– Reinventing the economy
To fight climate change, wrote Achim Steiner, head of the UN program for the environment, “we need to reinvent the economy.” The sectors in which it is essential to take action are known: renewables, energy efficiency, agriculture and small industry, sustainable tourism, waste management, sustainable mobility, land conservation, culture, education, research, health. It serves an ecological conversion of the economy, a radical reform of the productive assets and social, on the trail of Alex Langer and, now, even the encyclical “Praised yes” and the book “A revolution will save us” by Naomi Klein. And in Italy, the proposals of many intellectuals and activists, primarily Guido Viale. “The two issues, that of climate change and the economic crisis permanent Viale writes in” What energy “- are closely related, because the way out is the same: a set of technologies decentralized and distributed, an organization Social subsidiary, a generalized sharing of responsibilities both in production and in the economic and political choices, a different pattern of consumption. ” It is not an impossible task. Suffice it to say that 15 years ago in Europe 80% of new power plants operated with fossil fuels, and today 72% of new plants using renewable sources. The way out requires the involvement of the private sector, but alone forces “spontaneous” in the market are not enough. Market dynamics play in several directions: solar energy is always cheaper, but at the same time the price of oil collapsed, and then the gasoline. It also serves the engagement of the third sector, social economy and solidarity of everyone; as well as serving a public role Programmer: State, regions, municipalities.
They have to change both the public and the private
That the private not enough explained it very well Mariana Mazzucato on “Republic”: “By itself, the free market is not able to develop new energy sources with the rapidity necessary. Earnings are still too uncertain. As with previous technological revolutions, to achieve rapid progress in clean energy we will need the intervention of one of the innovative and courageous, that changes the incentives of the private sector providing funding ‘patients’ and long-term. Governments need to take bold measures, which are not limited to creating equal conditions for all, but do tip the scales on the side of environmental sustainability. Then-and only at that point-follow private lenders. So far, however, because of austerity, public funding has been insufficient. The hope is that the Paris Agreement change things. ” The greening of the economy, therefore, coincides with the end of the neoliberal policies of austerity. Because it requires that the public sector face a lot more. And it also requires “a new generation of entrepreneurs”, able to give “impetus to a radical change in business models”, as he wrote of the “Left” Gunter Pauli, the economic theorist blue: a business that responds to a need and that is not only aimed at ensuring a return on investment. A business that explains Mazzucato, stop -as being waged in the energy business sector, which has become ultrafinanziarizzato- to spend more money on buybacks for the research and development of low-carbon innovations. Clean the planet and save humanity can and must become a responsible business in terms of social and environmental.
The ecological agriculture
The agriculture is both a victim of climate change, but also, in part, jointly responsible for the problem, as always says Carlo Petrini of Slow Food. And ‘victim because each increase of one degree in average temperature causes a shift in crops of 150 kilometers to the geographic north and 150 meters higher. At the same time agriculture has incorporated the spirit and sense of the industrial economy, it has become for most agriculture aiming for maximum profit and a massive production that did not care about the preservation of the Earth’s resources. Over the last 70 years we have lost three-quarters of biodiversity that farmers had selected in the previous 10,000 years.
And ‘you need to change the paradigm, ie promote agriculture based on agro-ecological practices and a different system of production, distribution and access to food. Agriculture that uses natural fertilizers and privileges the biological protection of crops; Multicolturale, to safeguard soil fertility, multifunctional, guaranteeing producers diversified sources of income, and proximity, to avoid excessive costs of transport and storage. Which also means changing our eating habits: today, on average, for every calorie of food that arrives on the table of a Western consumer, they are consumed 9-10 fossil, from fertilizers to transport … Some solutions are already in the field . Think organic farming if it were extended to all agricultural land would reduce emissions by 23% “greenhouse” in Europe and 35% in the US, because the land managed organically have a greater ability to sequester CO2.
The soil is a common good
The latest scientific acquisition that the soil constitutes a sponge that holds the carbon and reduces the greenhouse effect arises, says the historian Piero Bevilacqua, a matter inescapable: “the land is a common good, dramatically scarce and invaluable.” It protects us not only from the rain and air pollution, absorbed by plants, but also by global warming. The political consequences to be drawn from this truth are clear: “gardens and trees in and out of the city, in all brownfield sites and in all possible spaces, must counteract the destructiveness linear edification … any piece of land withdrawn from condition of the field is an act against the common good “.
Sustainable mobility
The model based on the individual motorization is no longer sustainable. Electric cars are useful, but do not touch the basic problem: we have one car per two inhabitants (in Italy the motorization rate is even higher), and this means, in a planet that in thirty years will be 10 billion human, as well as unsustainable consumption, which would put a strain on the ability to guarantee them with renewable sources, including that cars would not find sufficient ground to move and park. The solution is also in this case at hand, “is sharing writes Guido Viale- vehicle, made possible by information and communications technology: car-sharing, car-pooling and transportation demand (shared taxi) , shared distribution of goods (city logistics) are now available in several versions, crude or sophisticated, worldwide and are spreading at a fast pace. ” Of course they need to “intermodal integration with mass transit along the lines of force mobility”. The promotion of intermodality is a complex activity that requires special care. Sustainable mobility also means a reduction in travel, an issue that touches directly relationships with the public administration (e-government) and teleworking, and especially requires the overcoming of the “sprawl” urban, the urban sprawl and scattered that increases every day its peripheries consuming the soil.
