Italy and the Sustainable Development Goals · change in economic, social and environmental policies. However, none of these actions appear to be up to meeting the challenge we are

Italy and the SustainableDevelopment Goals

ASviS Report 2019

Italy and the SustainableDevelopment Goals

ASviS Report 2019

This report was produced - under the supervision of the ASviS Director, Enrico Giovannini - thanks to contributions from expertsinvolved in member organisations of the Italian Alliance for Sustainable Development, who were divided into thematic workinggroups. We would particularly like to thank:• the working group coordinators: Gemma Arpaia, Cesare Avenia, Fabrizio Barca, Stefania Bertolini, Francesco Bicciato,

Francesca Bilotta, Valentino Bobbio, Ruggero Bodo, Gianfranco Bologna, Gianni Bottalico, Federica Casarsa, Gian PaoloCesaretti, Gianni Di Cesare, Andrea Gavosto, Gennaro Di Genova, Luigi Di Marco, Paola Dubini, Viviana Egidi, Toni Federico,Giovanni Fini, Giordana Francia, Filomena Maggino, Marcella Mallen, Federico Mazzetti, Marina Migliorato, Stefano Molina,Annachiara Moltoni, Luciano Monti, Adolfo Morrone, Rosanna Oliva De Conciliis, Elisa Petrini, Luca Raffaele, AngeloRiccaboni, Eleonora Rizzuto, Filippo Salone, Antonio Sfameli, Silvia Stilli, Walter Vitali.

• the ASviS Secretariat representatives for the working groups: Martina Alemanno, Eleonora Angeloni, Flavia Belladonna,Andrea Bonicatti, Gianluigi Bovini, Claudia Caputi, Mariaflavia Cascelli, Livia Celardo, Alessandro Ciancio, Davide Ciferri,Giuliana Coccia, Carla Collicelli, Antonino Costantino, Giulia D’Agata, Rosa De Pasquale, Riccardo Della Valle, Luigi Ferrata,Cristina Fioravanti, Mario Fiumara, Luciano Forlani, Stefano Furlan, Giulio Lo Iacono, Cecilia Menichella, Flavio Natale,Patricia Navarra, Federico Olivieri, Ottavia Ortolani, Lucilla Persichetti, Lorenzo Pompi, Sabina Ratti, Alice Rinalduzzi,Donato Speroni, Andrea Stefani, Flavia Terribile, Michele Torsello.

Italian Alliance for Sustainable Development (ASviS), Via Farini 17, 00185 Rome, www.asvis.itPresident: Pierluigi Stefanini Director: Enrico Giovannini Head of communications, advocacy and social media: Claudia Caputi Planning, management and monitoring of cross-cutting activities: Giulio Lo IaconoHead of Human Resources and Training: Cristina FioravantiEditor-in-chief: Donato Speroni Head of the administrative office and educational affairs: Martina Alemanno Head of Relations with Italian Regional and Local Authorities: Gianni BottalicoHead of International Institutional Relations: Sabina RattiHead of National Institutional Relations: Patricia Navarra

A complete list of Italian Alliance for Sustainable Development members can be found on p. 166.

Italy and the Sustainable Development Goals

Contents

Introduction 5

Executive summary 6

1. The 2030 Agenda around the world 91.1 The global commitment to sustainable development 10 Box > #FridaysForFuture: students’ commitment to combating climate change 10 Box > The 2030 Agenda for sustainable development 11 Box > New UN world population forecasts 12

1.2 Combating climate change and the risks for peace 13 Box > “Climate Breakdown”: a change of tone in the media 14 Box > The United Nations Global Compact for Migration 16 Box > The loss of biodiversity: a worldwide phenomenon 17

1.3 Implementation of the 2030 Agenda: an overall assessment 18 Box > The UN Report on the 2030 Agenda for the HLPF 2019 19 Box > Analysis of Goal 8 carried out by ASviS for the International Trade Union Confederation 22 Box > Future scenarios: The SDGs and planetary boundaries 23

1.4 The role of financial instruments in implementing the 2030 Agenda 24 Box > The Reform of the United Nations to speed up achievement of the SDGs 25

2. The 2030 Agenda in Europe 292.1 The situation of the European Union with regard to the SDGs 30

2.2 Policy statements by the President-elect of the European Commission and the European Council’s Strategic Agenda 2019-2024 35

2.3 European institutions and the 2030 Agenda: a growing commitment to an integrated approach 37

2.4 Climate change, circular economy and energy 40

2.5 European institutions’ commitment to sustainable finance 42 Box > The European Commission’s Action Plan to finance Sustainable Development 43

2.6 Civil society initiatives 44

IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS > Disparities between European countries with regard to the 2030 Agenda 46

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3. The 2030 Agenda in Italy 59

3.1 Government and public administration initiatives four years after the adoption of the 2030 Agenda 60

Government initiatives 60 Parliamentary initiatives 61 Box > The Italian Senate plays host to Greta Thunberg 62

3.2 Education on sustainable development in schools, universities and the public administration 64 Box > E-learning courses by ASviS 64 Box > The ASviS Summer School 65

3.3 The mobilisation and commitment of businesses 67

3.4 ASviS’s activities 68 Organisational structure and cooperation with other stakeholders 68 Institutional engagement 69 The Sustainable Development Festival 70 Awareness-raising and information 72 Research initiatives 73 Saturdays for Future 74 Other projects 74

3.5 Italy’s path to sustainable development 75 How does Italy rank with respect to the SDGs 75 The regions and sustainable development policies 80 Box > Update of the Urban Agenda for sustainable development 89

3.6 The evolution of legislation in relation to the SDGs 90 Box > The state of food systems in Italy and possible actions 92 Box > The inclusion of the 2030 Agenda in the civic education law 96

IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS > A race against time: the Targets to be achieved by 2020 113

4. ASviS’s recommendations 1274.1 Recent policy innovations at the European and Italian levels 128 Box > Recommendations made by ASviS to political parties during the 2018 general elections 130

4.2 Cross-cutting and systemic actions 131 Box > Operating mechanisms in a fully integrated system 132

4.3 Policies to accelerate the transition towards sustainable development 135 The climate crisis and energy 135 Poverty and inequality 137 Circular economy, innovation and employment 139 Human capital, health and education 142 Natural capital and the quality of the environment 144 Cities, infrastructure and social capital 147 International cooperation 149

5. Appendix: Goals and Targets 153


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Introduction

Four years after the adoption of the 2030 Agenda by the 193 member countries of the United Nations, in-cluding Italy, there is a growing awareness worldwide of the need for an integrated approach to addresscomplex economic, social, environmental and institutional challenges in order to shift to a sustainable de-velopment model. This awareness on the part of governments, businesses, civil society and individual cit-izens, especially young people, is emerging against an international backdrop of growing tensions andundeniable difficulties in finding multilateral solutions to global problems.

In this context, it should be noted that the 2030 Agenda is central to the strategies of the new EuropeanCommission chaired by Ursula von der Leyen, which - marking a clean break from the vacillation of theJuncker Commission - has presented a five-year action plan aimed at making sustainable development thecornerstone of European and national policies. In Italy too, the issue of sustainable development has takenon a more important role in the last year, partly thanks to the actions of ASviS. An understanding of theneed and potential for a shift in the socio-economic paradigm has finally gained a foothold in civil societyand the business world, in national government and among regional and city authorities, as well as in schoolsand among the general public, also thanks to the mobilisation of students and the success of the ItalianSustainable Development Festival, which held 1,061 events. Some of the proposals put forward by the Al-liance have been endorsed by the European Commission and the new government, but only concrete actionswill allow for an assessment of institutional players’ effective commitment to sustainable development.

This ASviS Report for 2019, now in its fourth edition, introduces several innovations. The Report sets outthe position of Italy, its regions and the European Union with regard to the 17 Sustainable DevelopmentGoals of the 2030 Agenda, analyses the regulatory output of the last twelve months, and puts forward pro-posals to improve Italy’s economic, social and environmental performance, thereby reducing the stark in-equalities that characterise our country. The 21 Targets that Italy has committed to achieving by 2020 arethen analysed in depth.

Once again, this year’s Report reveals Italy’s many contradictions. On the one hand, there have been alarm-ing delays and the lack of a clear implementation strategy for the 2030 Agenda. On the other, encouragingsigns have emerged, such as the new government’s commitment to include the principle of sustainable de-velopment in the Constitution, to have an Urban Agenda for sustainable development, and to orient policiestowards the green economy, the circular economy and combating forms of inequality, including gender-based ones.

ASviS has become a reference point in the debate on sustainable development in Italy, and is unique at in-ternational level. Once again, the Alliance’s membership has grown this year (currently standing at 227,plus an additional 111 associates), and its activities have expanded. In 2019, the Festival attracted a largenumber of participants and was selected, from among more than 2,000 projects, as a finalist for the UNAward for sustainable development initiatives. Partnerships with institutions, businesses, universities andresearch centres, local authorities and civil society organisations have increased, reflecting the growing"demand" for sustainable development. As members of the Alliance’s working groups, over 600 experts havecontributed to drafting the 2019 Report, which is one of its kind in the international arena.

I would like to take this opportunity to wholeheartedly thank Enrico Giovannini, the ASviS Secretariat, andeveryone who has contributed to this outstanding Report, which we offer Italy in order to help our countryto move rapidly along a sustainable development path. As the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella,wrote in the declaration signed with other heads of state and government on the occasion of the UnitedNations Climate Action Summit on 23 September: “We are shaping a positive future for our planet. Let’sleave a world worth living in as a legacy to our children and future generations”. This is the commitmentthat gave rise to ASviS, and the commitment we are all called upon to make.

Pierluigi Stefanini, President of the Italian Alliance for Sustainable Development

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Executive summary

Last year, we expressed our disappointment at the way Italy and the European Union were tackling the im-plementation of the 2030 Agenda - amid inexcusable delays and the lack of a coherent vision - by saying“we are not doing enough”. However, this year we can highlight the positive signs - albeit only proclamationsfor now - that have recently emerged in the approaches set out by the new European Commission and thenew Italian government. Likewise, we can see changing attitudes in the world of business and in interna-tional public opinion regarding the need to shift towards a different development model, partly thanks tothe stance taken by the millions of young people who are calling on us all to tackle the climate emergency.

Nonetheless, we are aware that the world is not on a sustainable development path. Environmental degra-dation continues and global warming is accelerating, with devastating effects on ecosystems and the livesof millions of people, especially the most vulnerable. Concerns about a new economic crisis are spreading,international political and trade tensions are growing, and nationalistic and protectionist responses to na-tional and global problems are on the increase. Inequality is still widespread and persistent.

The contradictions briefly mentioned here have also emerged in recent weeks at the UN General Assemblymeeting on the 2030 Agenda, four years after its adoption. Many countries have announced concrete mea-sures to help put the world onto a sustainable development path; major companies and financial institutionshave made new commitments to change their business models and contribute to the achievement of the17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); and demonstrations around the world have called for a drasticchange in economic, social and environmental policies. However, none of these actions appear to be up tomeeting the challenge we are facing, and they clash with many aspects of the everyday behaviour of indi-viduals and institutions. Many political leaders seem unable to convince the general public that changesare needed, and in many governments and companies a short-term vision still prevails, at odds with theconcept of sustainability.

The indicators developed by ASviS show the progress made in the European Union and Italy in terms of the17 SDGs. Between 2016 and 2017, the European Union shows signs of improvement for ten Goals and a sig-nificant deterioration for one Goal, while for the other five the situation is unchanged. However, sharp dis-parities still exist between the performances achieved by individual European countries. For Italy, nineGoals improved between 2016 and 2017, two remained largely unchanged and six deteriorated.

Potentially a game changer for the whole world, the President-elect of the European Commission Ursulavon der Leyen’s decision to opt for the 2030 Agenda and sustainable development caught many observersby surprise. The action plan for the next five years revolves around a vision in which economic, social andenvironmental policies appear to be coherently oriented towards the goal of making the European Unionthe “world champion of sustainable development”, as affirmed in the title of the opening event of the2019 Italian Sustainable Development Festival. The von der Leyen plan adopts some of the proposals putforward by ASviS at that event, which are set out in greater detail in the letters of appointment sent to theVice-Presidents and Commissioners: each person has a direct responsibility, within their sphere of compe-tence, for the achievement of the SDGs, and for the European Semester review - the policy coordinationprocess - which should have the 2030 Agenda as its central focus.

The new President-elect’s programme is a quantum leap forward after the wavering of the previous Com-mission, and provides a robust response to the calls made over the last twelve months by the EuropeanParliament, the Council and European civil society. Now it is a question of moving from words to deeds,and in particular of gauging the reaction of some member countries, which have so far opposed ambitiousand far-sighted decisions, regarding not only environmental issues, but also economic and social ones.

As the new government takes office in Italy, sustainable development has become a key item on the Italianpolitical agenda. The policies agreed between the majority political parties include some of the proposals putforward by ASviS in recent years, such as including the principle of sustainable development in the Constitution,introducing an Urban Agenda for sustainable development, using the 2030 Agenda to redesign the functioningof the socio-economic system, and assessing the economic, social and environmental impact of new laws. InItaly too, it is a question of moving from statements to concrete actions, and therefore the Report sets outthe actions - both systemic and relating to specific sectors - that should be undertaken as soon as possible.


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In particular, with regard to cross-cutting actions and the structure of sustainable development governance,we recommend that the Prime Minister:

• send individual ministers a policy document that explicitly refers to their responsibility in the achieve-ment of the SDGs and their Targets, with special attention paid to those with a 2020 deadline, in thesame way as the President-elect of the European Commission has done;

• strengthen and clarify the role of the steering committee set up within the Cabinet Office, in order toensure effective coordination of sectoral policies for implementation of the 2030 Agenda, and also witha view to redefining the European Semester on this basis;

• set out guidelines so that the explanatory reports accompanying all draft laws include an ex-ante (andqualitative) assessment of the expected impact on the 17 SDGs, starting from the next Budget Law.

We also recommend that the Government:

• convert the Interministerial Committee for Economic Planning (CIPE) into the Interministerial Committeefor Sustainable Development with the next Budget Law, in order to gear public investment policy towardsachievement of the SDGs;

• update the National Sustainable Development Strategy to include detailed, precise objectives in thelight of the new policy guidelines, and, in February 2020, present a report on the state of progress in itsimplementation;

• urgently identify what needs to be done to achieve the 21 Targets that Italy has committed to reach by2020 and which it is clearly not on track to achieve;

• consider the possibility of drawing up an annual law on sustainable development, designed to introduce sys-temic regulatory changes (without financial implications) in order to achieve the Goals of the 2030 Agenda;

• initiate dialogue with the regions, autonomous provinces and municipalities within the framework ofthe Joint Conference, in order to coordinate the actions for which the various institutions are responsiblein the implementation of the 2030 Agenda;

• implement a comprehensive information and communication plan on the issue of sustainable develop-ment aimed at the entire population, similar to the one that was run when the euro was introduced.

The announcement of the intention to develop a National Urban Agenda for Sustainable Development must befollowed by concrete actions, first and foremost the re-establishment of the Interministerial Committee for UrbanPolicies with new terms of reference. In line with the policy guidelines, we call on the government and the politicalparties to initiate discussion as soon as possible on the inclusion of the principle of sustainable development inthe Constitution, starting with the text submitted to Parliament, and to declare a “state of climate emergency”.

The last chapter of the Report illustrates the policy actions to be taken, adopting a modern and integratedvision of sustainable development, based on seven “key areas”: the climate crisis and energy; poverty andinequality; circular economy, innovation and labour; human capital, health and education; natural capitaland environmental quality; cities, infrastructure and social capital; and international cooperation. Theseare concrete proposals, some of which (land use, right to water, protection of ecosystems, etc.) may benefitfrom the work already carried out by Parliament. It is then a question of ratifying certain important agree-ments signed by Italy, and of rapidly implementing European Union directives.

As already mentioned, compared to the past, support from citizens, businesses, trade unions, civil societyand the general public for bold actions is growing, even though some of these actions may appear to becostly in the short term. The sequence of actions is a crucial factor, as is paying attention to the most vul-nerable. ASviS stands ready to assist all institutions in this process, and the success of its many activitiesshows that the only credible response to Italian society’s “demand for a future” lies in the sustainable de-velopment paradigm. We thought so four years ago, when very few people even knew what the 2030 Agendawas. And we continue to believe so today, bolstered by the worldwide awareness that “time is running out”.

