Thursday, October 20, 2022 – Today, the event “From Fridays for Future to the return of coal: the trade-off between emergency and sustainability ” was held, promoted by Fondazione Corriere della Sera and Fondazione Pesenti, at the Sala Buzzati of Corriere della Sera.
The meeting was opened by Piergaetano Marchetti, President of Fondazione Corriere della Sera, who emphasized the difficulties encountered on the path toward sustainability in the current context of war and pandemic:
“Today we have learned that the road to sustainability comes with energy, economic, social, and other types of costs, which make the journey anything but straightforward. Therefore, it is necessary not to lose enthusiasm and the will to act, but to reflect on the complexity of the issue, which requires interventions in multiple directions—not only technical-scientific measures but also political decisions and changes in human behavior.”
“I believe this conference is very much in line with the Foundation’s mission, which over the years has invested in sustainability and committed itself to supporting research, education, and training, through collaborations with Politecnico di Milano, Bocconi University, and by supporting students and companies.” Carlo Pesenti, President of Fondazione Pesenti, continued by emphasizing: “Today we are in an emergency, and in this context, it was necessary to take specific urgent actions and to rely on a precise category of specialists. This has prevented the worst in the short term, but to maintain and further develop the results achieved, it is necessary to implement a series of preventive and maintenance strategies and actions that operate in the long term, thanks to everyone’s collaboration, thus changing lifestyles. In this type of intervention, the Foundation, as well as the entire third sector and politics itself, play a fundamental role for a decisive change.”
“Today’s meeting addresses the topics just mentioned, such as youth, technology, and culture, while also questioning the contrast between the value of sustainability—especially promoted by younger generations—and daily emergencies.” Massimo Sideri, editorialist for Corriere della Sera and coordinator of the speakers during the event, opened the debate by giving the floor to Federica Gasbarro, biologist, environmental and climate activist, who recalled her participation in COP26 in Glasgow.
“It was an experience characterized by a kind of dualism: on one side, the success in highlighting important environmental sustainability issues, but on the other, the lack of concrete political solutions. Unfortunately, since 2021, given the ongoing emergency caused by the war and the consequent energy crisis, the situation has only worsened, and the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference may see significant conflicts right from the definition of sustainable energy sources.”
The topic was also addressed by Marco Frey, full professor of Economics and Business Management, director of the sustainability research group at the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna: “Sustainability is by definition associated with the long term. From this perspective, what has been defined at the European level—primarily within the Green Deal, with the ‘Fit for 55’ program for 2030 and subsequently the Net Zero Emissions goal for 2050—represents a fairly clear and coherent path. Behind these objectives lies the energy transition, which requires a progressive adjustment to the outlined programs, always keeping in mind that any long-term evaluation must satisfy the three dimensions: economic, environmental, and social.”
Introducing the topic of investment in science and technology, Massimo Sideri gave the floor to Barbara Mazzolai, Director of the Micro-Biorobotics Center at the Italian Institute of Technology in Pontedera, noting that possible solutions to the problem could come precisely from scientific research:
“Currently, Europe is moving towards funding mainly applied research, with projects that on one hand have practical impacts for companies, society, and the short term, but on the other, are unable to provide us with long-term answers to solve the severe environmental problems we are witnessing. Therefore, long-term research will be necessary to study the environment, thanks to funding that helps better understand the phenomena underlying ecosystem functioning.”
“In this period, more than ever, the conflict between environmental and social sustainability is beginning to emerge. The positive aspect is that innovation is stimulated by the presence of conflicts, but we must not overlook the fact that until now we have not been prepared to think about innovation in emergency.”
Closing the debate was Mario Calderini, full professor of Social Innovation at the School of Management of Politecnico di Milano, who warned:
“So far, technical universities have taught innovation with abundant resources and weak constraints, but today this paradigm is no longer possible.” It is not only necessary to manage the conflict between environmental, economic, and social transition but also to consider that technology does not always solve problems but creates others, with unexpected consequences and endogenous crises that must be taken into account. Unfortunately, this complex view of the problem is absent among policy makers.”
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