rise to the challenge of achieving eco-sustainable mobility, a necessary objective in order to meet the Paris Agreement’s target of keeping the increase in global average temperature to well below 2°C. The issue was viewed as one primarily concerning the health of both the present generation and the next.
Italian airport system: synergies, investment, attractiveness
The starting premise of discussions at this national roundtable was that the issue of air transport owes its considerable complexity to the sheer number of stakeholders involved. The interests and different perspectives of airport operators, airline companies, travelers, local authorities, and other competing and combined transport networks were seen as calling for a synergistic approach both on the part of these players themselves and of the State.
The future of energy: innovation, technology and geopolitics
The vast energy transition under way goes well beyond ratcheting up the use of renewables, as much as that is essential for obvious environmental reasons. The shift in that direction is currently a gradual one that, however, in the coming years is going to reach a watershed point at which, once the cost of new sources drops considerably below that of hydrocarbon products, the changes already ongoing will speed up.
The maritime economy: integrated ports and economic development
The participants at this National Conference kicked off proceedings by highlighting that Italy serves as a mid-Mediterranean berthing facility for the continent, in a region where the maritime economy is a pivotal economic resource, with shipbuilding generating 7 billion euro in value-added, maritime transport 8 billion euro, and sea-linked tourism over 13 billion euro. Alongside these three cornerstones (which account for 64% of the value chain), there are other related components that contribute to the nation’s “blue economy” achieving value-added of over 44 billion euro.
Efficiency and sustainability: key challenges for modern cities
The starting premise of debate at this National Interest event was that cities are the place where the future of humanity is set to play out, not just because – for the first time in history – the majority of the world’s population lives in urban areas, but also because the latter will become increasingly pivotal to ensuring the sustainability of development models.