Enrico Giovannini, Director of the Italian Alliance for Sustainable Development

ASviS Report 2019

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Glossary

AAAA - Addis Ababa Action AgendaAICS - Agenzia Italiana per la Cooperazione allo SviluppoItalian Agency for Development Cooperation ANCI - Associazione Nazionale Comuni ItalianiNational Association of Italian Local AuthoritiesWES - Work Experience Scheme ASL - Local Health AuthorityEIB - European Investment Bank FSW - Fair and Sustainable WellbeingCDP - Cassa Depositi e Prestiti Deposits and Loans Fund ESC - Economic and Social CouncilsEESC - European Economic and Social CommitteeCIAE - Interministerial Committee for European AffairsCICS - Interministerial Committee for DevelopmentCooperationCIPE - Interministerial Committee for Economic PlanningCIPU - Interministerial Committee for Urban Policies CNCS - National Council for Development CooperationCOP 24 - 24th session of the Conference of the Parties to theParis AgreementCPIA - Centro Provinciale per l’Istruzione degli AdultiProvincial Adult Education Centre CRUI - Conferenza dei Rettori delle Università ItalianeConference of Italian University Rectors DEF - Documento di Economia e FinanzaEconomic and Financial Planning DocumentDESA - Department of Economic and Social Affairs of theUnited Nations SecretariatEFSD - European Fund for Sustainable Development EOD - Earth Overshoot DayEPSC - European Political Strategy CentreESDN - European Sustainable Development Network ESDW - European Sustainable Development Week ESG - Environmental, Social, GovernanceGBS - Green Bond StandardGRI - Global Reporting InitiativeGSIA - Global Sustainable Investment AllianceHLEG - High-level Expert Group on Sustainable Finance HLPF - High-level Political ForumILO - International Labour OrganisationINDIRE - Istituto Nazionale di Documentazione, Innovazionee Ricerca EducativaNational Institute for Documentation, Innovation andEducational ResearchIoT - Internet of ThingsIPCC - Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ISTAT - Istituto Nazionale di StatisticaItaly’s National Statistical OfficeITUC - International Trade Union ConfederationMAECI - Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and InternationalCooperationMATTM - Italian Ministry for Environment, Land and SeaProtectionMiPAAFT - Italian Ministry of Agriculture, Food, Forestry andTourism PoliciesMIUR - Italian Ministry of Education, Universities andResearchNEET - Not in Education, Employment, or TrainingOECD - Organisation for Economic Cooperation andDevelopment

WHO - World Health OrganisationUN - United Nations PA - Italian Public AdministrationPA - Italian Public Administration GDP - Gross DomesticProductPNACC - Piano Nazionale per l’Adattamento ai CambiamentiClimatici National Climate Change Adaptation PlanPNIEC - Piano Nazionale Integrato Energia e ClimaNational Integrated Energy and Climate PlanPNR - Piano Nazionale di RiformaNational Reform ProgrammeRdC - Italian Basic Income SchemeRUS - Rete delle università per lo sviluppo sostenibileUniversity Network for Sustainable DevelopmentSDGs - Sustainable Development GoalsSDSN - Sustainable Development Solutions Network SIF - Sustainable Investment ForumSNA - Scuola Nazionale di AmministrazioneNational School of AdministrationSNSvS - Strategia Nazionale per lo Sviluppo SostenibileNational Sustainable Development Strategy SR15 - Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 °C SRI - Socially Responsible InvestmentsSRSP - Structural Reform Support Programme SSN - Servizio Sanitario Nazionale National Health ServiceSTEM - Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics TEG - Technical Expert Group on Sustainable FinanceEU - European UnionUNEP - United Nations Environment ProgrammeUNFCCC - United Nations Framework Convention on ClimateChangeUNHCR - United Nations High Commissioner for RefugeesUNWTO - United Nations World Tourism OrganisationEIA - Environmental Impact Assessment HIA - Health Impact Assessment VNR - Voluntary National ReviewWEF - World Economic Forum ZEB - Zero Emission Buildings

The 2030 Agenda around the world1.

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1.1 The global commitment tosustainable development

Four years after the adoption of the 2030 Agendaby the 193 countries of the United Nations,awareness of the need for an integrated approachto address the complex economic, social, envi-ronmental and institutional issues required toshift to a more sustainable development modelappears to be growing worldwide. Given thisgreater public awareness, the world is showingsignificant signs of progress on the economicfront and regarding certain social aspects, butalso worrying signs of deterioration of the envi-ronmental situation and of certain social issues,which are set out in detail in the growing numberof reports from international organisations andresearch centres.

The abundance and range of the reports writtenand the number of global initiatives undertakento address the economic, social and environmen-tal challenges from a global perspective providestrong evidence of the unprecedented attentionthat civil society organisations, businesses, finan-cial intermediaries, administrations and localcommunities are paying to the implementation ofthe 2030 Agenda. The Fridays for Future move-ment of school students taking time off class toparticipate in demonstrations to demand more ef-fective action in combating climate change (seethe relevant text box) is a prime example of thedeep interest in the issue of sustainable develop-ment being shown by the younger generation andnot only.

Awareness of the global risks deriving from the un-sustainability of the current development modelclearly emerges from the World EconomicForum’s Global Risks Report 2019, presented inDavos in January, which opens with these words:“Is the world sleepwalking into crisis? Global risksare intensifying but the collective will to tacklethem appears to be lacking”.

Based on a survey involving almost 1,000 public,private, academic and civil society decision-mak-ers, the report describes a world that is increas-

1. The 2030 Agenda around the world

#FRIDAYSFORFUTURE:STUDENTS’ COMMITMENT TOCOMBATING CLIMATE CHANGEIt all started with the young Swedish girl,Greta Thunberg, who, in August 2018, organ-ised a protest outside the national parliamentto ask the government to reduce carbon diox-ide emissions in line with the Paris Agree-ment, displaying a sign that read Skolstrejkför klimatet (school strike for the climate).The teenager decided not to attend schooluntil the Swedish elections in 2018, and on 7September, shortly before the elections, sheannounced that she would continue to demon-strate every Friday until Sweden fell into linewith the Climate Agreement, coining the slo-gan “Fridays For Future”, which attracted theworld’s attention and inspired millions of stu-dents to take part in the protest.

Many other boys and girls, as well as manyadults, took up her initiative, and on 15 March2019 the first world strike for the climate washeld, with more than one million young peo-ple in many cities around the world partici-pating, including in 100 Italian cities. On 24May 2019, the day of the second worldwidestrike, demonstrations took place in 1,664cities in at least 125 countries.

Since the start of the #FridaysForFuture globalmovement, the media has given the initiativewide coverage. According to some people,just like the impetus for renewal that changedthe world in many ways in the 1960s and1970s, the climate movement is also makinghistory. And it is no longer merely an invita-tion to politicians to tackle the challengesthat are threatening our planet, but rather anurgent demand for change that calls on every-one to assume their responsibilities. A newstrike has been called from 20 to 27 Septem-ber 2019: a week of worldwide mobilisationwith a view to expanding beyond youth par-ticipation, and especially involving workers.

ingly concerned about political tensions, the eco-nomic situation and environmental disasters; aworld that knows perfectly well it is going off therails, but is also aware that it lacks the commonwill to face the global challenges. For many ofthe respondents, we are living in an increasinglyanxious, troubled and lonely world. Anger is

growing, and empathy is declining. Environmentalrisks continue to dominate the results of theGlobal Risks Report. The risk causing the greatestconcern is represented by extreme weatherevents, while many other respondents are in-creasingly worried about the failure of environ-mental policies.


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THE 2030 AGENDA FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

On 25 September 2015, the United Nations approved the Global Agenda for Sustainable Developmentand its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), broken down into 169 Targets to be reached by 2030(see Annex).

On this historic occasion, a clear opinion was expressed on the unsustainability of the current devel-opment model, not just in terms of the environment, but also from an economic and social point ofview. In this way - and this reveals the highly innovative nature of the 2030 Agenda - the idea that sus-tainability is merely an environmental issue is definitively superseded in favour of an integrated visionof the various dimensions of development.

All countries are called upon to contribute to set the world on a sustainable path, with no longer anydistinction between developed, emerging and developing countries, although clearly problems mayvary depending on the level of development achieved. This means that each country must commit todefining its own sustainable development strategy in order to achieve the SDGs, reporting on theresults obtained within a process coordinated by the UN. Obviously, given its breadth and “transfor-mational” nature, implementation of the 2030 Agenda requires strong engagement of all componentsof society, from businesses to the public sector, from civil society to philanthropic institutions, fromuniversities and research centres to information and cultural providers.

The process of changing the development model is monitored via a complex system based on 17 Goals,169 targets and over 240 indicators. Each country is periodically assessed by the United Nations withrespect to these parameters, through the activities of the High-level Political Forum (HLPF) and bynational and international public opinion. Every four years a debate also takes place on the imple-mentation of the 2030 Agenda at the UN General Assembly, namely at the level of heads of state andgovernment. The first such review was held in September of this year.

Geo-economic tensions increased throughout2018, to the extent that 91% of the respondentsexpect that 2019 may see growing risks related to“economic conflict between major powers” and88% expect “rules and multilateral trade agree-ments to be undermined”. With the weakening ofrelations between the major world powers, in thecurrent geopolitical context it will be impossibleto resolve the many unrelenting conflicts aroundthe world. According to the report, political andeconomic tensions are currently the most urgentglobal risks to be addressed. The world is evolv-ing, but the reshaping of relations between coun-tries and trade is not exempt from pitfalls.However, the importance of the ongoing structuralchanges should not divert our attention from thehuman aspects of global risks.

“The Global Risks Report 2019 is being publishedat an important time,” said Børge Brende, Presi-dent of the World Economic Forum. “The world isfacing a growing number of complex and inter-connected challenges, from the slowdown in

global growth to climate change and geopoliticaltensions. If we don’t work together to addressthese challenges, there will be no future. Neverbefore has there been such a need for a collabo-rative and multi-stakeholder approach to sharedglobal problems”.

At the international institutional level, 2019 hasbeen marked by two major events: the ClimateAction Summit on 23 September, organised by UNSecretary General, António Guterres, and the de-bate at the UN General Assembly on 24 and 25September on the implementation of the 2030Agenda, the first of which attended by heads ofstate and government after the annual monitoringcarried out over the last four years by the High-level Political Forum, in which ministerial delega-tions usually participate.

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NEW UN WORLD POPULATION FORECASTS

The world population, which until 1820 remained below one billion people, continues to grow rapidly,as evidenced by the UN’s World Population Prospects 2019. According to the most reliable estimate,world population is projected to grow from 7.7 billion this year to 8.5 billion in 2030, and further to9.7 billion in 2050 and 10.9 billion in 2100.

Population dynamics will vary widely from one region to another: Europe’s population is projected tofall from the current 748 million to 710 million in 2050, while Africa’s will almost double, from 1.3 to2.3 billion, with an even greater increase in sub-Saharan countries. More than half of the populationgrowth between now and 2050 will take place in nine countries: in descending order, India (which by2027 will surpass China’s population, set to fall from the current 1.44 billion to 1.40 billion by 2050),Nigeria, Pakistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Indonesia, Egypt and theUnited States. The presence of the USA among the most demographically active countries should because for reflection, as it marks a radical difference from the situation in Europe, with all the economicimplications this may entail.

Among the most significant components of demographic dynamics, the report mentions migrationflows, which saw 14 countries receive more than one million migrants and another 10 countries trans-ferring more than one million migrants between 2010 and 2020. Among the countries set to receive anet inflow of migrants in the future to rebalance the declines arising from domestic trends, the reportmentions, in descending order, Belarus, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Russia, Serbia andUkraine.

The United Nations’ demographic projections highlight the complexity of an increasingly crowdedworld. As reported in the official commentary from the United Nations: “Many of the fastest growingpopulations are in the poorest countries, where population growth brings additional challenges in theeffort to eradicate poverty (SDG 1), achieve greater equality (SDG 5 and SDG 10), fight hunger andmalnutrition (SDG 2), and strengthen the coverage and quality of health and education systems (SDG3 and SDG 4) to ensure that no one is left behind”.

1.2 Combating climate changeand the risks for peace

Regarding the issue of climate change, signs ofdanger and of inadequate collective responses aremultiplying. The most recent was the further pro-gression of the date of Earth Overshoot Day(EOD), the day on which the world has consumedall the resources produced by the planet in a givenyear: it fell on 29 July in 2019, while it had oc-curred on 1 August last year, and in mid-Septem-ber in the year 2000). On average, in one year,humanity consumes the resources of 1.7 planets,but if everyone consumed as Americans do, wewould need 5 planets, 3 if the world had a Germanlifestyle, and 2.7 if the model were Italy.

Scientists also report that climate change is hap-pening more quickly than envisaged, as awarenessof the damage it causes to people on all conti-nents grows. The recent Special Report on Cli-mate Change and Land, presented by the IPCC(Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), theUnited Nations body for assessing the science re-lated to climate change, highlights the dramaticeffects of climate change on hunger and migra-tion. Global warming will lead to desertificationof growing tracts of land, especially in the poorestregions of the world, particularly in Africa, theMiddle East, Asia and Latin America. The conse-quence will be an inevitable increase in migration,within countries and across borders. “Economicmigrants” will increasingly also be “climate mi-grants”, with the potential exacerbation of con-flicts and social, cultural and political tensions.

This study follows the alarm bell sounded by theIPCC with the Special Report on Global Warmingof 1.5°C (SR15) issued at the 48th session of theIntergovernmental Commission on ClimateChange, held in South Korea from 1 to 6 October2018. Commissioned to the IPCC by the Paris Con-ference (COP 21) in 2015, the report is the out-come of two years’ work by 91 researchers from44 countries, who examined 6,000 studies on thesubject and evaluated 42,000 reviews by col-leagues and governments and their conclusions1.

Since pre-industrial times - the report points out- it is estimated that human activities have causedapproximately 1 degree of global warming, witha probable variation ranging between 0.8 and 1.2degrees. Global warming is likely to reach 1.5°Cbetween 2030 and 2052 if it continues to increaseat the current rate. According to the IPCC, if emis-

sions were drastically reduced and CO2 in the at-mosphere were to be absorbed today, globalwarming could be kept below 1.5 degrees (themost ambitious target of the Paris Agreement), aspast emissions alone would not cause this thresh-old to be exceeded. On the contrary, in the ab-sence of immediate and drastic measures, thereis a risk that this level could rise to 2°C in just 12years, causing irreversible damage to the environ-ment and to our health, as well as serious reper-cussions on poverty and inequality. Therefore, thenext ten years will be crucial in determining whatkind of world we will have in the decades tocome. “If we act decisively, innovate and investin quality,” the report concludes, “we can preventthe worst climate change we know from occur-ring, and the Sustainable Development Goals ofthe 2030 Agenda would also be achieved. If we failto do this, we will face a world in which it will beincreasingly difficult for us and future generationsto prosper”.

The IPCC Report preceded COP 24 held in Katow-ice in December 2018. This much-anticipated con-ference gave rise to new regulations forgovernments (the Katowice climate package)aimed at reducing greenhouse gases and steppingup the Conference’s ambitions, which has the ad-vantage of countering the declining role of multi-lateral negotiations brought about by the attitudeof some countries, led by the United States, whichprefer bilateral agreements. Indeed, one of thepillars of the “Katowice climate package” is theframework regarding transparency of the commit-ments, which aims to promote trust among coun-tries around the world in terms of steadfastnessand willingness to achieve the goals for 2020 and2030. Another crucial issue dealt with regardedaccounting for greenhouse gas emissions, giventhe historical absence of a standard calculationsystem. Under the new model, in the event ofnon-compliance with standards, the poorest coun-tries can present their reasons and outline a planto strengthen their capabilities.


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In the negotiations, the direct commitment of UNSecretary General Guterres, who placed climatechange at the centre of his agenda for action, wasof great significance. Indeed, the Secretary Gen-eral returned to Katowice three times to preventfailure of the negotiations arising from the hostil-ity shown by certain countries and the boycottsby Saudi Arabia, the USA, Russia, Kuwait andBrazil, which joined this group of countries duringthe last phase of the negotiations. The impassewas resolved by China’s willingness to acceptbinding reductions in its emissions, but due topressure from Brazil, and in particular from thenew president, Jair Bolsonaro, the package ofmeasures governing the cross-border trading ofcarbon credits was postponed until 2019.

Compared to previous climate talks, dominatedby global “heavyweights”, mainly the UnitedStates and China, COP 24 has been able toachieve a delicate balance between the concernsof the smallest, poorest and most vulnerablecountries, the developed nations responsible forglobal warming, and the emerging economies,which have always been reluctant to take ongreater burdens. For example, regarding thecomplex issue of developed countries financingclimate action in developing countries, the “Ka-towice climate package” sets out ways to formnew, more ambitious targets from 2025 onwards,compared to the current commitment to mobiliseUS$100 billion a year from 2020.

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CLIMATE BREAKDOWN: A CHANGE OF TONE IN THE MEDIA

“Faced with the climate disaster, we should not make the same mistake as in 1939, when the directorsof American radio stations asked correspondents from Europe to speak about trivial matters to pleaselisteners rather than the fact that Hitler was about to invade Poland”. This, in a nutshell, was themessage from the doyen of American journalism, Bill Moyers, at the Covering Climate Now conferenceheld in New York on 30 April on the initiative of The Nation and the Columbia Journalism Review con-ference (CJR).

The need for a change of tone when talking about the climate, forcing even the most reluctant politi-cians to admit the seriousness of the situation, has become a topic of debate throughout the world.The campaign has gained momentum following the position taken by the British newspaper TheGuardian - which has always paid attention to sustainability issues - when it changed its style book(where the stylistic rules its journalists must comply with are set out) to favour the use of terms suchas “climate crisis”, “climate emergency” or even “climate breakdown” over “climate change”. Even“global warming” is no longer appropriate; we need to talk about “global heating”, because “theplanet is not getting a bit warmer than in the past, but rather risks being burnt”.