The new construction
Also in the field of residential and service, especially as regards the heating and the air conditioning, the technologies to drastically reduce the consumption and converting to renewable sources or widespread use of cogeneration are extensively tested, both on new buildings and existing buildings, of any age. But spread them throughout the existing heritage is an enormous task: not only to the size of the investment, which would require a complex structure to share the cost of public intervention, encouragement of private investment and financial solutions ad hoc. But the articulation concerns especially the mix of renewable sources of plant changes, building renovations, especially of financial solutions and tools for communication and dissemination that require a special approach, not only for each building and territory by territory, but also party to party: different is obviously the approach to an individual property, a condominium, a small and medium enterprises, the local unit of a large group. Again we read Viale: “Today’s actions are mostly promoted and presented in random order, while equipping multidisciplinary teams of technicians able to do a check-up and an integrated concept design of possible interventions in each building is the premise for each -proprietari, tenants, administrators, entrepreneurs, managers and employees- are comparisons with the responsibility to ensure a sustainable part of the territory where he lives and works. ” And it is clear that “from the point of view of employment intervention carpet of this kind is a prerequisite for a large multi-year plan that can create millions of jobs and to compensate any loss of employment derived from the downsizing of the sectors most directly related to ‘ use of fossil fuels. ”
Italy, Liguria, La Spezia
In Italy completely lacks a strategy for fighting climate change. Yet many years ago we had a government that was looking forward: in 1990, two Italian -Vittorio Ripa di Meana in Brussels as Commissioner for Environment and Giorgio Ruffolo as Minister in Rome-led Europe towards an ambitious goal, to engage all countries States to the stabilization of CO2 emissions by 2000 to 1990. Other times. Although, as we have seen, the conditions for a breakthrough there would be all. In the rest of Europe sometimes it gets better: Segolene Royal, France’s Minister of the Environment definitely a more influential and capable our Gian Luca Galletti, which I think few readers have ever heard of. But beyond Galletti what is wrong is the general line: we still talk about growth as if the central problem was to start again, whatever the cost, the GDP. Typical of this line is the National Energy Strategy (Sen), launched by the Government Monti, confirmed by Letta and worsened by Renzi, where chapters on renewable sources and energy efficiency are living with the plan to extend the drilling of the entire national territory . But the pressure of environmental groups and some regions have achieved some initial results, the back part of the government Renzi standards pro-drills. Now the government must radically change Sen, with clarity and focus on the decarbonisation of the economy. The new plan of Enel, which veers towards renewables and efficiency, is an important innovation. In other fields, such as that of mobility, not happen, however nothing new: in point is the tribute we pay in terms of smog, even in these days.
And the Riviera? We are a bottom side. In 2003 the Region approved the Regional Environmental Energy Plan, which set the goal in 2010 to produce 7% of the energy with renewable sources. Goal is not reached even in 2011. On coal the region was subordinate to Enel (Spice) and Tirreno Power (Savona). On the ground, agriculture, mobility, the facts, unfortunately, speak for themselves.
Spezia is not going a bit ‘better because it has organic farming in the Vara Valley and, in the main city, the hills substantially safeguarded. Yesterday I took a ride in the Alta Via del Golfo is a magnificent journey through the olive groves. But when it comes to disposal of Enel Enel it is only because it has decided. Meanwhile, however, the plant continues to operate with coal. On mobility, the goal of the struggle to model the individual motorization has been effectively abandoned, after the “turn” of the late nineties: pedestrian, bicycle paths, parking fee, enhancement and cost reduction of public transport, resulting in less air pollution. The average concentration of benzene passed from 12.2 micrograms per cubic meter in 1997 to 1.9 in 2006. And the city came in fifth place among the medium-sized cities for number of passengers / inhabitants and ranks second as regards’ public transport offer. Now the resumption of the strategic planning process led to the preparation of the Masterplan “La Spezia Smart City”, which is engaged with some of the goals cited, in particular the energy efficiency of buildings and sustainable mobility. The hope is that this design effort is the basis for a real breakthrough. Foundation President Carispezia, in recent days, said in Los Angeles’ lacks a ruling class “. Right: it must be added that the reinvention of our economy and its ecological conversion form the main ground on which to select the new ruling class.
Francis our traveling companion
The fight against climate change is a huge undertaking, which clashes with powerful opponents. Decisive, as I tried to say, it is the role of supranational bodies (UN-EU), of the national states, local authorities, entrepreneurs. But hope is greater, at least for me -the writing on the basis of direct experience that I’m doing in the Africa, the papal encyclical “Praised yes” and the initiative of the people and of many women and men simple. Francis wrote a remarkable document of reflection on the climate, biodiversity, food, poverty, how everything is connected, and has increased awareness of a common challenge for mankind. Francis is not a liberation theologian, but as recognized Leonardo Boff seems perfectly placed in the path that the Social Forum of Porto Alegre brings the struggles today for the common good. The Pope felt the need to come down from his throne to “accompany the people in their ability to organize themselves,” to get back to his flock like a traveling companion before that as a pastor. And ‘the flock in Africa fight against coastal erosion, drought, the decline in food production. And ‘the flock that the US has blocked the “Keystone pipeline,” the oil pipeline from Canada would carry oil extracted from oil sands: a flock formed not so much by the radical environmentalists from Nebraska ranchers, who are mostly conservative and They vote Republican but have struggled to defend the land where they work. And ‘the flock that forced Renzi to go back on drills. And ‘the flock of the many people who, in their small, are trying to change their lifestyle in the direction of moderation: the ecological conversion is also subjective, personal, and therefore moral and cultural.
Happy New Year to all and all. That the ecological conversion and social justice and the environment have the best of everything.
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