Play again, please

Europe is confirming its commitment to the European Green Deal and the commitments against CO₂ (the collective cut of 55% of emissions by 2030 and 100% by 2050), even if the five years that separate us from the Paris agreements seem to have been partly wasted. The interesting idea of ​​the Recovery fund to be called (also in Italy) Next Generation EU is, at least on some items, the attempt to link financial interventions to project support with effects both on the environmental crisis and on the economy. Green interventions must be such as to help medium and long-term processes and at the same time develop work and new aspects of entrepreneurship.
While the debate rages without a real call to participate and to define projects for the common good of Italy.
First of all, the financial commitments for digital services (mobility, logistics, services) and innovation in every field from families to businesses are an integral part of green choices even if they are in different chapters. Also training at all school levels and the professionalism that is urgently needed.

The technologies already existing in many sectors, especially energy (decreasing costs for wind and solar sources), can allow, if applied, to favor individual and collective choices which alone would not be enough.
Careful calculations begin to realistically predict that every job lost in traditional energy creates ten jobs in renewables. The funds indicated next to the various items must be seen in a framework of private investments and the use of other funds coming from the stability law and from many European funds of other nature. Without Europe we would not be able to talk about a relaunch; we must at least monitor the controls of the funds. What are the projects that foresee 74.3 billion in these fields? The current situation can turn into a historic opportunity to steer Italian public policy in favor of sustainable development.

Buildings and energy. Current public buildings consume more than 35% of energy and require about 40 billion for energy efficiency starting from the 110% bonus already started.
Mobility. With what balance will the 18.5 billion available to replace the fleet of cars and vans be used? How much will be spent on modifying public transport to encourage its use, especially in large cities? Is it possible to think not only of the electric car but of the coordinated mobility system?
Circular economy. The 6.3 billion will have to multiply with private commitment because it is now known from the various examples of good practices that choosing these paths is economically convenient, "saving" and opens up new markets.
Territory. The money is scarce (9.4 billion) and the titles are a lot. It will be possible to define priorities that help our country not to be damaged after each seasonal event, to think in terms of progressive investments on hydrogeological instability.

A few final clarifications. The expenses of European money correspond to specific projects. In the last 7 years, only 16 billion of the 40 received from the European structural funds have been spent and there are always those who try to take advantage of it (people, politicians, businesses, public bodies ...). We hope that sooner or later someone will do the math and explain them to us.


Carlo Degiacomi
NP January 2021