Ahead of the events held in September (the World Climate Summit and the UN General Assembly onthe 2030 Agenda), the CJR has promoted documentation tools and information centres around theworld. “We want journalists to compare notes and discuss and analyse how the media should portraythe climate crisis that is rapidly being unleashed. We want to highlight the good articles (there aresome) and find ways to encourage their production. We want to convince newsroom chiefs that com-municating the climate crisis is part of our responsibilities and doesn’t mean losing money. Nor doesit require a large increase in human resources (we are aware of the situation in which newspapersfind themselves), but only smarter use of them, by incorporating a focus on climate in everything wedo. We want to share ways of telling stories that attract viewers and readers and lead them to act.Above all, we want to break the climate silence that has long prevailed within too much of the newsmedia”.

In line with this initiative, ASviS has drawn up a partnership agreement with the Italian Associationof Journalists aimed at launching joint initiatives to raise awareness of the 2030 Agenda. As part ofthis partnership, the e-learning course created by the Alliance has been made available on the trainingplatform for Italian journalists. In addition, ASviS has initiated partnerships regarding these issueswith the University of Bologna, the LUISS School of Journalism and the Sole24Ore master’s degreeprogramme.

Among the Conference’s thorny issues was the dis-cussion on the adoption of the scientific results ofthe IPCC Report, which highlights the risk of soonreaching a “point of no return” in climate changetrends. The debate about the document’s validityled to it not being recognised by COP 24. Anotherunresolved issue concerned agreement on Article6 of the Paris Agreement, regarding the so-called“market mechanisms” for achieving national mit-igation targets, which is to be discussed again atCOP 25 or COP 26.

At COP 24 in Katowice, the World Bank decidedto double its climate provisions by proposing aUS$50 billion action plan for climate change adap-tation and resilience. The funding will support thedevelopment of: high-quality forecasting, earlywarning systems and climate information servicesto manage the climate risks to which 250 millionpeople in at least 30 countries are exposed; man-agement plans and better governance of riverbasin management; climate-focused social protec-tion systems; and support for the efforts of atleast 20 countries to respond rapidly to and over-come climate disruptions through additional fi-nancial protection instruments.

In this regard, it is worth mentioning the BonnClimate Change Conference, a preparatorymeeting for COP 25, which will take place in San-tiago, Chile, in December 2019. The Bonn Con-ference, attended by over 3,300 delegates,discussed the mechanisms for implementing Ar-ticle 6 of the Paris Agreement and the terms ofreference for the review of the Warsaw Interna-tional Mechanism regarding loss and damage as-sociated with climate change impacts, which isa sensitive issue due to the financial implicationsof insurance cover associated with risk reductionstrategies. Areas and aspects of the review weredefined In Bonn and these will be discussed inSantiago.

In January 2019, the relationship between cli-mate change and geopolitical change was also atthe centre of the work of the peace and securitybody of the United Nations’ Security Councildedicated to this issue. The link between securityand the environment was first addressed in theUN peace and security body in April 2007. Itshould be noted that, at the last Security Coun-cil, the debate saw the participation of morethan 70 Member States and included statementsby a dozen ministers. “Climate change has a mul-titude of security impacts,” said Pavel Kabat,

chief scientist and research director of the WorldMeteorological Organisation, invited to addressthe Security Council for the first time. Environ-mental problems are “rolling back the gains innutrition and access to food; heightening the riskof wildfires and exacerbating air quality chal-lenges; increasing the potential for conflict overwater; leading to more internal displacement andmigration”. In other words, climate changeshould be “increasingly treated as a threat to na-tional security”.

The United Nations Environment Programme(UNEP) published its Emissions Gap 2018 re-port, reaffirming that the world is not taking thenecessary steps to avoid the worst effects of cli-mate change and that the targets set out in the2015 Paris Agreement will not be met unless gov-ernments urgently introduce additional mea-sures. Indeed, there is still a huge gap betweenwords and actions, between the objectivesagreed by governments and the measuresneeded to achieve them. For example, accord-ing to the report, new taxes on fossil fuels, in-vestments in clean technologies and muchstronger government policies to reduce emis-sions are needed.

If all fossil fuel subsidies were eliminated, globalcarbon emissions could be reduced by up to 10%by 2030. Carbon pricing is one way to achieve this,but such policies often face difficulties becausetaxes are generally unpopular, as demonstrated bythe gilets jaunes protests in France, and regimesto reduce carbon through emissions trading areoften challenged by companies.

Another problem highlighted by the report is thatinfrastructure such as buildings, transport net-works and power generation, which are now builtto rely on fossil fuels, will continue to emit emis-sions throughout the infrastructure’s useful life(up to 50 years). Many companies and govern-ments still rely on outdated measures of eco-nomic performance and obsolete methods forgenerating energy and constructing buildings;changing these criteria is therefore essential.However, according to the report, private in-vestors increasingly appreciate the opportunityoffered by the transition to a low-carbon econ-omy, but government intervention is necessary tohelp release low-carbon investment from the pri-vate sector.


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Finally, the restoration of ecosystems will be atthe centre of the UN’s activities over the nextdecade. As established by the UN General Assem-bly, the period between 2021 and 2030 should bededicated to the protection of biodiversity. Forthe UN, activities able to ensure that ecosystemsare in a good state will offer unprecedented op-

portunities in terms of food security, carbon diox-ide storage and the number of jobs created. Theaim is to combat biodiversity loss, which has nowreached alarming levels. The degradation of ma-rine and terrestrial ecosystems puts the lives of3.2 billion people at risk.

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THE UNITED NATIONS GLOBAL COMPACT FOR MIGRATION

On 10 December 2018, on the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, theIntergovernmental Conference to Adopt the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migra-tion began in Marrakesh. The need to adhere to common principles on migration was already en-shrined in September 2016 with the adoption by the UN General Assembly of the New YorkDeclaration for Migrants and Refugees. In Marrakesh, the UN pact was signed by 164 out of 193countries which had given their initial support to the non-binding initiative to regulate migrationflows and combat human trafficking during the High-level Political Forum held last July in NewYork.

The Global Compact for Migration is based on the values of national sovereignty, shared responsibility,non-discrimination and human rights, recognising that a co-operative approach is needed to optimisethe benefits of migration and manage the risks and challenges it poses to individuals and communitiesin countries of origin, transit and destination.

The document comprises 23 objectives for better managing migration at local, national, regionaland global levels. It aims to mitigate the adverse drivers and structural factors that prevent peoplefrom building and maintaining sustainable livelihoods in their countries of origin; it intends to re-duce the risks and vulnerabilities faced at different stages of migration by respecting, protectingand fulfilling migrants’ human rights and providing them with care and assistance; it seeks to ad-dress the legitimate concerns of states and communities, while recognising that societies are un-dergoing demographic, economic, social and environmental changes at different scales that mayhave implications for, and result from, migration; and it strives to create conducive conditions toenable all migrants to enrich societies through their human, economic and social capacities, andthus facilitate their contribution to sustainable development at the local, national, regional andglobal levels.

The countries that did not participate in the international conference or sign the agreement includedthe United States (which did not participate in the negotiations), Austria, Australia, Bulgaria, Chile,Croatia, the Czech Republic, the Dominican Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania,Poland, Slovakia and Switzerland. Although Italy had participated at all stages of the negotiations overthe previous two years, it is one of the countries that did not take part in the Marrakesh summit, re-ferring the decision as to whether or not it would participate in the Global Compact for Migration toParliament. In February 2019, the Chamber of Deputies approved (with the abstention of the partiesmaking up the governing coalition) a non-binding motion against Italy signing the Compact, while thePresident-elect of the European Commission recalled the need to amend the Dublin agreements gov-erning the management of asylum within the European Union.

Regardless of Italy’s position, the scale of migration clearly requires a multilateral approach. Not onlybecause today 258 million people already live in a country other than the one in which they were born,but also because the pressure to emigrate will tend to grow as demographic imbalances and inequalitiesincrease. For example, a survey conducted by Gallup reveals that “people’s desire to migrate perma-nently to another country increased significantly between 2015 and 2017: 15% of adults around theworld (more than 750 million people) said they would like to move to another country if they had theopportunity to do so”.

This is a very high cost if we consider that we losean amount of natural capital corresponding to anestimated value of 10% of global GDP every year.Ecosystems underpin all human activities on theplanet, thanks to the continuous production of“ecosystem services”, a term that refers to theproduction of goods and services provided by theenvironment, such as carbon storage, oxygen andfood production, fresh water supply and protec-tion from extreme events, such as heat waves andfloods.


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THE LOSS IN BIODIVERSITY: A WORLDWIDE PHENOMENON

The current rate of global biodiversity loss has reached unprecedented levels, as illustrated by theGlobal Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services by the IPBES, the United Nationsbody that analyses biodiversity. The report shows that at least one million out of the eight millionliving species on Earth are threatened with extinction in the coming decades, while the current rateof extinction far exceeds (by tens to hundreds of times, depending on the case) the average rate ofthe last 10 million years. In particular, there has been a rapid and alarming decline of several insectpopulations in some areas of the world, especially of many pollinating species (10% of insect speciesare globally threatened with extinction).

According to the report, human intervention has significantly transformed 75% of the world’s land-based environment, caused cumulative impacts for 66% of the marine environment and destroyed 85%of wetlands. This dramatic change in the structure and dynamics of the Earth’s ecosystems, due toour actions, has especially taken place since the 1950s and is unprecedented in the history of mankind.The main causes of this change are the modification of terrestrial and marine habitats, the over-ex-ploitation of the direct use of living species, climate change, various types of pollution and the spreadof alien species.

The IPBES report is the most up-to-date documentation on the state of health of biodiversity andthe services that ecosystems provide, daily and free of charge, to mankind. Ecosystems are definedas “nature’s contribution to people” and consist of 18 categories of environmental processes, 10 re-garding regulation (from creation and maintenance of habitats to climate regulation), 4 materialcontributions (such as the availability of energy, food and raw materials), 3 non-material contribu-tions (such as teaching and inspiration) and a cross-cutting contribution that regards the fundamentalissue of keeping options open. An assessment of the state of these “contributions” reveals a decliningsituation in 14 of these 18 categories, including the continuing deterioration of the capacity ofecosystems, habitats, species and genotypes to keep open options to support a good quality of humanlife in the future.

In order to implement the 2030 Agenda and the other commitments that countries around the worldhave undertaken over time, the IPBES deems a rapid and transformative change in the current eco-nomic, social, political and technological factors that are destroying biodiversity - and therefore humanvalues and behaviour - to be essential, in order to bring about the inevitable change in the prevailingdevelopment model. The report’s conclusions encourage international mobilisation to defend theworld’s biodiversity, from which we originate and without which we cannot live.

1.3 Implementation of the 2030Agenda: an overall assessment

During the High-level Political Forum (HLPF), theannual meeting that assesses the implementationof the SDGs, UN Under-Secretary General, LiuZhenmin, went through the key points of the workto be conducted at the General Assembly inSeptember. First of all, achievement of the Sus-tainable Development Goals (SDGs) is made morechallenging by the slowdown of the world econ-omy, which is expanding at 1% below the averagegrowth rate of the fifteen-year period 2001-2015,when the world was committed to the MillenniumDevelopment Goals (MDGs), the predecessors ofthe SDGs. And the situation could worsen in thecoming years.

The theme of employment was at the centre ofthe HLPF, partly because Goal 8 (Promote sus-tained, inclusive and sustainable economicgrowth, full and productive employment and de-cent work for all) was among the Goals subject tospecific review this year, together with Goal 4(Quality Education), Goal 10 (Reducing Inequal-ity), Goal 13 (Climate Action), Goal 16 (Peace,Justice and Strong Institutions) and Goal 17 (Part-nership for the Goals), which are reviewed everyyear.

Overall, the HLPF was attended by more than2,000 government, business and civil society rep-resentatives, including over 125 heads of stateand government, ministers and deputy ministers.47 new Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) - thenational reports on the implementation of the2030 Agenda (which Italy submitted in 2017) -were presented, making a grand total of 142 overfour years.

Despite this large-scale mobilisation, the eight-day debate led to the conclusion that not enoughis being done to meet the commitments made in2015. The global population will reach 8.5 billionin 2030. This trend may offer a demographicbonus to developing countries which will have aplentiful workforce, but many young people maybe excluded from the labour market: an esti-mated 1.8 billion people are at risk of chronic un-employment. “We are running late and we needto accelerate”, said UN Secretary General AntónioGuterres, inaugurating the ministerial session ofthe meeting. He cited two figures: poverty ratesare not decreasing fast enough to achieve theGoal of ending extreme poverty by 2030; and five

billion people cannot rely on a fair and efficientjudicial system as required by Goal 16. On the oc-casion of the HLPF, the United Nations Depart-ment of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA)gathered together best practices regarding imple-mentation of the 2030 Agenda on the SustainableDevelopment Goals Partnerships Platform, inthe hope that they may inspire other initiatives.Under the heading “Action Networks &Databases”, the actions that regard one or moreof SDGs include the Sustainable Development Fes-tival organised by ASviS.

This year’s report Measuring Distance to the SDGTargets 2019: An Assessment of Where OECDCountries Stand, published in May by the Organ-isation for Economic Cooperation and Develop-ment (OECD), represents an importantcontribution to understanding whether and towhat extent progress is being made towardsachieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Inthe report, the indicators that describe the situa-tion are aligned with those established by theUnited Nations. However, the available data onlyenabled accurate analysis of 105 out of the 169Targets into which the 17 SDGs are divided. Ingeneral, OECD countries appear to be quite wellplaced in terms of sustainable development is-sues; they represent the parts of the world whereaccess to energy and various communication tech-nologies is largely guaranteed, and where infantmortality rates are the lowest. However, there arestill many thorny issues that make the path to2030 a difficult one.

SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), SDG 11 (Sus-tainable Cities and Communities), SDG 13 (Cli-mate Action) and SDG 6 (Clean Water andSanitation) are the best performers in OECD coun-tries. However, the Goals relating to inclusive-ness, SDG 5 (Gender Equality) and SDG 10(Reducing Inequality), and those relating to foodwaste and good quality institutions, SDG 2 (ZeroHunger) and SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong In-stitutions), are lagging far behind.

A major problem regards the policies that havebeen put in place so far to address inequality. Agreat deal still needs to be done for equality ineducation (throughout the OECD area, 14% ofyoung people are not in education or training oremployment), for women’s empowerment (thevast majority of managerial posts are held bymen, and on average women hold less than a thirdof the seats in national parliaments); and for com-

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THE UN REPORT ON THE 2030 AGENDA FOR THE HLPF 2019

Four years after the adoption of the 2030 Agenda and just under ten years from the target date, theUN Sustainable Development Goals Report 2019 shows that, although the world is making progress inmany critical areas, more rapid and ambitious actions and policies are needed to bring about the eco-nomic and social transformation required to achieve the SDGs. Above all, the areas relating to com-bating climate change and inequality require the most urgent action. In the first case, the catastrophicand irreversible effects that will occur if greenhouse gas emissions are not reduced immediately willmake many parts of the world uninhabitable, particularly affecting the most vulnerable. With regardto inequality, poverty, hunger and disease are increasing in several countries, affecting the poorestmost. But just as the Goals of the 2030 Agenda are complex and interconnected, so are the solutions.Therefore, the UN report highlights certain areas of action that may lead to significant progress interms of all the 17 Goals: finance, resilience, inclusive and sustainable economies, more effective in-stitutions, local action, better use of data and digital transformation.

1. No poverty. Although the share of the global population living in extreme poverty fell to 10% in2015 (compared to 16% in 2010 and 36% in 1990), the world is not on track to end poverty by2030.

2. Zero hunger. After years of decline, the number of people suffering from hunger has risen againsince 2014. In 2015, 784 million people were undernourished, while in 2017 the figure was 821million.

3. Good health and well-being. A great deal of progress has been made in improving the health ofmillions of people: the number of children dying under the age of five fell from 9.8 million in 2000to 5.4 million in 2017, while in the same period, thanks to vaccines, deaths caused by measleshave decreased by 80%. The incidence of HIV in adults aged 15-49 in sub-Saharan Africa fell 37%between 2010 and 2017.

4. Quality education. Although education is the key to socio-economic progress and poverty reductionat global level, 617 million children and adolescents do not meet the minimum standards of literacyand numeracy, and one in five children between the ages of 6 and 17 do not attend school. 750million adults are illiterate, two-thirds of whom are women.

5. Gender equality. The situation of women has improved over the last decade, but discrimination,harmful practices and violence persist. At least 200 million girls have suffered mutilation in the 30countries where the practice is most widespread. 18% of women and girls aged 15-49 have sufferedphysical and/or sexual violence from a partner in the last 12 months. Women represent 39% of theworkforce, but hold only 27% of management positions.

6. Clean water and sanitation. Water is an endangered resource for which demand is growing fasterthan population growth. Worldwide, 785 million people do not have access to clean water. 2 billionpeople live in countries with high water stress and 700 million people may be displaced due to se-vere water scarcity by 2030.

7. Affordable and clean energy. The world is making good progress towards Goal 7, with nearly 9out of 10 people having access to electricity. Of the 840 million people who do not have access toelectricity, 87% live in rural areas. The share of energy from renewable sources in final consumptionreached 17.5% in 2015, compared to 16.6% in 2010. However, 3 billion people still do not have ac-cess to clean fuel for cooking.

