Beyond the Haze: Shanghai’s Green Transformation and the Future of Global Security in a Cup of Coffee
These days, I am back in Shanghai, a city I used to frequent assiduously when the Future Food Institute had its presidium here at UNIDO’s Center for Excellences before the pandemic. I walk, observe new tourists (very few from Europe), work, listen, meet, study, and reflect on the evolutions. The Tian Zi Fang market is deserted, and the wet markets have changed faces, but the city is as vibrant again as it was then and continues to remain for me the mecca of paradoxes and a source of stimulation and suggestion.
Urban regeneration is proceeding rapidly, and this is evidenced by the enlightened people I have met in recent days. Having decided to change their lives, they tell me about their “Pollica” in the heart of China, where location and a return to a deep connection with the land influence strategic lifestyle choices and spatial planning.
Social and WhatsApp work without VPNs, but by now, the “cashless” life already knows everything about us because everything goes through there; you can’t live without Alipay, and if you’re a good citizen, the system rewards you.
Talk to younger people, and you realize how proud they are of the city’s green turn: increasingly perfect, majestic, and livable at the same time, clean, safe, green, and silent. Incredibly silent because now only electric cars run around and, despite the perennial haze, the air is cleaner than in Milan. I keep listening to them to understand how their habits are changing, their fears, and who our children will have to deal with. And for the first time since I have been in China, I hear the children talk about the fear of war. We are united by the same concerns and the desire for a healthier planet. It seems strange that we live at the same wavelength.
Then, I continued my exploration. I observed the big malls that continue to have an intrusive presence of the brief, where the big cathedrals of famous fashion brands are now empty stores because sales happen only online, transformed into moments of pure entertainment. New restaurant formats continue growing. Food is everywhere; even fashion stores now have plenty of cafeteria corners. Then you look for your favorite places that used to experiment-between new recipes and traditional medicine, fermentation, and a very “plant-forward” approach- and realize they are no longer there. In addition to the exotic and colorful drinks, the French boulangeries, the emblazoned burgers (from 5 Guys to Shake Shack), and traditional cuisine, where there is less and less rice and where inexplicably there is more and more meat, meat in all forms, has become ubiquitous again. Fewer fast-food formats and more cafeterias are changes that also impact lifestyle. We talk a lot about “unicorns” and the “seeds of disruption”: lo and behold, it will turn out that the great revolution is all in a coffee shop. If in Naples, our “tazzulella ‘e café,” a ritual, relationship, pause, identity, for some, an addiction for others, a poetic moment, aspires to become a Unesco heritage site; but here in Shanghai (even with some big brands like Lavazza keeping up the Made in Italy presence), it comes in an accelerated version. Coffee, once seen as a novelty in a nation devoted to tea, has become deeply rooted in the social fabric. Walking the streets, one notices an incredible variety of coffee shops. There are the international chains (such as Starbucks and Peet’s Coffee, which have now surpassed thousands of locations), the giant Asian chains that emulate their Western cousins, such as Luckin Coffee, and the boutique gourmet cafes that explore new frontiers of taste and service. The fact that coffee is now celebrated not only in the big malls but also in the suburbs or small corners of urban fashion demonstrates how deeply this beverage has penetrated everyday life. Coffee is a lifestyle, but as the stunning Shanghai Starbucks Reserve Roastery teaches, it has become pure entertainment. It is a massive market in China valued at about $2.1 billion in 2024 and is expected to grow to $2.3 billion by 2029, with an annual growth rate of 1.90 percent.
It is a very fascinating scenario but also a worrying one. There seems to be increasing awareness, but it is very short-sighted because the countervailing senses and challenges are also growing.
A coffee cup in Shanghai reflects the paradoxes of a global future in balancing the push for sustainability and relentless economic growth. Each cup tells the story of a society trying to harmonize progress, between the perennial challenge between East and West and the mutual “duty” to protect the planet. We are changing; they are doing it (whether they like it or not) faster than we are. We must get to the bottom of it for the change to be radical. The KPIs of “green” conversion to not only count the number of green flower beds and vertical farms installed but also measure the quantity and quality of regenerated soils, waste reduction, the health and happiness of citizens, and eating habits that need to become healthier and more conscious (on which there is still much, much, much work to be done).
Now I wonder, but are we ready to accelerate the pace toward the radical change needed today? The time factor is essential. It is not just an ecological issue. It is a matter of competitiveness and global security. Our future depends on it.
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