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| Il Fiume Topino near Cannara, Italy. More of an irrigation canal at this point. © rmounts |
Showing posts with label green economy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label green economy. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Italian jobs in the rivers?
A recent article in an Italian on-line environmental publication, Greenreport.it, provides a reminder of a looming deadline for water quality in lakes and rivers. An E.U. directive from 2000 sets the deadline for Italy and other member countries for next year. Those failing to meet the standards face economic sanctions meant to be serious enough to draw governmental attention. So far, though, the new Renzi government hasn’t seemed to give water issues, or the environment generally, much attention. The Greenreport article, perhaps as a kind of signal flag aimed at Rome, includes a reminder that environmental cleanup can produce a lot of jobs. It cites a recent Ambente Italia report estimating that an investment of 27 billion in the water sector over the next ten years could produce something like 45,000 jobs. I have a feeling that, rather than new investment, we're more likely to see Italy asking Brussels to postpone the deadline -- and sanctions -- for a few years. And they probably won't be alone in making the request.
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
New environmental projects
Clearly almost anyone following Italian news right now is following stories about next month's election. A lot is stake and there are any number of engaging angles. But there are other news stories in Italy besides the election. One recent bit of news with with intriguing possibilities comes from the Ministry of the Environment.
The vice-minister for Infrastructure, Mario Ciaccia, has just announced a "Piano Città." The initiative means to provide 319 million euros to fund local projects to improve "aree urbane degradate" (deterioriated urban areas). The projects appear likely to be a kind of urban renewal with an environmental orientation. A committee comprised of government ministers, regional officials, and representatives from the Associazione Nationale dei Comuni Italini will screen the proposals. Without being cynical, in Italy's present economic situation this kind of infrastructure spending can only be beneficial. And if the project really do advance energy efficiency and sustainability that's all the better.
Meanwhile, Legambiante, the country's leading environmental organization, has just announced its own initiative called Italia Bellezza Futuro. The objectives here would go much beyond those of the government's Piano Città. But I imagine Legambient would be happy to influence the kinds of projects selected for Piano Città funding.
Legambiente's project starts with the premise that everyone has always appreciated Italy for it beauty -- the countryside, the historic cities, its food, fashion and industrial products, and its people. This, the organization declares, is the country's principal resource, one to be preserved and developed, but developed in a sustainable way.
To promote the project, over the next several months the organization will be participating in events around the country. For example, on the 19th of this month they'll be at Paestum in Campania to support broad protection for the Roman ruins there. Over succeeding months they'll also be part of similar actions at Agrigento, Cinque Terre, Rome, Aquila, Naples, Turin, and Bari where activists are involved to protect natural resources and the country's cultural heritage. They have also drafted a a legislative proposal meant to institutionalize means or protecting the country's cultural and environmental heritage.
More as these project develop -- and get reported on.
The vice-minister for Infrastructure, Mario Ciaccia, has just announced a "Piano Città." The initiative means to provide 319 million euros to fund local projects to improve "aree urbane degradate" (deterioriated urban areas). The projects appear likely to be a kind of urban renewal with an environmental orientation. A committee comprised of government ministers, regional officials, and representatives from the Associazione Nationale dei Comuni Italini will screen the proposals. Without being cynical, in Italy's present economic situation this kind of infrastructure spending can only be beneficial. And if the project really do advance energy efficiency and sustainability that's all the better.
Meanwhile, Legambiante, the country's leading environmental organization, has just announced its own initiative called Italia Bellezza Futuro. The objectives here would go much beyond those of the government's Piano Città. But I imagine Legambient would be happy to influence the kinds of projects selected for Piano Città funding.
Legambiente's project starts with the premise that everyone has always appreciated Italy for it beauty -- the countryside, the historic cities, its food, fashion and industrial products, and its people. This, the organization declares, is the country's principal resource, one to be preserved and developed, but developed in a sustainable way.
To promote the project, over the next several months the organization will be participating in events around the country. For example, on the 19th of this month they'll be at Paestum in Campania to support broad protection for the Roman ruins there. Over succeeding months they'll also be part of similar actions at Agrigento, Cinque Terre, Rome, Aquila, Naples, Turin, and Bari where activists are involved to protect natural resources and the country's cultural heritage. They have also drafted a a legislative proposal meant to institutionalize means or protecting the country's cultural and environmental heritage.
More as these project develop -- and get reported on.