8. Decent work and economic growth. In 2018, the overall unemployment rate fell to 5% from 6.4%in 2000, but remains high for young people, one fifth of whom are NEETs (not in education, em-ployment or training). Men earn on average 12% more per hour than women, a pay gap that risesto 20% for management positions.

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9. Industry, innovation and infrastructure. Companies in the high and medium technology sec-tors are growing, representing 45% of the total value of production. At the same time, invest-ment in research and development has risen from US$739 billion in 2000 to US$2 trillion in2016. 90% of the world’s population lives in areas covered by 3G networks or higher, but formany people the cost of access is too high. Only slightly more than half of the world’s popu-lation use the internet.

10.Reduce inequalities. In many countries, an increasing share of net aggregate wealth goes to 1%of the population, while the remaining 40% receives less than 25% of the national income. In ad-dition, significant inequalities persist in terms of access to healthcare and education. A growingnumber of countries have policies to facilitate safe and orderly migration, but greater efforts areneeded to protect the rights and socio-economic well-being of migrants.

11. Sustainable cities and communities. Today 3.5 billion people live in cities, a number that is ex-pected to grow to around 5 billion in 2030. Only half of those living in cities have easy access totransport and 9 out of 10 people breathe polluted air. To meet these and other city planning chal-lenges, 150 countries have developed national urban plans, almost half of which are already beingimplemented.

12.Responsible consumption and production. Globally, our ecological footprint is growing at a fasterrate than economic or population growth. In high-income countries, the per capita footprint is 13times higher than in low-income countries. Almost 100 countries are adopting policies or measuresto promote sustainable patterns of production and consumption.

13.Climate action. In 2017, the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere reached 405.5 parts permillion, or 146% of pre-industrial levels. Moreover, the last four years have been the hottestever, with a global average temperature that exceeded pre-industrial levels by about 1°C in2018. In May 2019, 186 countries had ratified the Paris Agreement and 182 countries plus theEuropean Union had notified the UN of their national contributions to combating climatechange.

14. Life below water. The global share of fish stocks in biologically sustainable conditions fell from90% in 1974 to 67% in 2015 and marine acidity (caused by the absorption of anthropogenic carbondioxide from the atmosphere into the oceans) increased by 26% compared to the pre-industrialera. The percentage of marine waters safeguarded in protected areas is 17%, twice as much as in2010.

15. Life on land. Biodiversity loss is accelerating and according to the Red List Index the risk of ex-tinction of more than 20,000 species has risen 10% in the last 25 years. Between 2000 and 2015,soil degradation affected 20% of the earth’s surface, with direct impacts on the lives of more thana billion people. Deforestation continues to take place, although in recent years it has been oc-curring at a 25% slower rate than in 2000-2005.

16. Peace, justice and strong institutions. Murders of human rights activists, journalists and tradeunionists are on the increase: between January and October 2018 alone, 397 were killed in 41countries while carrying out their work. Regarding human trafficking, raped women and girls ac-count for 70% of the victims of this phenomenon, which primarily occurs in connection with sexualexploitation. An increase in the number of countries that have set up a national body dedicated tohuman rights is a positive figure.

17. Partnership for the Goals. In 2018, public aid to developing countries (Official Development As-sistance, ODA) amounted to a net figure of US$149 billion, down 2.7% on 2017 in real terms. Thedecline is due to a reduction in aid for the reception of refugees, while aid for bilateral projectsor technical assistance rose 1.3% in real terms.

bating poverty (approximately 14% of the OECDpopulation lives in relative poverty and has diffi-culties in using certain goods and services that areneeded to live a dignified life).

With regard to biodiversity in general, SDG 14 LifeBelow Water) and SDG 15 (Life On Land), and sus-tainable production, SDG 12 (Responsible Con-sumption and Production), the data areincomplete or unreliable. The improvement of sta-tistical gathering in these areas could change theirassessment, which is currently quite positive2.

In parallel, the Sustainable Development Report2019, produced by the Bertelsmann Foundationand the Sustainable Development Solutions Net-work (SDSN), analyses progress made on the 2030Agenda from a global perspective, which meansthat fewer indicators are used than in the OECDreport. The situation is critical: “No Country is ontrack to achieve all 17 Goals,” the report says.“There are also major shortcomings in developednations regarding Goal 12 (Responsible Consump-tion and Production), Goal 13 (Climate Action),Goal 14 (Life Below Water) and Goal 15 (Life onLand)”. Moreover, inequality of income andwealth still pose major policy challenges in devel-oping countries, as do health and education. In-deed, “the eradication of extreme poverty is stilla global challenge,” the report concludes, andaround half of the world’s nations are not on trackto achieve this Goal.

“The high-level political commitment to the SDGsdoes not live up to the promises made,” the doc-ument emphasises. Of 43 Countries examinedwith regard to their implementation efforts, in-cluding all G20 members and those with a popu-lation of more than 100 million, 33 have approvedthe SDGs in official statements since 1 January2018, but only 18 of these have mentioned themin their budgets. The report also warns that theSDGs can be made operational, but they requireprecise action in six specific areas: education andgender inequality; health, well-being and demog-raphy; energy de-carbonisation and sustainableindustry; food and preservation of seas andoceans; sustainable cities and communities; andthe digital revolution.

However, the worst scores were recorded forGoals 13, 14 and 15. In particular, no nation ob-tained a “green rating” (synonymous with Goalachieved) for Goal 14, and high-income coun-tries even had negative effects on the environ-mental and socio-economic conditions of the

least developed ones. Human rights and free-dom of speech are in great danger in manycountries.

Delays in the implementation of the 2030 Agendawere discussed at the G20 in Osaka last June. Thejoint declaration states that countries will strive“to foster development and address other globalchallenges to pave the way toward an inclusiveand sustainable world, as envisioned in the 2030Agenda for Sustainable Development”. Further-more, in the part dedicated to “realising an inclu-sive and sustainable world”, the G20 countriescommitted to “playing a leading role in contribut-ing to the timely implementation of the Agenda”and to “supporting the efforts made by developingcountries to implement it”, but regarding climatechange, the financing related to mitigation andadaptation for poor countries and the irreversibil-ity of the agreements reached in Paris at COP 21in 2015 were merely reaffirmed.

Combating inequality was the theme of the G7held in Biarritz in August 2019. The summitadopted an innovative format, involving a num-ber of partner countries, in particular Africancountries, as well as representatives of civil so-ciety, to explore concrete solutions aimed atcombating all forms of inequality. The FrenchPresidency set five priorities: promoting genderequality and access to education and health ser-vices; protecting the planet through support forgreen finance and a fair ecological transitionbased on the conservation of biodiversity and theoceans; peace, combating security threats, andterrorism; using the opportunities created by dig-ital technology and artificial intelligence in anethical and people-oriented way; and tackling in-equality through renewed cooperation withAfrica.

Although there was no final communiqué, it isworth noting the joint declaration by the FrenchPresident Macron, the International Labour Organ-isation (ILO), the World Bank, the InternationalMonetary Fund (IMF), the World Trade Organisa-tion (WTO) and the OECD, which highlighted therisks posed by inequality to global growth, eco-nomic stability, social cohesion and the achieve-ment of the SDGs. The declaration called for“renewed and effective multilateralism” and thatorganisations should commit, among other things,to continue cooperation to support each other’sefforts to achieve the Sustainable DevelopmentGoals.


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Four years after the adoption of the 2030 Agenda,the heads of state and government of the signa-tory countries met in New York for the first SDGSummit, within the framework of the United Na-tions General Assembly, to examine the state ofits implementation. In the joint policy statement,which has not yet been finalised at the time ofprinting this report, the heads of state and gov-ernment reaffirmed their commitment to achiev-ing the Agenda’s Goals by 2030, and pledged toensure that the next decade is “one of action andresults”.

The document acknowledges the growing na-tional commitment to integration of the SDGsinto public policy, as evidenced by the 142 Vol-untary National Reviews presented at the HLPFover the past three years, and the efforts of localauthorities, civil society, the private sector, theworld of education, youth and many other non-state actors. Moreover, the increasing efforts of

multilateral institutions, including financialones, to incorporate the SDGs into their opera-tions were highlighted. However, the statementnotes with concern that progress is still limitedin many areas, such as poverty eradication,hunger, women’s empowerment, inequality andloss of ecosystems.

To ensure that the SDGs are achieved, the headsof state and government have asked the UN Sec-retary General to continue involving stakehold-ers in order to generate new solutions, and alsorequested him to organise an annual meetingduring the General Assembly at which the bestexperiences in promoting the SDGs can be high-lighted. Moreover, world leaders have made tencommitments to help achieve the SDGs: leavingno-one behind, by combating all forms of eco-nomic, gender and social inequality; mobilisa-tion of adequate financial and non-financialresources by all actors; boosting implementation

ANALYSIS OF GOAL 8 CARRIED OUT BY ASviS FOR THE INTERNATIONALTRADE UNION CONFEDERATION

At a side event of the High-level Political Forum 2019, called “SDG 8 - Decent Work and Just Transitionat the Heart of the 2030 Agenda”, organised by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC on12 July), ASviS presented the results of a research conducted with the International Trade Union Con-federation to promote the monitoring and implementation of Goal 8 (Decent Work and EconomicGrowth) at the global level.

The aim of the project is to identify the interactions between the Targets of Goal 8 and those ofother SDGs, in order to demonstrate the key importance of the employment and economic dimen-sion within the 2030 Agenda. Starting with the multidimensionality of Goal 8, which incorporatesvarious topics relating to growth, employment, productivity, working conditions and workers’rights, the research highlights that it is vital to achieve the Goal without jeopardising other Goals,such as those on environmental and climate issues, in order to ensure fulfilment of the ambitionsof the 2030 Agenda. The study is based on a data set collected in 166 countries, corresponding to98.9% of the world’s population. Composite indicators regarding Goal 8 were drawn from the basicindicators, revealing that the best performers are usually high-income countries (e.g. the UnitedStates, Canada, Japan and most EU countries). But income level does not necessarily explain per-formance with regard to Goal 8; even in countries with a low per capita income, workers’ rightscan be fulfilled, a good social dialogue can be established and economic growth can be boosted.Therefore, the idea that relaunching economic growth is the only way to make progress with re-gard to decent work is not entirely correct as there are many other variables that make a differ-ence, such as the right to lifelong learning and the potential gains connected with environmentalsustainability.

As far as monitoring is concerned, a need to improve data collection regarding Goal 8 also emergedduring the HLPF side event, given the scarcity of data on workplace health and safety, the gender paygap, the role of labour inspectors, the informal employment rate and the coverage rate of collectivebargaining.


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of national 2030 Agenda policies; strengtheninginstitutions to increase their effectiveness andtransparency; strengthening the actions of localactors such as cities; reducing the risks derivingfrom disasters and increasing countries’ re-silience; finding solutions to global challengesthrough global collaboration and multilateral-ism, in accordance with international law andthe United Nations Charter; promoting scientificand technological development with a focus ondigital innovation for sustainable development;investing in analysis of data and statistics to

monitor sustainable development; and strength-ening the HLPF to make it a more effective in-strument.

In conclusion, many good intentions are reiter-ated, but we will have to see in practice whetherthe countries that have so far considered the SDGsto be an abstract “dream list” will shift gear andseriously commit to implementing them. It willalso be important to assess the improvements thatare set to be made to the functioning of the HLPF,an instrument that many people deem to be tooweak to have an impact on national policies (for

FUTURE SCENARIOS: THE SDGs AND PLANETARY BOUNDARIES

How can the world achieve the Sustainable Development Goals within planetary boundaries? This isthe question that gave rise to the report entitled “Transformation is feasible. How to achieve the Sus-tainable Development Goals within Planetary Boundaries”, produced by the Stockholm Resilience Cen-tre and the BI Norwegian Business School for the Club of Rome on the occasion of its 50th anniversary.The document analyses the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, outlining various scenarios for eco-nomic, social and environmental evolution with regard to the achievement of the SDGs and the stateof the Earth’s ecosystem until 2050.

The first scenario (Same) is business as usual, which explores a future in which the same policiesimplemented in recent decades are applied and the “key variables” (the economy, technology, etc.)evolve at the same rate. In this case, it would be impossible to achieve most of the Goals of the Agendaby 2030, or even by 2050. The good news is that hunger and poverty would be eradicated by 2050, butat the cost of irreversible damage to the Earth’s ecosystem. Therefore, most people on Earth wouldfind themselves in a more precarious situation in 2050 than at present.

The second scenario (Faster) analyses the situation that would occur if governments and economicsystems merely accelerated the pace of economic growth. Achievement of the SDGs by 2050 wouldbe slightly easier compared to the first scenario, but planetary boundaries would be exceeded evenfurther, entailing over-exploitation of available resources. Many people would become richer, but so-cieties would be marked by increasingly destabilising inequalities.

In the third scenario (Harder), the report considers what would happen if governments and socio-economic systems were more committed to sustainable development, by strengthening policiesand strategies to achieve the SDGs more quickly, while reducing pressure on ecosystems. The limitationof this approach is that it acts on the SDGs in an unintegrated way, and generates many trade-offs. In2040, planetary boundaries would still be under strong pressure, with scant progress made on the SDGsbetween 2030 and 2050. Humankind would continue to damage natural systems, albeit to a lesser ex-tent than in the first two scenarios.

In the fourth scenario (Smarter), governments would opt to implement five major transforma-tions in the economy and society: rapid growth of renewable energy to halve carbon emissionsevery ten years starting from 2020; investment in food chains to generate a 1% productivity increaseper year; implementation of new development models in the poorest countries; reduction of in-equalities to ensure that the richest 10% of the population does not receive more than 40% of nationalincome; and investment in education for all, gender equality, health and family planning policies tostabilise the world population. A synergistic implementation of these five transformations could leadto the achievement of the majority of the SDGs, in almost complete compliance with planetaryboundaries.

example, in the case of the recent fires in theAmazon region). Finally, the call for greater mul-tilateralism will also have to play out in practice,given that some large countries, such as theUnited States, appear to increasingly favour bilat-eral relations.

1.4 The role of financialinstruments in implementingthe 2030 Agenda

Over the last 12 months, the global debate on fi-nancial instruments for implementation of the2030 Agenda has intensified. For example, 2018was a record year for the issuing of “greenbonds”, while 2017 saw the launch of the firstbonds connected with the Sustainable Develop-ment Goals: SDG-linked bonds. However, althoughthe contribution of private capital to sustainabledevelopment has increased, only a small part ofthe world of finance has addressed the issue ofsustainability, and more investment is needed toimplement the 2030 Agenda.

In recent years, there has been a significant in-crease in sustainable and responsible invest-ment (SRI) at global level, as well as at Europeanlevel and in Italy. The integration of environmen-tal, social and governance (ESG) sustainability cri-teria into investment policies and strategies is anincreasingly widespread practice among investors.This trend is driven by a growing awareness of thefinancial importance of sustainability issues andthe central role of markets in supporting inclu-sive, economic growth with a low environmentalimpact.

In recent years, the interest of responsible in-vestors has focused mainly on environmental is-sues, partly as a result of the attention arousedby the Paris Agreement on climate change andother initiatives such as the encyclical Laudatosi’. The regulatory and policy measures proposedby the European Commission in its Action Plan onFinancing Sustainable Growth also focus on theobjective of directing investment towards pro-jects with positive environmental effects.

The integration of ESG criteria into investmentprocesses enables prevention of a series of risksthat are difficult to identify with economic and fi-nancial analysis alone. For example, by includingclimate change considerations in their investmentprocesses, SRI actors can avoid financial lossescaused by extreme weather events and naturaldisasters (physical risks). In addition, they areable to anticipate possible changes in national andinternational legal frameworks aimed at reducingthe environmental impact of human activities(legal risks). Together with considerations regard-ing mitigation, a growing number of academic and

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market research studies show that the integrationof ESG criteria in investment decisions is likely toachieve returns in line with or above market re-turns in the medium to long term.

According to the latest edition of the Global Sus-tainable Investment Review by the Global Sus-tainable Investment Alliance (GSIA) on the stateof the global sustainable finance market, in thetwo-year period 2016-2018 SRI investmentamounted to more than US$30 trillion, up 34% on2016. Europe ranks first in terms of managed as-sets with US$12.3 trillion, or 46% of the global SRImarket. A significant figure also regards the ratioof sustainable investment to total professionallymanaged assets: in Europe, this ratio stands ataround 50%.

In the international context of sustainable fi-nance, the role of central banks is also expand-ing. Indeed, the effects of climate change are

deemed increasingly important for the stabilityof financial systems. In April 2019, the networkof central banks, Greening the Financial Sys-tem3, published a report entitled A call for ac-tion: Climate change as a source of financialrisk, which includes a set of recommendationsaimed at strengthening the role of centralbanks, financial institutions, supervisory author-ities and policy makers in managing climate risksand reducing the environmental impact of finan-cial markets.

