Good Signs of Turnaround in the Western World
On February 17, 2021, Mario Draghi, the newly designated prime minister of Italy, announced his program for the country’s recovery. In a transversal way, touching every government action, the program brings special attention to the climate crisis and ways to counter it. It is necessary, says the Prime Minister, “to protect the future of the environment, reconciling it with progress and social welfare, requires a new approach” leveraging on digitization, agriculture, health, energy, aerospace, cloud computing, schools and education, protection of territories, biodiversity, global warming, and the greenhouse effect.
The government program will have, as top priorities, the production of energy from renewable sources, air and water pollution, fast rail network, energy distribution networks for electrically powered vehicles, hydrogen production and distribution, digitalization, broadband, and 5G communication networks. Interventions and projects that are not intended to be punctual, however, but designed over the long term and able to project over time: “The National Recovery and Resilience Program will indicate objectives for the next decade and longer-term, with an intermediate step for the final year of the Next Generation EU, 2026. It will not be enough to list projects that we want to complete in the next few years. We will have to say where we want to be in 2026 and what we are aiming for in 2030 and 2050, the year in which the European Union intends to achieve zero net emissions of CO2 and climate-altering gases,” Draghi said in his keynote speech.
Not very far away, the United Kingdom also sets up its “Ten-point plan for a Green Industrial Revolution.” The use of offshore wind, working with the industry aiming to generate 5GW of low carbon hydrogen production capacity by 2030 for industry, focusing on transport, cycling, and walking, and making power, homes, and buildings more energy efficient. These are just some of the points of Boris Johnson’s program that aims to make the UK part of the containment of climate change by 2050 and in which the government is investing 12 million pounds.
Also in the US, with Biden’s rise at the end of January, we have seen not only the creation of a task force to counter the current health crisis, but also the establishment of a climate transition team involving advisors with extensive experience in research and evidence-based policy. This arrival of specialized experts was accompanied by the creation of two new roles. Gina McCarthy will serve as the new Climate Czar, coordinating efforts with the full suite of federal agencies to advance Biden’s climate agenda. The other role of Climate Envoy, held by John Kerry, will work within the National Security Council to coordinate international climate negotiations and actions.
World leaders are actively mobilizing and it is important to remember, as Mario Draghi reminds us, that this is a “multifaceted challenge,” conceiving the fight against climate change as a complex and systemic issue in which each of us, and in the case of Italian politics, each Ministry is called upon to play its part, from industry to education. Beginning with education, not only to make people more aware of their actions but also to use education as a learning process that can be implemented at all ages to make people understand that the ecological transition we all need, won’t be possible with individual and isolated efforts. It requires a cooperative effort that must involve every human being
In these challenging times, as Mario Draghi says, “unity is not an option but a duty.” It is important to remember that the fight against climate change, and social justice, does not belong to just one nation, but rather to the whole planet, the same diverse human community to which we all belong.
It is our duty to recognize that our responsibility is to face this challenge altogether. What is happening in the western governments may be a sign of a collective and positive turnaround.
The Future Food Institute is an international social enterprise that believes climate change is at the end of your fork. By harnessing the power of our global ecosystem of learning labs, partnerships, research initiatives, platforms, networks, entrepreneurial projects and academy programs, FFI aims to sustainably improve life on Earth through transformation of global food systems.
Future food advocates for positive change through initiatives in Waste & Circular Systems, Water Safety & Security, Climate, Earth Regeneration, Mediterranean Foodscape, Nutrition for All, Humana Communitas, and Cities of the Future as we catalyze progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Learn more at www.futurefoodinsitute.org, join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, or YouTube. Or attend a program through the FutureFood.Academy!