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Carbon taxes in Ireland
Friday’s New York Times includes an excellent reminder of the benefits of carbon taxes. Elisabeth Rosenthal’s article reports on Ireland’s experience since it adopted such a tax in 2008. As she describes it, the tax on each type of fossil fuel varies according to its carbon dioxide emissions. Similarly, new cars are taxed according to the vehicle’s emissions. Also, households are charged for any trash not recycled.
Measuring the law’s effect is a little tricky because Ireland was in recession for part of the time since 2008. But it appears to be having the intended effect. In 2011, when the economy grew at least a little, emissions were down by 6.7 percent. Overall, they are down by 15 percent since 2008. Financially, there’s no doubt about its positive effects. In the last three years, including 2012, the tax has generated one billion euros (about $1.3 billion) and been a major factor in reducing the country’s budget deficit.
A single measure that both cuts greenhouse gas emissions and puts lots of money in public accounts; you’d think you’d hear more about it in the U.S., more than the occasional NYT article. But from what I can tell, apart from discussions among some economists -- left and right it should be noted -- and environmentalists, there’s mostly silence. Republicans and conservatives are generally trying to ensure that discussion of this, along with anything else related to taxes, is effectively banned. It’s their own version of political correctness.
The Rosenthal article does point out that the law's success in Ireland didn't do anything to help its original sponsors. The government enacting the taxes lost power in last year’s elections. Nonetheless, the tax law remains in place.
I wonder what it will take to open up the possibility for a similar program here?
Measuring the law’s effect is a little tricky because Ireland was in recession for part of the time since 2008. But it appears to be having the intended effect. In 2011, when the economy grew at least a little, emissions were down by 6.7 percent. Overall, they are down by 15 percent since 2008. Financially, there’s no doubt about its positive effects. In the last three years, including 2012, the tax has generated one billion euros (about $1.3 billion) and been a major factor in reducing the country’s budget deficit.
A single measure that both cuts greenhouse gas emissions and puts lots of money in public accounts; you’d think you’d hear more about it in the U.S., more than the occasional NYT article. But from what I can tell, apart from discussions among some economists -- left and right it should be noted -- and environmentalists, there’s mostly silence. Republicans and conservatives are generally trying to ensure that discussion of this, along with anything else related to taxes, is effectively banned. It’s their own version of political correctness.
The Rosenthal article does point out that the law's success in Ireland didn't do anything to help its original sponsors. The government enacting the taxes lost power in last year’s elections. Nonetheless, the tax law remains in place.
I wonder what it will take to open up the possibility for a similar program here?
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Prizes for innovative green businesses
Legambiente, the Italian environmental organization I mentioned a couple of days ago, just announced the 2012 winners of its Premio Innovazione Amica dell'Ambiente (Friend of the Environment Innovation Prize). The prize, in its 12th year, is a way to highlight innovative green businesses. It's also a chance to nudge Italian businesses that they should be spending more on research and development. The announcement notes that Italian companies spend only 1.27 percent of GNP on research and development, less than a third of Finland's 3.97 percent (U.S. businesses invest about 2.7 percent).
Some examples of the winners:
BikeDistrict, an on-line map service in Milan providing directions for travel by bike, including information about road surfaces and degrees of safety. The service is still in beta form.
Car2Go, the car-sharing service, which has been in Washington, D.C. for about a year, is a subsidiary of the Daimler Corporation and started in Germany. Despite the prize, Italy is still waiting for the service.
Grow the Planet, a social network concept dedicated to small-scale, home gardening.
My favorite, though, was not one of the top eight prize winners (of 165 entries). This was "Ecocapsula," refillable capsules for Nespresso and similar single-shot coffee machines. They let you buy and use your own coffee and the company says the capsules can be reused up to 300 times. If I could find these here, I might be tempted to buy one of the machines.
The prize also reminds me that there's much more to the country than tourism and troubled governments.
Some examples of the winners:
BikeDistrict, an on-line map service in Milan providing directions for travel by bike, including information about road surfaces and degrees of safety. The service is still in beta form.
Car2Go, the car-sharing service, which has been in Washington, D.C. for about a year, is a subsidiary of the Daimler Corporation and started in Germany. Despite the prize, Italy is still waiting for the service.
Grow the Planet, a social network concept dedicated to small-scale, home gardening.
My favorite, though, was not one of the top eight prize winners (of 165 entries). This was "Ecocapsula," refillable capsules for Nespresso and similar single-shot coffee machines. They let you buy and use your own coffee and the company says the capsules can be reused up to 300 times. If I could find these here, I might be tempted to buy one of the machines.
The prize also reminds me that there's much more to the country than tourism and troubled governments.
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