At global level, the Fossil Free - Divest from Fos-sil Fuels movement regarding the divestment ofcompanies involved in the extraction and sale offossil fuels is particularly significant. Founded inthe United States in 2012 on the initiative of agroup of university students, the movement cur-rently has more than 1,000 member institutionsand organisations, which have divested more than


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THE REFORM OF THE UNITED NATIONS TO SPEED UP THE ACHIEVEMENT OFTHE SDGS

The “UN system” is reforming its organisational model to make the implementation of the 2030 Agendamore flexible. Development, peace and security, and management are the three areas where organi-sational structural changes will be implemented, making the system more efficient, streamlined, trans-parent and capable of accelerating progress towards achievement of the SDGs.

“At the current pace, the world will not achieve the SDGs nor will it avoid the tragic consequences ofclimate change,” stressed Amina Mohammed, UN Deputy Secretary-General and Chair of the UnitedNations Sustainable Development Group, the coordination centre between 34 different UN agenciescommitted to sustainable development. “There is no time for an incremental approach,” she wenton, “and success will be based ‘first and foremost’ on a change in the organisational culture and men-tality of the United Nations at all levels. It will be crucial to bring about a culture that goes beyondthe mandates of individual departments and embraces the integrated approach required by the 2030Agenda”.

Organisational change primarily regards sustainable development, an objective “at the heart” of theUN system, both as a goal and as a tool, aimed at preventing conflicts and stabilising peace processes.Therefore, “full-time” collaboration between Member States and the UN Country Teams set up in 1997has been strengthened to better coordinate the presence of UN agencies in various countries in orderto promote their development.

Ensuring adequate funding for reform is a crucial step for its success. Therefore, a draft Funding Com-pact has been drawn up, underlining that contributions to the fund are voluntary and open not only toMember States, but also to external donors. The second area of reform, “peace and security”, sawthe launch of two new departments, the Department for Political Affairs and Peace-building, regardingstrategic and political responsibilities, and the Department for Peacekeeping Operations, responsiblefor field operations. Also, regarding the third area of “management”, the reform has created two newdepartments: the Department for Strategy Management, Policy and Regulatory Compliance and theDepartment for Operational Support.

US$9.2 billion. The movement encourages in-vestors to use divested capital for the financingof environmentally and socially sustainable pro-jects and activities.

In this context, the United Nations has approveda new action plan, the Secretary General’s strat-egy for financing the 2030 Agenda for sustain-able development (2018 - 2021).

Recalling the Addis Ababa Action Agenda (AAAA)4

2015 - the framework for financing sustainable de-velopment - and the Paris Agreement, the newStrategy sets out three objectives the United Na-tions will focus on until 2021: aligning global fi-nancial and economic policies with the 2030Agenda; improving sustainable financing and in-vestment strategies at regional and national level;and harnessing the potential of financial innova-tion, new technologies and digitalisation to enablemore equitable access to credit.

“Mobilising funding is still a major challenge in im-plementing the 2030 Agenda”. This statementopens the Financing for Sustainable Develop-ment Report 2019, produced by the United Na-tions in collaboration with more than 60 agenciesof the Inter-agency Task Force on Financing forDevelopment, which brings together UN agenciesand international partner organisations. This doc-ument recognises the scale and urgency of thechallenge: “Despite signs of progress, the key in-vestments for achieving the Sustainable Develop-ment Goals are still under-funded”. It should benoted that, in 2018, several developing countriesrecorded huge capital losses amounting to morethan US$200 billion, while inequalities increasedparticularly in the most populated countries,where overall growth in real wages is only 1.8%,the lowest figure since 2008.

In September 2019, at the 74th session of theUnited Nations General Assembly, the Global In-vestors for Sustainable Development Alliancewas launched. Comprising company managersfrom all over the world, it aims to channel pri-vate investment towards sustainable develop-ment. The Alliance was announced on 15 Aprilduring the ECOSOC 2019 Financing for Develop-ment Forum5 by UN Secretary General AntónioGuterres, who said: “Existing resources alonewill be far from sufficient: we will need substan-tial, long-term investment from the private sec-tor”. Indeed, according to a recent study by theInternational Monetary Fund cited by the Secre-tary General, achievement of the Sustainable

Development Goals requires additional invest-ment in developing countries of US$2.6 trillionper year.

Also according to the World Economic Forum, inorder to attain the Sustainable Development Goalsadditional investment to the amounts alreadyplanned is needed, but this outcome cannot beachieved without a shift from project fundingbased on public finance to overall financing mech-anisms that also raise private capital on nationaland global markets, and then guarantee the opti-mal allocation of these funds. This is the positiontaken by the report “From funding to financing.Transforming SDG finance for country success”,which analyses the financial, systemic and be-havioural obstacles that affect each country’s ca-pacity to achieve its own national goals.

The new agreement between the World Bankand the European Commission also leans towardsmulti-stakeholder cooperation, in the spirit ofGoal 17. The institutional partnership will focuson three areas. First of all, the challenge will beto provide workers with new skills to address thechanging nature of the labour market, equippingpeople with basic education and digital skills, aswell as other “21st century skills” such as criticalthinking and teamwork. Secondly, the partnershipwill be tasked with improving, innovating andadapting social protection systems, thus ensuringadequate economic coverage and universal pro-tection for all workers. Finally, the two partieswill analyse potential changes in the labour mar-ket, including from a climate and sustainabilitystandpoint. The aim is to develop policies to max-imise the creation of quality jobs by stimulatingprivate investment in labour-intensive sectorswith high growth potential.

In order to achieve the standards set by the 2030Agenda, such as the elimination of gender differ-ences, the first step will be to promote integra-tion between the two institutions, therebysharing priorities, data, best practices and areasof intervention.

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NOTES

1 The three IPCC working groups worked together for the first time to produce an interdisciplinary report, preceded by theplenary vote on the “Summary for policy makers”.

2 According to the OECD report, Italy is showing signs of improvement regarding 12 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.For example, good assessments are given regarding health and well-being (SDG 3) and affordable energy (SDG 7). Negativeperformances are registered for education (SDG 4), combating poverty (SDG 1), and decent work and fair and inclusive eco-nomic growth (SDG 8).

3 At the One Planet Summit in Paris in 2017, the central banks of eight countries (China, France, Germany, Morocco, Mexico,the Netherlands, Singapore and the United Kingdom) set up the Greening the Financial System network, with the aim ofsupporting the transition to development models in line with the objectives of the Paris Agreement and increasing investmentin projects with a positive impact on the environment. Currently, the initiative involves 36 institutions, including the Bankof Italy.

4 https://www.un.org/esa/ffd/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/AAAA_Outcome.pdf.5 https://www.un.org/esa/ffd/ffdforum/.

2. The 2030 Agenda in Europe

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The 2030 Agenda in Europe2.

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Over the past year, European institutions have alsogone through some crucial moments with regardto sustainable development. A number of legisla-tive “packages” have been adopted (for example,the one banning single-use plastic) and significantinitiatives have been launched by the EuropeanCommission (for example, on sustainable finance).Finally, the elections to the European Parliamentand the launch of the new legislature were fol-lowed by the drafting of the new strategic agendafor the next five years and the confirmation, bythe European Parliament, of Ursula von der Leyenas the President of the Commission.

At the same time, the international and Europeanpolitical context has confirmed that a multilat-eral approach to the many global problems isbeset by great difficulties. Among these, growingtrade tensions between the United States, Chinaand the European Union, the difficult Brexit ne-gotiations, and the diverging opinions among Eu-ropean countries on how to deal with migrationand environmental and economic issues.Nonetheless, against this difficult backdrop, theEuropean Union has brought values in line withthose of the 2030 Agenda into the global arena,both before the UN and within other internationalorganisations, in accordance with the provisionsof the Lisbon Treaty.

2.1 The situation of theEuropean Union with regard tothe SDGs

In this report, ASviS presents revised compositeindicators1 to measure the performance of the Eu-ropean Union and of its individual countries withrespect to the SDGs. This complex analysis2 isbased on data published by Eurostat and allows anassessment of progress and a comparison of therelative performance of individual countries withthe EU average.

On the basis of these indicators, between 2010and 2017, the European Union, the world’s mostadvanced area in terms of the Sustainable De-velopment Goals, showed signs of improvementfor nine of the 17 Goals (3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13and 14), and significant deterioration for two(15 and 17), while for the other five (1, 2, 9, 10and 16) the situation was largely unchanged (itwas impossible to develop a composite indicatorfor Goal 6 due the lack of data). Between 2016and 2017, improvements were noted in twothirds of the Goals, namely 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 10,11, 14 and 16. Goals 7, 9, 12, 13 and 17 werelargely stable, while Goal 15 worsened. For mostof the Goals, these aggregated results concealsignificant disparities in terms of memberstates’ relative performance. An in-depth anal-ysis of the performances of the 28 countries wastherefore carried out (see pages 46-56). Lookingonce again at the medium-term perspective, be-tween 2010 and 2017, the situation improved forthe following Goals:

• Goal 3 (Ensure healthy lives and promotewell-being for all at all ages). The compositeindicator shows a positive trend for all ele-mentary indicators. In particular, life ex-pectancy increased in all EU member states,while the death rate from tuberculosis, hep-atitis and HIV decreased by 28% and theshare of the population with self-reportedunmet need for medical examination andcare fell by 1.4 percentage points comparedto 2010.


• Goal 4 (Ensure inclusive and equitable qualityeducation and promote lifelong learning op-portunities for all). The composite indicatorshows an uptrend over the observed period.In this case, all European Union countries re-port an improvement, albeit of varying de-grees, determined by significant increases inthe share of the population having attainedtertiary education (39.9% in 2017, substan-tially in line with the 40% target of the Europe2020 Strategy), and in the share of adults par-ticipating in learning (10.9% in 2017, a levelthat is still far from the Europe 2020 target of15%). In addition, the rate of early leaversfrom education and training has fallen signif-icantly, although the pace of improvement hasslowed in recent years, which puts theachievement of the Europe 2020 Strategy tar-get of 10% at risk.

• Goal 5 (Achieve gender equality and empowerall women and girls). Here too, the indicatorshows a steadily rising trend, thanks to the in-crease in the seats held by women in nationalparliaments and of those held by women in se-nior management positions (for which the fig-ure has doubled). It should be noted that thegender employment gap, after decreasing by1.5 points from 2010 to 2014, remained fairlystable until 2017.

• Goal 7 (Ensure access to affordable, reliable,sustainable and modern energy for all). Thecomposite indicator for this Goal rose continu-ously until 2014 and then flattened out. Thepositive trend is due to the increase in theshare of renewable energy in gross final energyconsumption (in line with the European targetof 20% by 2020), and the decrease in householdenergy consumption per capita. However, withthe economic recovery in 2016, final energyconsumption has started growing again, and itis highly likely that the European Union’s 2020target will not be achieved. Despite the signif-icant differences in the levels of consumptionin the various countries, almost all of themshow fairly similar trends.

• Goal 8 (Promote sustained, inclusive and sus-tainable economic growth, full and productiveemployment and decent work for all). The in-dicator for this Goal was stable until 2013, andthen rose in subsequent years, thanks to a re-duction in the share of young people not in ed-ucation, employment or training (NEETs), and

increases in the investment share of GDP andthe employment rate, which is close to the tar-get of 75% set for 2020. Real GDP per capita hasalso recovered since 2010 and, despite the de-cline in the two-year period 2012-2013, showsan average annual increase of 1.2% between2010 and 2017.

• Goal 11 (Make cities and human settlementsinclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable). Thiscomposite indicator has risen continuously,driven by an increase in the recycling rate ofmunicipal waste, lower exposure of the popu-lation to air pollution by particulate matterand a reduction in the number of people killedin road accidents, which declined by 21% com-pared to 2010. At the same time, the indica-tors relating to housing problems are alsoimproving.

• Goal 12 (Ensure sustainable consumption andproduction patterns). The trend for this Goalwas positive until 2016, thanks to resource pro-ductivity and domestic material consumption(up by 12% between 2010 and 2017) and aver-age CO2 emissions per km from new passengercars. A slight deterioration has been registeredsince 2016, due to an increase in the generationof waste (excluding major mineral wastes byhazardousness), while the recycling rate ofwaste has been stable throughout the periodunder consideration. Here, too, similar trendswere recorded in the various countries of theEuropean Union.

• Goal 13 (Take urgent action to combat climatechange and its impacts). The indicator forgreenhouse gas emissions shows a steadily ris-ing trend, due to a reduction in the emissionsintensity of energy consumption (down by 6%between 2010 and 2017). The latter have fallenby 10% compared to 2010, exceeding the Eu-rope 2020 Strategy target, despite the fact thatover the last four years the situation has notshown any significant improvement.

• Goal 14 (Conserve and sustainably use theoceans, seas and marine resources for sustain-able development). This indicator saw a steadyincrease over the period under review, due toan improvement in all the elementary indica-tors. In particular, since 2013, the indicator forthe surface of marine sites designated underthe Natura 2000 network has been rising, dou-bling in just four years.


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Figure 1 - Composite indicators for the European Union

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GOAL 1End poverty in all its forms everywhere

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GOAL 2End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

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GOAL 3Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

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GOAL 4Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all

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GOAL 5Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

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GOAL 7Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all

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GOAL 8Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all

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GOAL 9Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

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GOAL 10Reduce inequality within and among countries

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GOAL 11Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

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GOAL 12Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

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GOAL 13Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

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GOAL 14Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development

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GOAL 15Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss

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GOAL 16Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels

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GOAL 17Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development

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The situation has worsened for two Goals:

• Goal 15 (Protect, restore and promote sustain-able use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainablymanage forests, combat desertification, andhalt and reverse land degradation and halt bio-diversity loss). The composite indicator for thisGoal has significantly deteriorated. This per-formance reflects the substantial increase insoil sealing, which grew by about 350 km2 peryear (an area larger than the surface area ofMalta) in the period 2006-2015.

• Goal 17 (Strengthen the means of implemen-tation and revitalise the global partnership forsustainable development). In this case, the in-dicator’s negative performance is affected bydecreases in European imports from develop-ing countries and the rise of general govern-ment gross debt. This deterioration is onlypartly offset by the increase in the share of of-ficial development assistance (ODA) in grossnational income (GNI). In addition, the shareof environmental taxes in total tax revenueshas declined continuously since 2010, andstood at 6.1% in 2017.

Finally, the situation is stable for these Goals:

• Goal 1 (End poverty in all its forms every-where). The composite indicator for this Goalfell until 2014 due to increases in the popula-tion at risk of poverty and social exclusion andin the population living in households with verylow work intensity. From 2016, the increaseregistered for the composite indicator is drivenby improvements in all the elementary indica-tors taken into account. In particular, in 2017the severe material deprivation index reachedits lowest point during the entire historical se-ries. Although the share of people at risk ofpoverty and social exclusion has decreased to22.4% between 2016 and 2017, the achievedfigure of 113 million people is still a long wayoff the 96.1 million set for 2020 in the Europe2020 Strategy.

• Goal 2 (End hunger, achieve food security andimproved nutrition and promote sustainableagriculture). The overall situation was stablein the period 2010-2017, affected by minorfluctuations in the elementary indicators thattend to offset each other. Indeed, from 2014to 2017, the composite indicator grew moder-ately due to an improvement in agriculturalproductivity and an increase of areas under or-ganic farming, which rose from 5.1% to 7% of

total utilised agricultural area. However, itshould be pointed out that ammonia emissionsfrom agriculture continue to rise.

• Goal 9 (Build resilient infrastructure, and pro-mote inclusive and sustainable industrialisationand foster innovation). The composite indica-tor shows a stable trend during the period2010-2017, since improvements deriving fromincreases in the share of R&D personnel in thelabour force and the gross domestic expendi-ture on R&D (2.1% in 2017, still a long way offthe Europe 2020 target of 3%), are offset by re-ductions in the share of rail in total freighttransport and patent applications to the Euro-pean Patent Office.

• Goal 10 (Reduce inequality within and amongcountries). The composite indicator registereda slight downturn until 2014, caused by theworsening of the inequality of income distribu-tion. The slight improvement in 2017 is drivenby an increase in purchasing power adjustedGDP per capita and a reduction of the peopleat risk of income poverty after social transfers.

• Goal 16 (Promote peaceful and inclusive soci-eties for sustainable development, provide ac-cess to justice for all and build effective,accountable and inclusive institutions at alllevels). After a significant reduction, the com-posite indicator has registered an upturn in thelast two years, bolstered by citizens’ growingconfidence in EU institutions (the EuropeanParliament, the Commission and the EuropeanCentral Bank), and by a reduction in the deathrate due to homicide (0.62 homicides per100,000 people), which fell by 31% between2010 and 2017.

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2.2 Policy statements by thePresident-elect of the EuropeanCommission and the EuropeanCouncil’s Strategic Agenda 2019-2024

For the first time ever, the elections at the end ofMay and the subsequent agreement between gov-ernments brought a woman to the presidency ofthe European Commission. In her keynote addressto the Parliament, Ursula von der Leyen clearlysupported the idea that sustainable developmentshould be one of the cornerstones of Europeanpolicy for the next five years. The word “sustain-able” appeared twelve times in her address, andthe latter contains many proposals relating to the17 Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030Agenda as well as an explicit commitment to“leave no one behind”, the exact motto in the2030 Agenda.

In particular, the new President proposed sixguidelines:

• European Green Deal. The aim is to make Eu-rope the first climate-neutral continent, and itis in this sense that the proposal for a specialplan, to be presented in her first 100 days inoffice, should be understood. The plan will bebased on: > a socially just energy transition that takes

into account the differences between thevarious countries and regions and is based onclean energy and the circular economy, re-garding which Europe should aim to becomea world leader;

> a sustainable Europe investment plan basedon the transformation of the European In-vestment Bank into the European ClimateBank;

> the protection of biodiversity and efforts tocombat pollution in all its forms (includingthose resulting from single-use plastic), aswell as a stronger commitment to rural areasand sustainable agriculture.

• A people-centred economy. The European so-cial and market economy model has enabledEU economies to grow and develop a welfaresystem based on social equity. In this scenario,the new Commission’s commitment entails:

> support for SMEs as drivers of innovation andjob creation;

> strengthening of the Economic and Mone-tary Union thanks to full use of the flexibil-ity provided for in the Stability Pact,completion of the Banking Union and estab-lishment of a deposit guarantee scheme.The commitment to transforming the Euro-pean Semester in order to orient it towardsachievement of the 2030 Agenda (a pro-posal also put forward by ASviS), whichcould mark an unprecedented turningpoint, is also underlined. Indeed, the Euro-pean Semester (created to coordinate eco-nomic, social and environmental policies toachieve the Europe 2020 Strategy, but then“diverted” to financial issues with the eco-nomic crisis) is the core of the political ac-tion of the Commission and the Council andculminates in the Specific Recommenda-tions for each country. The decision to ori-ent this process towards the 2030 Agendacould lead to a radical shift in the Euro-pean Commission’s approach to sustainabledevelopment;

> improvement of the European Pillar of So-cial Rights in order to “reconcile” socialand market aspects by proposing a mini-mum wage, a reinsurance mechanism tocombat unemployment, a greater commit-ment to combating poverty, the creation ofa “child guarantee”, as proposed by theEuropean Parliament, focused on educa-tion and training, and finally a plan tocombat cancer;

> greater equality through the introduction ofnew anti-discrimination legislation, a genderequality strategy and the inclusion of vio-lence against women in the list of crimes de-fined by the European Treaty;

> a fair tax system that combats tax evasion andensures the taxation of big tech companies.

• A Europe fit for the digital age. In order totake advantage of the opportunities offered bynew technologies, Europe needs legislationthat takes account of the ethical implicationsof artificial intelligence and a Digital ServicesAct that establishes rules for digital platformsand complements the Digital Single Market. Acore element of the strategy is getting Europeup to speed on digital skills for both young peo-ple and adults by updating the Digital Educa-tion Action Plan.


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• Promoting the European way of life. Thisentails:> upholding the rule of law based on the pro-

tection of European values, compliance ofwhich will be monitored in each MemberState;

> reviewing the Dublin Agreement on asylumand migration and strengthening the role ofthe European Border and Coast GuardAgency.

• A stronger Europe in the world. Europeshould take on global and responsible leader-ship based on:> free and fair trade with the highest stan-

dards of transparency, environmental and cli-mate protection, and labour protection witha zero-tolerance policy regarding childlabour;

> playing a more active role in internationalcooperation, particularly with regard toAfrica, which is the European Union’s naturalpartner.

• A new push for European democracy. In orderto achieve this:> European citizens must be involved in the

Conference on the Future of Europe, whichwill start operating in 2020 with the aim ofsetting the European Union’s priorities andambitions;

> it is essential to improve the relationship be-tween the Commission and Parliament, alsoby strengthening the legislative powers ofthe Parliament.

Before the election of Ursula von der Leyen, theEuropean Council had approved the New StrategicAgenda for 2019-2024, divided into four areas ofintervention in which many SDGs are directly orindirectly referred to:

• Protecting citizens and freedoms. The Euro-pean Union must guarantee the protection offundamental rights and freedoms for its citi-zens and, at the same time, develop a compre-hensive migration policy, also based oncooperation with countries of origin and tran-sit, to combat illegal migration and humantrafficking and to guarantee effective returnsto countries of origin.

• Development a strong and vibrant economicbase: a European model for the future. Amodel based on the Banking Union, the unionof capital markets and the international role

of the euro should be strengthened, in orderto maximise the European Union’s impact onthe world stage and create jobs, taking full ad-vantage of the potential offered by the SingleMarket. At the same time, Europe must be ableto take full advantage of the challenge of dig-ital transformation, without neglecting invest-ment in people’s skills and education, do moreto promote entrepreneurship and innovation,and step up research efforts, in particular bytackling the fragmentation of the research, de-velopment and innovation sector.

• Building climate-neutral, green, fair and so-cial Europe. Europe should take advantage ofthe opportunities offered by the green transi-tion, technological progress and globalisation,while ensuring that no one is left behind. Inthis context, it is important to promote privateand public investment to speed up the transi-tion to renewable energy, energy efficiency, di-versification of sources of supply and mobilitysolutions. At the same time, Europe must notreduce its commitment to environmental pro-tection and the promotion of sustainable agri-culture, which is essential to ensure foodsecurity and encourage quality production. TheEuropean Union intends to strengthen the Eu-ropean Pillar of Social Rights in order to reducegenerational, gender, territorial and educa-tional disparities, which are forms of exclusionand constitute a political, social and economicrisk.

• Promoting European interests and values onthe global stage. Protection of its interestsand values, and its way of life, should be at theheart of the European Union’s policies, with aview to guiding the response to global chal-lenges, strengthening the fight against climatechange, promoting sustainable developmentand implementing the 2030 Agenda. It is alsoessential to promote the European cooperationmodel, which could be the basis for developinga broad-based partnership with Africa, by con-tinuing to strive for global peace and stability,and to promote democracy and human rights.

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2.3 European institutions and the2030 Agenda: a growingcommitment to an integratedapproach

Over the past year, many European institutionshave addressed the issue of the role of the 2030Agenda in European policies. The positionsadopted by the European Commission, the Euro-pean Parliament, the Economic and Social Com-mittee and the Court of Auditors have confirmed,on the one hand, that the European Union as awhole is the most sustainable continent in theworld and, on the other, that it is lagging behindand has shortcomings due to the piecemeal wayin which European policies have so far been ori-ented towards the 17 Goals and the 169 Targetsset by the 2030 Agenda.

This criticism was directly expressed by the Euro-pean Court of Auditors, which published the re-view “Reporting on Sustainability: A Stocktakeof EU Institutions and Agencies” in June 2019.The Court points out that, despite its declara-tions, the European Commission does not yet pro-duce any information on sustainability, let alonepublish reports on the contribution made by EUpolicies and the EU budget to the achievement ofthe SDGs. In essence, the European Union doesnot yet have a sustainable development strategyup to 2030 that defines the relevant SDGs, or thereference Targets.

The position of the European Court of Auditorswas adopted despite the fact that, in January2019, the Commission published its long-awaitedreflection paper, “Towards a Sustainable Europeby 2030”, on the implementation of the 2030Agenda in the European Union, in which ASviS ismentioned as an example of good civil societypractice, especially with regard to the implemen-tation of Goal 17. After a detailed and useful anal-ysis of everything the European Union has donesince the adoption of the 2030 Agenda and theParis Agreement on Climate Change, the docu-ment focuses on the “political pillars” of the tran-sition to sustainability (for example, the transitionfrom a linear to a circular economy), and the“cross-cutting factors” supporting the sustainabletransition, such as education, science, technology,research, innovation and digitisation; finance,taxation and competition; corporate social re-sponsibility and new business models; open and

rules-based trade; and governance and policy co-herence at all levels3.

Looking to the future, the Commission proposesthree different scenarios to guide the discussionon how to incorporate the 2030 Agenda into Euro-pean policies, in the belief that the EuropeanUnion has a strong competitive advantage for tak-ing a global lead on sustainable development:

• Scenario 1: An overall EU strategy for theSDGs to guide EU and Member State actions.In this case, the SDGs should become overallstrategic objectives for the EU and MemberStates and serve as the only source of guidancefor any EU action or for action taken by thevarious levels of government, including re-gional and local authorities, in close coopera-tion with all stakeholders. This approach alsoenvisages boosting the European Union’s inter-national action on sustainability in its relationswith third countries, as well as the creation ofa “European coordination process for SDGstrategies” and regular monitoring of theprogress made.

• Scenario 2: Integration of the SDGs into allEU policies, but without imposing any obliga-tions on Member States. In this scenario, the2030 Agenda should inspire the decision-mak-ing process regarding the definition of EU poli-cies, without requiring Member States to adoptsimilar national policies. This approach wouldleave the latter free to decide whether andhow to modify their actions to achieve theSDGs.

• Scenario 3: More focus on external action,while consolidating the principle of sustain-ability at EU level. As the EU is already at theforefront of the achievement of the SDGs, theEuropean Union should primarily focus on help-ing other countries meet EU standards in termsof the 2030 Agenda, while pursuing policiesaimed at improving the European situation.

It is obvious that only the first scenario reflectsthe vision of a Europe that is strong and unitedwith regard to the implementation of the 2030Agenda, while the other two (especially the third,which even opposes the positions taken in recentyears by the Council and the Parliament) are theoutcome of a lack of enthusiasm for sustainabledevelopment issues by the outgoing Juncker Com-mission. It is no coincidence that one of the firstactions of the new President was to remove Martin


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Selmayr, the former Head of Cabinet of theJuncker Commission, who, amidst much contro-versy, had been appointed Secretary General ofthe Commission in 2018.

In February 2019, the European Parliament pub-lished “Europe’s approach to implementing theSustainable Development Goals: Good prac-tices and the way forward”, a report that takesa snapshot of the current situation in individualcountries, sets out good practices and formu-lates recommendations for the achievement ofthe Goals of the 2030 Agenda. On several occa-sions the document refers to ASviS as one of themost participatory, independent and activestakeholders, and as an example of a network ofcivil society organisations and a high-level al-liance for achieving the Sustainable Develop-ment Goals.

In a nutshell, the report notes that:

• most Member States are revising their nationaldevelopment plans to include the SDGs;

• substantial efforts have been made to improvestakeholder engagement in the processes re-lating to the 2030 Agenda;

• most Member States regularly publish reportsand indicators on progress towards achieve-ment of the Sustainable Development Goals;

• many Member States are planning to improvetheir systems for assessing the impact of poli-cies on sustainability by linking budgetary pro-cesses to the 2030 Agenda;

• a growing number of Member States have spe-cial bodies dedicated to the implementation ofthe 2030 Agenda.

Among its recommendations for the implementa-tion of the SDGs at EU level, the report suggeststhe creation of joint, multi-level governancemechanisms between the EU and the MemberStates, using inter-parliamentary dialogue and co-operation between the European Parliament andnational parliaments. As European institutions stillneed to make a great deal of progress in order tomeet the challenges of sustainability in a satisfac-tory manner, the report proposes to:

• develop a full implementation strategy for theSDGs for the years beyond 2020;

• integrate the SDGs into the EU’s economic andbudgetary monitoring processes;

• step up the use of peer learning mechanismsat all levels of government, in order to encour-

age the sharing of knowledge, practices andapproaches for the implementation of theSDGs;

• promote the use of the EU’s Structural ReformSupport Programme (SRSP), in order to reformpolicies and institutions in line with the con-tent of the 2030 Agenda.

One of the last actions of the European Parlia-ment was the approval, in March 2019, of a reso-lution entitled “Annual strategic report on theimplementation and delivery of the SustainableDevelopment Goals”, which focuses on inclusiveand fair education, the development of technol-ogy, and funding for research and innovation asparticularly important tools for the achievementof the Sustainable Development Goals. In this re-gard, the Parliament has called for greater invest-ment by the Commission and Member States inimplementing structural measures. In particular,micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, co-operative enterprises, and inclusive businessmodels as drivers of local growth, employmentand innovation are recognised as having an im-portant role to play. The Commission and MemberStates are also called on to encourage the emer-gence of new entrepreneurship and to promoteinnovative technologies such as artificial intelli-gence. In order to achieve equality of means aswell as of objectives, the Parliament calls on theCommission to pay special attention to the facil-itation of technology transfer mechanisms in de-veloping countries, which is an essential steptowards bringing about tangible, concretechange, including in less developed parts of theworld.

Two reports presented in April by the EuropeanPolitical Strategy Centre (EPSC) also focus on thechallenges facing the EU in the coming years,with a particular focus on sustainable develop-ment issues: “Europe’s Sustainability Puzzle”and “Global Trends to 2030: Challenges andchoices for Europe”. The first shows how Euro-pean citizens are feeling increasingly concernedabout unequal outcomes and, above all, aboutunequal opportunities for the future. This bringsabout changes that negatively affect society andthe economy, as citizens distance themselvesfrom institutions. The “business as usual” ap-proach is being questioned, and may be over-come by policies linked to sustainabledevelopment and implementation of the 2030Agenda.

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According to the Commission’s think tank, this op-portunity must be seized to truly aim for a radicalsocio-economic transformation of Europe, in orderto ensure long-term prosperity for both currentand future generations. The document sets outthe choices Europe must make in order not to missthe opportunity to embark on a long-term sustain-able development path: divesting from fossil fuelsas soon as possible and shifting to a renewable en-ergy system. In this regard, it should be noted thatthe process of decarbonisation must not only in-volve the energy sector; it must also involve si-multaneous investment in markets, policies,industry, scientific research and even people’s cul-tural approach.

Moreover, it is necessary to move from a systembased on GDP growth and the maximisation ofprivate profit to one based on the spread ofadded value among the most vulnerable sectorsof the population; from a society built on indi-vidual use of private cars to the sharing of publictransport; from classic to sustainable finance;from current tax systems to a system that sup-ports the poor and has mechanisms to protect allforms of employment.

The second report, on the other hand, focuseson the role Europe will have to play over thenext decade in order not to get caught up in thetrade war between China and the United States,and to establish itself as a leader in technolog-ical innovation. First of all, the report suggestspreserving the democratic future of the planet.Indeed, while until 2005 the figures were tellingus that freedom of thought and action was in-creasing in the world, since then things havestarted to change. In the last 13 years, the re-port points out, the spread of democracyaround the world has regressed, while internalconflicts within individual countries are on therise.

With regard to inequality and discrimination, inits report “Implementing the Sustainable Devel-opment Goals in the EU: A matter of human andfundamental rights”, the European Agency forFundamental Rights stresses that, despite recentprogress, the elimination of poverty and discrim-ination, a necessary social condition to facilitatethe achievement of the Sustainable DevelopmentGoals, has not occurred in Europe, as prejudiceand violence continue to threaten the safety ofwomen, immigrants, religious minorities andLGBTI people.

In the light of this assumption, based on Eurostatdata, the report analyses the state of rights in Eu-rope, noting that the gap between rich and poorhas increased in recent years, with a slight im-provement registered in 2017. Poverty affects thevulnerable and marginalised sectors of the popu-lation, such as children, immigrants, Roma peo-ple, the disabled and the elderly. Indeed,compared with an overall at-risk-of-poverty rateof 17%, 80% of Roma people, 63% of people ofNorth African descent and 55% of people of sub-Saharan African origin have an income below thepoverty threshold.

Finally, the report emphasises the need for a com-prehensive strategy shared by the countries of theEuropean Union to coordinate policies for the Sus-tainable Development Goals. To achieve this,Member States need to produce national dossierson the SDGs, with a special focus on Goals 10 and16 (such as the National Implementation Plan re-leased in 2017 by the Finnish government), andengage civil society. In this regard, the reportpoints out that the Italian Alliance for SustainableDevelopment should be considered as a good prac-tice for civil society engagement and for raisingawareness of the 2030 Agenda.

In May, the European Economic and Social Com-mittee (EESC), which has been very active withregard to the issue of sustainable development,organised a conference entitled “A new frontierof rights and progress for the EU” to reflect onthe challenges of the 2030 Agenda. The Euro-pean Union’s response should entail four coursesof action:

• reaffirm the interdependence of the three di-mensions (environmental, economic and so-cial) of the 2030 Agenda. Progress made willdepend on the extent to which policy choicesand strategic actions reflect this interconnect-edness. Hence the need to measure well-being“beyond GDP” and to move from the mere cal-culation of indices to the design of welfare-ori-ented policies;

• take advantage of the opportunities associatedwith the implementation of the 2030 Agenda,which appears to be the most relevant eco-nomic and social development strategy for theEuropean democratic tradition, as it is fair anduniversal;

• step up communication about the benefits ofpursuing the Sustainable Development Goalsfor individuals and society as a whole;


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• achieve effective civil society engagement inthe governance and implementation of theSDGs, at national and European level.

The EESC’s proposal is to make the 2030 Agendathe “European Social Contract for the 21st cen-tury”, based on seven principles:

• the EU must assume its responsibilities and im-plement the 2030 Agenda;

• the 2030 Agenda must become the strategicframework for the future of the EU;

• it is necessary to go “beyond GDP” in order toembrace a new definition of human develop-ment and growth;

• it is essential to ensure that no person, terri-tory or periphery is excluded from change andlong-term innovation;

• culture should be recognised as a key dimen-sion of sustainable development;

• the 2030 Agenda should be implementedthrough an active partnership: all countries,regions, civil society and stakeholders mustcommit to a global strategy on sustainabledevelopment;

• young people should be allowed to lead the2030 Agenda in changing the United Nations.

2.4 Climate change, the circulareconomy and energy

In the last year of the European legislature, a num-ber of legislative measures relating to the themescovered by the 2030 Agenda were approved, andimportant initiatives were undertaken which bearwitness to a growing awareness of the importanceof sustainability among EU institutions.

In June 2019, Directive 2019/904, which intro-duces new restrictions on certain productsmade of single-use plastic, was approved. Underthe new regulations, disposable plastic plates,cutlery, straws, balloon sticks and cotton buds willbe banned by 2021 and Member States have com-mitted to achieving a 90% collection target forplastic bottles by 2029.

In its Communication of 18 June 2019, “Unitedin delivering the Energy Union and Climate Ac-tion: Setting the foundations for a successfulclean energy transition”, the Commission reiter-ated the objectives already approved with a num-ber of energy-related initiatives, including:

• Directive 2018/2001/EU on the promotion ofthe use of energy from renewable sources,through which the European Union intends tomaintain a leading position in the fight againstclimate change, setting targets for 2030. Inparticular, the aim is to achieve a 32% shareof renewable energy in the EU as a whole, toincrease the share of renewables used forheating/cooling by 1.5% per year, to achieve a14% share of renewables in transport and togive priority to self-consumption and energyefficiency.

• Directive 2018/2002/EU on energy effi-ciency, which sets a 32.5% target for 2030(compared to 2007) and also addresses the se-rious issue of energy poverty, that still lacks ashared definition at European level. The“whereas clauses” highlight that around 50million Europeans are affected by energypoverty, which is exacerbated by the deterio-ration of many buildings that are damp, ineffi-cient and difficult to heat. Three guidelinesare then set out to overcome energy povertyand avoid waste:

> improve the energy efficiency of social hous-ing, through state interventions, and privatehousing, through renovation incentives. Thisfirst step would lead to a reduction in con-

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sumption, by decreasing environmental im-pact and energy bill costs;

> incentives to support households in need;> the right to self-consumption, namely the

possibility of producing renewable energy forconsumption, storage and sale, so as to re-duce energy bills.

• Regulation 2018/1999/EU, which establishesa single system of European energy gover-nance, so that Member States can plan and col-lectively achieve the set targets. TheRegulation also establishes that each Statemust approve its own National Energy and Cli-mate Plan by 31 December each year.

Regarding the climate and energy, in November2018 the Commission published its new assess-ment of the Climate Change Adaptation Strategylaunched in 2013. The document highlights thenegative impacts on ecosystems, economic sec-tors, human health and well-being in Europe.Overall, economic losses in Europe in the period1980-2016 caused by weather events and otherextreme climate-related events exceeded €436billion. Adaptation, unlike mitigation actions(namely measures to reduce greenhouse gas emis-sions into the atmosphere), is designed to antici-pate the effects of climate change and to act toprevent or minimise the damage it may cause oreven, in some cases, to take advantage of oppor-tunities that may emerge. In order to make Europe more resilient to climatechange, the strategy approved in 2013 focused onthree specific objectives: make EU countries, re-gions and cities more resilient; improve knowl-edge to enable countries to make more informedadaptation decisions; and increase the resilienceof the most vulnerable key sectors. In the assess-ment report, which takes into account the mainareas for improvement, lessons learned and areaswith the greatest need for action, a need emergesto support all regions in implementing nationaladaptation plans, by strengthening the infrastruc-ture for managing environmental disasters and in-dicating which sectors will be most vulnerable. Inaddition, it is necessary to create synergies be-tween member countries in order to reduce andmitigate the risks that environmental disasterscould cause to the economy, including at interna-tional level. Another relevant contribution to the climate de-bate is the Commission’s analysis entitled “Euro-pean policies on climate and energy towards

2020, 2030 and 2050”, which aims to describethe European Union’s climate and energy policies,as well as the challenges that must be faced inorder to keep the global temperature below twodegrees Celsius. In particular, it should be notedthat in recent years new legislative measures havebeen adopted, including an efficient emissionstrading system, funding for renewable energysources, the construction of numerous energy-ef-ficient zero emission buildings (ZEBs), regulationson the circulation of polluting cars, and provisionsto decouple economic growth and emissions. Thelatter are considered particularly satisfactory,given that between 1990 and 2017 the EU’s GDProse by 58%, while total greenhouse gas emissionsfell by 22%. The document also shows that the EUis on track to reduce emissions to 20% below 1990levels by 2020 and that, in accordance with poli-cies implemented so far and without further mea-sures, emissions in 2030 should be 30% below 1990levels. But it is also specified that a greater effortincluding a roadmap for 2050 would be desirable,aimed at further reducing emissions by 40%, 60%and 80% respectively by 2030, 2040 and 2050,maintaining the global warming caused by climatechange below 2°C and attempting to achieve the1.5°C threshold.

The European Environment Agency has presentedits third report, “The circular economy and thebioeconomy - Partners in sustainability” to illus-trate the synergies between the circular economyand the bioeconomy, and to support an EU policybased on circularity with a view to reducing thepressures on the environment imposed by our cur-rent lifestyles. In this context, the main aim of EUstrategies and policies must be to increase thelifetime of products and materials, thereby reduc-ing waste.

With regard to the circular economy, in August2018 the Commission signed a memorandum ofunderstanding with China with the objective ofdefining standards and policies for launching pro-duction systems that focus on recovering materi-als, renewable sources of energy and acceleratingthe transition towards sustainable low-carbonpractices on a global scale. According to theMacArthur Foundation, the economic benefits ofthe transition to a circular economy would be con-siderable for both parties. In Chinese cities, itcould make goods and services more accessible tocitizens and reduce the negative effects normallyassociated with middle-class lifestyles, such as air


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pollution. For its part, by 2030 the EuropeanUnion could add €0.9 trillion to its GDP, at thesame time halving CO2 emissions and increasinghousehold incomes by €3,000 per year.

In June 2019, the Commission published keyguidelines for improving companies’ non-finan-cial reporting, with the aim of greening the econ-omy. The proposal aims to encourage companiesto adopt a more sustainable approach, based onevidence that companies opting to take this pathachieve better results over time, enjoy lowerfunding costs, attract and retain talented employ-ees and are ultimately more successful. In partic-ular, the Commission’s document states thatcompanies must include a non-financial statementin their report to describe the negative and posi-tive impact of a company’s business and activitiesand, above all, the context in which it operates,as data which may be relevant in one context maynot be relevant in another. Indeed, companies ina specific sector are more likely to share environ-mental, social and governance challenges that aredifferent from those facing companies operatingin other sectors.

2.5 European institutions’commitment to sustainablefinance

As already mentioned, the European market forresponsible and sustainable financial services isexpanding greatly, thanks to the commitment ofinstitutional investors. This has led to significantgrowth in the retail component in recent years,which rose from 3.4% in 2013 to 30% at the end of2017.

The latest edition of the European SRI Study, abiennial study on the European sustainable fi-nance market conducted by Eurosif in collabora-tion with national Sustainable InvestmentForums (SIF), bears witness to these trends, con-firming the dissemination of SRI strategies at ag-gregate and national level. Exclusions4

constitute the most widespread approach andare applied to €9.4 trillion of assets, while en-gagement5 is on the rise, standing at around €5trillion. This trend shows that institutional in-vestors are increasingly interested in influencingthe sustainability policies of the companies theyinvest in.

Impact investing is one of the fastest growingstrategies. From 2013 to 2017, the sector rosefrom €20 billion to €108 billion. These investments- which are characterised by an investor’s statedintention to achieve measurable positive socialand environmental impacts as well as a financialreturn - are increasingly aligned with the SDGs.Indeed, in the field of impact investing, the SDGscan be instruments for ex-ante assessment andex-post measurement of the environmental andsocial impact of investments.

An important sustainable finance actor at Eu-ropean level is the European Investment Bank(EIB), which back in 2007 launched the firstgreen bond (Climate Awareness Bond), aimedat funding projects focusing on climate changesolutions. The EIB is currently the largest issuerof green bonds, with €18 billion in funding asat 31 December 2017. In September 2018, theBank launched the first Sustainability Aware-ness Bond dedicated to financing sustainableprojects in line with the SDGs. In the initialphase, the proceeds have been allocated towater resources, but in the future, allocationswill also be made to the health and educationsectors.

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In line with the guidelines used by its internationalcounterparts, the European Central Bank has re-cently referred to climate change in the contextof the Financial Stability Review. The Frankfurt-based institute emphasised the importance ofphysical risks for market stability, inviting opera-

tors to adopt adaptation strategies and developnew models to improve risk management skills; italso stressed the importance of having more ef-fective and more comparable data.


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THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION’S ACTION PLAN TO FINANCE SUSTAINABLEDEVELOPMENT

With the ratification of the SDGs and the Paris Agreement in 2015, the European Union has put envi-ronmental and social sustainability at the heart of its policies6. The EU Commission has estimatedthat €180 billion in investment per year will be needed to meet environmental and climate targetsby 2030, in addition to the funds already earmarked7. To bridge this gap, the private sector can playa crucial role in supporting public investment.

With a view to steering the capital market towards sustainable investment, the EU institutions havelaunched a programme of financial market reform. In December 2016, the EU Commission set up aHigh-level Expert Group on Sustainable Finance (HLEG) to draw up recommendations for the deve-lopment of sustainable finance. On the basis of the final report produced by the HLEG, in March 2018the EU Commission published the Action Plan “Financing Sustainable Growth”, a roadmap with spe-cific measures and deadlines, aimed at: directing capital flows towards sustainable investment; moreefficiently managing the financial risks arising from climate change, resource consumption, environ-mental degradation and social inequality; improving transparency and encouraging a long-term ap-proach in financial activities.

In May 2018, the EU Commission followed up the Action Plan’s initial measures by introducing threeregulatory proposals regarding: a taxonomy of environmentally-friendly economic activities, whichis a definition and classification system that will enable investors to direct investment towards envi-ronmentally sound activities; two new types of climate benchmarks linked to issuers’ emissions levels;and ESG risk disclosure by institutional investors.

In June 2018, the EU Commission appointed a Technical Expert Group on Sustainable Finance(TEG) to advise on: taxonomy, with priority given to climate change mitigation and adaptation; re-vising the guidelines on corporate reporting of climate-related information; the Green Bond Stan-dard (GBS), a European quality certification for green bonds; and common criteria for creatingclimate benchmarks.

Alongside the work of the TEG, consultations took place on the proposed regulations between theEuropean Commission, the Council and the Parliament in 2018 and 2019. In February and March2019, the Parliament and the Council reached agreement on the introduction of climate ben-chmarks (EU Climate Transition and EU Paris-aligned Benchmarks), and transparency require-ments regarding the integration of ESG risks and opportunities into institutional investors’policies and processes. The regulations will come into force in the second half of 2019. Moreover,the EU Commission is active in introducing the ESG criteria into its advisory activities. On 4 January2019, two proposals for delegated regulations were published regarding the ways in which inve-stors, asset managers and insurance companies will be required to include ESG considerations intheir advisory activities.

Four important documents regarding implementation of the Action Plan were published in June 2019.The EU Commission published a revision of the guidelines on corporate reporting of climate changeinformation to investors, while the TEG produced a technical report on the taxonomy of environ-mentally-friendly economic activities, a final report on the GBS, and an interim report on climatebenchmarks and the introduction of ESG reporting requirements for all benchmarks.

Still on the subject of finance, the European Par-liament has released data on the performance ofthe European Fund for Sustainable Development(EFSD). The fund, which was inaugurated in 2016,uses a mixed finance approach, involving publicand private funds, and activates agreements toimplement investment in key sectors such as re-newable energy, providing support for small andmedium-sized enterprises and limiting the initialrisk by including a guarantee fund that, if neces-sary, provides liquidity to offset pre-determinedlosses over the term of the agreements. The EFSDis the first of the support measures that the Ex-ternal Investment Plan makes available to thirdcountries, together with technical assistance tohelp investors and businesses develop projectsthat can be financed by banks, and to foster dia-logue between different countries, governments,institutions, businesses and stakeholders, in orderto boost investor confidence.

In the EFSD’s first year of operation, €4.1 billionwere invested, which according to the EuropeanUnion’s forecasts will produce €44 billion of actualexpenditure, 11 times the initial figure. There-fore, investments supported by the fund areaimed at creating a virtuous circle that affects thecreation of new jobs, supports entrepreneurs, es-pecially young people and women, promotes eco-nomic growth, and has an impact on thesocio-economic aspects of migration, thereby pro-moting achievement of the SDGs and applicationof the Paris Agreement.

2.6 Civil society initiatives

During the past year, European civil societyworked to raise public and political awareness ofsustainable development issues in the run-up tothe European elections.

In June 2019, one month after the European Par-liamentary elections, the annual joint meetingof the Presidents and Secretaries-General of theEconomic and Social Councils (ESC) of EU coun-tries and the EESC was held in Rome. This eventfocused on the 2030 Agenda, sustainable develop-ment and the European Pillar of Social Rights. Theleitmotif of the conference was extremely clear:the current economic model is unable to ensurewell-being and prosperity in a world where theeconomic, social and environmental problems as-sociated with the unsustainability of the currentsystem are increasingly evident. Recalling thatnatural resources are limited and can thereforeno longer be over-exploited, the Councils reaf-firmed that the 2030 Agenda is the only effectiveresponse “to the economic and social challengesfacing Europe”.

Therefore, in the meeting’s final declaration, theparticipants:

• affirmed that the 2030 Agenda represents theright strategy to provide the necessary re-sponses to these five fundamental transitionsthat will have to be tackled in the comingyears: economic; environmental and energy;social; democratic and participatory; and, fi-nally, geopolitical;

• stressed that the 2030 Agenda is a win-winstrategy for all, including employers, as theycan be competitive and innovative by seizingthe growth opportunities in the sectors con-nected with sustainable development; work-ers, who will be better protected, trained andsafeguarded by pursuit of the Goals; and civilsociety, provided that it is fully involved in thegovernance process so that it can further im-prove it and help to monitor the SDGs;

• pointed out the need to strengthen the Euro-pean Pillar of Social Rights, especially in termsof social protection and inclusion. In this re-gard, they appreciated a number of recom-mendations made by EU institutions, such asthe above-mentioned European CommissionReflection Paper, the European Parliament’sannual strategic report, and the Council’s con-clusions of 9 April 2019, “Towards an ever more

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sustainable Union by 2030”, all of which focuson the need for greater commitment to the im-plementation of the 2030 Agenda;

• suggested that it is important for the next Mul-tiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for the pe-riod 2021-2027 to make sustainabledevelopment its key objective, and that theCommission should allocate 40% of its totalbudget to sustainable development and thefight against climate change. They also calledfor the appointment, in the next Commission,of a Vice-President responsible for integratingthe Goals into EU policies;

• stressed the urgent need for greater engage-ment of civil society, citizens (especially youngpeople) and intermediate bodies, as a link todecision-makers and with unquestionablepower to influence the adoption of decisionsin line with the 2030 Agenda;

• called on the European Union, by virtue of itseconomic weight, to play a key role in promot-ing - and even imposing - the Sustainable De-velopment Agenda at global level through itstrade policy.

Also worth mentioning is the call to join forcesfor a New Deal for Europe, signed by 100 CEOsbrought together by CSR Europe in May 2019,aimed at raising awareness among the Europeanpublic and policymakers on the need tostrengthen dialogue and interaction between thelatter, civil society and companies in order toachieve sustainable development. In particular, itwas emphasised that the rule of law and cooper-ation between companies, civil society and gov-ernments are the most important assets forresponding to concerns about Europe’s future,and that the business world should use the SDGsto drive sustainable innovation that creates valuefor society. All stakeholders were called on tocommit to the creation of collaborative platformsand digital and circular economic models that en-sure lasting employment for workers and socialcohesion.

Also important is the reflection and awareness-raising carried out by the Multi-stakeholder Plat-form on the SDGs, which was set up in May 2017to provide support and assistance to the Commis-sion and to all stakeholders engaged in the imple-mentation of the 2030 Agenda.

In October 2018, partly on account of the prepa-ration of the Commission’s Reflection Paper, the

platform presented its “Europe moving towardsa sustainable future” report, in which it makes anumber of recommendations on how to transformthe SDGs into practical solutions for the well-being of present and future generations. As a pri-ority action, the European Union should developand implement a strategy for a sustainable Europeby 2030, which will guide all European policiesand programmes.

The platform also recommends a redefinition ofthe European governance system in order to en-sure a coherent approach to the 2030 Agenda, en-trusting its coordination to the President of theCommission, who should be responsible for report-ing on the state of implementation at the annual“State of the Union” address. Moreover, the Com-mission should promote a territorial approach tothe achievement of the SDGs, by encouraging thecommitment of regions, cities, citizens, commu-nities, businesses and civil society.

The report also contains some specific recommen-dations on how to direct existing instruments to-wards implementation of the 2030 Agenda. Inparticular, the European Union should:

• strengthen the Better Regulation Agenda by in-tegrating sustainable development objectivesand principles into the policy-making process;

• integrate sustainable development into Euro-pean policy impact assessment guidelines;

• use the “Strategy for a Sustainable Europe by2030” as a guide for the European Semester;

• make European finance and the Multiannual Fi-nancial Framework sustainable by incorporat-ing the definition of environmental, social andgovernance risks into financial regulations;

• continue to develop an integrated monitoringsystem and a comprehensive set of Europeanindicators regarding the SDGs.

As far as specific sectors are concerned, the re-port identifies the integration of sustainable de-velopment principles in five key areas as a priorityto achieve the SDGs: responsible consumption andproduction; research, innovation, employmentand social inclusion; climate and energy policies;the agri-food sector and common agricultural pol-icy; and cohesion policies.

In parallel, in view of the European Parliamentaryelections, SDG Watch Europe, a network of over100 civil society organisations, prepared an “Ap-peal to European leaders”, also signed by ASviS,which insists on the need for the EU to fully imple-


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ment the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.The Appeal was presented at the European Councilon 14 and 15 December 2018.

In particular, the document stresses the urgentneed to focus on the future of the Union, byadopting an ambitious political vision, acting asa world leader for sustainable development andtaking the latter as its main political mission. Italso deplores the fact that, more than threeyears after the signing of the 2030 Agenda, theEU has not yet adopted a European sustainabledevelopment strategy. SDG Watch highlightedthe urgent need to adopt internal and externalpolicies that are coherent and aimed at imple-menting the 2030 Agenda, to develop appropri-ate governance and approve desirable reforms,to review the organisation of the EuropeanSemester, and to have a medium-term financialprogramme (2021-2027) that is geared towardssustainable development to accompany thetransition.

Other civil society organisations made similar ap-peals to European leaders.

For example, in the “Open letter to EU leaders:Our sustainable future must start now”, signedby various organisations, including ASviS, and ad-dressed to the European Council at its summit on20 and 21 June, heads of state and governmentare called on to be more ambitious with regard toenvironmental issues, while directing funding tothose sectors that can enable achievement of theSustainable Development Goals.

On the basis of an analysis of the current situationand the results of surveys showing that Europeancities want more social and environmental justice,the signatories to the letter reiterate that, de-spite some progress, the European Union’s effortsare still not up to the enormous challenges facingit and that urgent action is needed to tacklethem. These challenges include growing inequalityand the climate crisis, halting the rapid loss ofbiodiversity, ensuring sustainable consumptionand production of goods and services, and guar-anteeing quality employment for all.

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ASviS regularly monitors the progress of Europeancountries towards achievement of the 17 Sustai-nable Development Goals8 through the selectionof over 70 elementary indicators and their aggre-gation into 16 composite indicators. The variouscomposite indicator values calculated for the EUare determined on the basis of the level and per-formance of the elementary indicators relating tothe individual countries, which are in turn aggre-gated, thereby producing composite indicators foreach Goal at country level9. This in-depth studytakes into account the gaps between countries asmeasured by the composite indicators, highli-ghting the disparities between EU Member States.

Once the composite indicators for the 16 Goals re-garding the individual countries were calculated,“sensitivity” analysis (also known as influenceanalysis) was carried out. This allowed for an as-sessment of whether and to what extent European

country rankings change after the elimination ofan elementary indicator from the initial set. Foreach Goal, given the n elementary indicators avai-lable, n replications were carried out by elimina-ting a different indicator each time, andcalculating the values of the composite indicatorson the basis of the remaining n-1 indicators. Foreach replication, European country rankings wereconstructed, calculating the absolute differencesin ranking between the position of each countryin the original ranking and that in the ranking re-lating to the n-1 indicators.

The following table shows the elementary indica-tors used to develop the composite indicators foreach Goal, ordered according to their “in-fluence”10. Subsequently, the bar charts for eachGoal show the differing levels of the composite in-dicator for the various European countries.

IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS

Disparities between European countries with regard to the 2030 Agenda


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Table 1 - List of elementary indicators used to develop composite indicators for European countriesin descending order of “influence” on the performance of the composite indicators

Indicator Average

Population living in a dwelling with a leaking roof, damp walls, floors or foundation or rot in window frames of floor

People at risk of income poverty after social transfers

In work at-risk-of-poverty rate

People living in households with very low work intensity

Severely materially deprived people

People at risk of poverty or social exclusion

GOAL 11,79

1,64

1,64

1,21

0,71

0,36

Government support to agricultural research and development

Area under organic farming

Ammonia emissions from agriculture

Agricultural factor income per annual work unit (AWU)

GOAL 22,79

2,64

2,43

2,36

Self-reported unmet need for medical care

Share of people with good or very good perceived health

Alchol consumption

Death rate due to tuberculosis, HIV and hepatitis

Life expectancy at birth

Death rate due to chronic diseases

GOAL 31,36

1,14

1,07

1,07

0,61

0,50

Adult participation in learning

Tertiary educational attainment

Participation in early childhood education

Early leavers from education and training

Employment rates of recent graduates

GOAL 42,14

1,93

1,79

1,57

1,50

GOAL 5Seats held by women in national parliaments

Positions held by women as board members

Positions held by women as executives

Gender pay gap in unadjusted form

Gender employment gap

Seats held by women in national governments

Female/male ratio of inactive population due to caring responsibilities

1,86

1,79

1,64

1,43

1,36

1,29

0,71

GOAL 8Real GDP per capita

People killed in accidents at work

Young people neither in employment nor in education and training

Investment share of GDP

Employment rate

Long-term unemployment rate

2,21

1,50

1,43

1,21

0,86

0,57

GOAL 7Final energy consumption in households per capita

Share of renewable energy in gross final energy consumption

Final energy consumption

Population unable to keep home adequately warm

Energy productivity

Primary energy consumption

3,14

2,79

2,21

2,07

2,00

1,93

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GOAL 9R&D personnel

Share of collective transport modes in total passenger land transport

Gross domestic expenditure on R&D

Share of rail and inland waterways activity in total freight transport

Employment in high- and medium-high technology manufacturing sectors and knowledge-intensive service sectors

Patent applications to the European Patent Office

1,31

1,31

1,23

1,23

1,00

0,69

GOAL 10Adjusted gross disposable income of households per capita

Income share of the bottom 40 % of the population

Relative median at-risk-of-poverty gap

Income distribution

Purchasing power adjusted GDP per capita

1,79

1,57

1,50

1,29

1,07

GOAL 11Population living in households considering that they suffer from noise

Overcrowding rate

Recycling rate of municipal waste

People killed in road accidents

Exposure to air pollution PM10

2,36

2,00

1,86

1,21

1,21

GOAL 12Resource productivity and domestic material consumption (DMC)

Recycling rate of waste excluding major mineral wastes

Average CO2 emissions per km from new passenger cars

Circular material use rate

Generation of waste excluding major mineral wastes

1,92

1,54

1,46

1,39

0,92

GOAL 13Greenhouse gas emissions

Greenhouse gas emissions intensity of energy consumption

3,50

3,36

GOAL 14Bathing sites with excellent water quality

Surface of marine sites designated under NATURA 2000

4,70

4,61

GOAL 15Soil sealing index

Share of forest area

Surface of terrestrial sites designated under NATURA 2000

4,92

4,42

3,25

GOAL 16Death rate due to homicide

Population with confidence in EU central bank

Population reporting occurrence of crime, violence or vandalism in their area

Population with confidence in EU Parliament

Population with confidence in EU Commission

2,07

1,79

1,64

1,07

1,07

GOAL 17General government gross debt

Shares of environmental taxes in total tax revenues

Official development assistance as share of gross national income

EU imports from developing countries

5,36

5,14

4,71

4,29


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GOAL 1 - No poverty

The chart highlights substantial gaps between coun-try performances with respect to Goal 1. There is a31.4 point difference between the composite indi-cator value for the best performer (Czech Republic)and that of the country at the bottom of the ranking(Bulgaria). Italy ranks twenty-fourth, ahead ofGreece, Romania and Bulgaria. Between 2010 and

2017, individual country trends differ considerably. In terms of “influence”, there is a degree of homo-geneity between the considered indicators, with theshare of the Population living in dwellings with a leak-ing roof, damp walls, floors or foundation or rot inwindow frames and of People at risk of incomepoverty after social transfers being the most relevant.

GOAL 2 - Zero hunger

For Goal 2, Denmark is the country with the highestvalue for the composite indicator, over 33 pointsabove Malta, which ranks last. Italy ranks slightlyabove EU average.

The indicators that most affect territorial differencesare those relating to Government support for agricul-tural research and development and the Area underorganic farming.

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GOAL 3 - Good health and well-being

For Goal 3, the gap between the composite indicatorfor Sweden and Latvia amounts to 37 points, one ofthe highest. Italy ranks sixth, showing a significant in-crease compared to 2010, similarly to almost all thecountries observed, with the exception of the UnitedKingdom, Greece and Estonia.

None of the elementary indicators used within thecomposite indicators has a dominant influence in ex-plaining the disparities among countries.

GOAL 4 - Quality education

For Goal 4, the maximum value of the composite in-dicator was obtained by Sweden (118.6), and the min-imum value by Romania, marking a 28-pointdifference. Italy ranks fourth to last, coming ahead ofCroatia, Greece and Romania. All countries show im-

provement compared to 2010, which in some cases issubstantial. Adult participation in learning and Ter-tiary educational attainment are the indicators thatmost influence the disparities between the countriesanalysed.


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GOAL 5 - Gender equality

For Goal 5, the differences between countries arerelatively less marked than in other cases. Indeed,the difference between the best (Sweden) and theworst performer (Hungary) amounts to 27 points.Italy ranks thirteenth, with a value just below the

European average. In the case of Goal 5, no specificindicator within the composite indicator weighsmore than the others on the variability of countryperformances.

GOAL 7 - Affordable and clean energy

Goal 7 displays the lowest variability between EUcountries. Portugal has the highest value, only 15.9points higher than Poland, the lowest ranked country.Italy is in fourth position, with a value well above theEuropean average. Compared to 2010, many countrieshave significantly improved, while the performances

of Lithuania and Malta have worsened. The sensitivityanalysis shows that the indicators with the greatestinfluence on the ranking are the Final per capita en-ergy consumption in households and the Share of re-newable energy in gross final energy consumption.

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GOAL 8 - Decent work and economic growth

For Goal 8 too, Sweden is the country with the highestvalue for the composite indicator, which is 33 pointsabove Greece, the country ranking last. Italy is inpenultimate position, the only country together withGreece registering a downtrend between 2010 and2017.

Among the elementary indicators, the one relatingto Real GDP per capita has the greatest influence onthe degree of disparity between the countries underconsideration.

GOAL 9 - Industry, innovation and infrastructure

For Goal 9, the difference between the values of thecomposite indicators calculated for Sweden and Ro-mania, respectively the first and last country in theranking, corresponds to 30.3 points. Italy ranks seven-teenth, registering a slight improvement between

2010 and 2017, a trend that also occurs in most Euro-pean countries. Given the high level of consistencyamong the elementary indicators in determining therankings, none of them appears to be particularly re-sponsible for the disparities noted between countries.


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GOAL 10 - Reduced inequality

Goal 10 registers greater disparities among countries.The maximum value of the composite indicator is ob-tained by Finland, whereas Bulgaria registers the min-imum value, with a difference of 41.4 points. Italy’sperformance is below the European average and, like

many other countries, has worsened since 2010. As in the case of the previous Goal, none of the indi-cators under consideration stands out as having astrong influence on the difference in ranking betweencountries.

GOAL 11 - Sustainable cities and communities

For Goal 11, the distance between the best performer(Ireland) and the country at the bottom of the ranking(Romania) amounts to 34 points. Italy’s performanceis below the European average, but shows a markedimprovement between 2010 and 2017, a trend also

manifested in the majority of countries.The indicators Population living in households thatconsider they suffer from noise and the Overcrowdingrate are the ones that have the greatest role in de-termining territorial disparities.

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GOAL 12 - Responsible consumption and production

Goal 12 is the one displaying the greatest territorialdisparities. The gap between the Netherlands and Es-tonia, first and last ranked, is of almost 45 points, butif these two countries are left out, a largely uniformperformance may be noted. Italy is in second place,

and almost all countries saw a marked improvementbetween 2010 and 2017. The indicator with the greatest impact on the rankingof countries is that on Resource productivity and do-mestic material consumption (DMC).

GOAL 13 - Climate action

For Goal 13, Malta ranks first and Luxembourg last,with a 36-point gap. Italy is among the leading group,registering an uptrend between 2010 and 2017, as doalmost all other countries.

Both indicators used in the composite indicator, Green-house gas emissions and the Intensity of greenhousegas emissions, have a strong impact on the rankings.


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GOAL 14 - Life below water

For Goal 14 too, the Netherlands is the best per-former, 34 points ahead of Sweden, the lowest rankedcountry. The internal variability of the indicator isquite high, highlighting a degree of heterogeneityamong countries. Italy registered a below-averageperformance.

Bathing sites with excellent water quality and Surfaceof marine sites designated under Natura 2000 are theindicators with the greatest influence on the rankingof countries.

GOAL 15 - Life on land

For Goal 15, Slovenia leads the ranking, with acomposite indicator that is 33.7 points greater thanPoland, the lowest ranked country. Italy is abovethe European average, but all countries, except forRomania, register a significant deterioration be-

tween 2010 and 2017.The indicators relating to the Soil sealing index andthe Share of forest area have the greatest impact oncountry ranking.

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GOAL 16 - Peace, justice and strong institutions

For Goal 16, the difference between the first (Finland)and the last country (Greece) in the ranking is of 29.6points, and internal variability is relatively low. Italy’sperformance is below the European average, register-

ing a significant deterioration compared to 2010, as isthe case for another ten countries. The Death rate due to homicide indicator is the onethat most affects the disparity between countries.

GOAL 17 - Partnerships for the Goals

For Goal 17, the Netherlands, which is the highestranked country, is only 20.6 points above Greece,the lowest ranked. In addition, internal variabilitybetween the values of the composite indicators islow. Italy stands in the middle of the ranking, regis-tering a deterioration compared to 2010, a trend

that also characterises many other countries. Territorial differences are mainly determined by theindicators relative to General government gross debtand Share of environmental taxes in total revenues.


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NOTES

1 Note that in this report the terms “indicators” and “indices” are considered synonymous.2 Detailed analysis regarding the calculation and interpretation of the composite indicators may be found on the ASviS website

at https://asvis.it/dati/3 In July 2019, the Commission presented the Joint Synthesis Report (https://ec.europa.eu/eu- ropeaid/sites/devco/files/jsr-

report-20190717_en.pdf) at the HLPF, which is a kind of National Voluntary Review for the Union as a whole. The documentcomprises a self-assessment of progress towards the 2030 Agenda within the EU and in terms of EU international cooperation.

4 Approach whereby individual issuers, sectors or countries are explicitly excluded from the world of investment on the basisof specific principles and values. From www.investiresponsabilmente.it

5 This activity involves dialogue between the company and the investor on sustainability issues and in the exercise of votingrights by shareholders. This is a long-term process aimed at positively influencing the behaviour of the company and in-creasing the level of transparency.

6 ASviS has been active in this area with the Europe Ambition 2030 project: https://bit.ly/2MdNSv6.7 Overall, according to the EU Commission, the European Court of Auditors and the World Bank, the equivalent of €1.115

trillion per year will be needed from 2021 onwards to meet the EU's 2030 targets. See: Opinion of the European Economicand Social Committee on the European Finance and Climate Pact (2019/C 62/02). See https://bit.ly/2SCsP6H.

8 No results can be produced for Goal 6 due to a lack of data.9 In some cases, the EU average is not based on all 28 Member States, but only on those for which data are available.10 The calculation of influence is based on the absolute average difference in decreasing rank, which expresses, on average,

the extent to which elimination of the indicator entails changes in the ranking of countries, and therefore in the value ofthe composite indicator. Consequently, the higher this average, the more relevant the elementary indicator in determiningchanges in the composite indicator and, therefore, differences between the countries analysed.

The 2030 Agenda in Italy3.

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3.1 Government and publicadministration initiatives four years after the adoptionof the 2030 Agenda

Since the publication of the 2018 ASviS Report, Italyhas witnessed a flurry of activity at all levels focus-ing on the issue of sustainable development, involv-ing civil society, businesses, national and regionalgovernments and the autonomous provinces. Thelack of a clear, shared plan to implement the2030 Agenda has meant that, four years aftersigning the Agenda, our country has failed toachieve the kind of progress seen in other coun-tries. If last year’s ASviS Report opened with thewords “we are not doing enough”, events oc-curred during the last year have raised even moreconcerns about the extent to which Italy contin-ues to lag behind, because of the inertia shownby the last three governments and a lack of in-terest among the general public, despite morefrequent and ever closer attention to the issue ofclimate change.

Government initiativesA step towards providing Italy with a governancestructure for the 2030 Agenda was taken with theestablishment of the Benessere Italia (“WellbeingItaly”) steering committee, announced by thePrime Minister, Giuseppe Conte, on 21 May at theopening of the third edition of the Sustainable De-velopment Festival. The committee was set upwith the aim of “coordinating, monitoring, mea-suring and improving the policies adopted by allministers with a view to focusing on the wellbeingof citizens”. The committee met for the first timelast July.The committee will facilitate coordination of eco-nomic, social and environmental policies, with theaim of achieving the Goals set out in the 2030Agenda, as envisaged in the Directive issued lastspring by the administration led by the former PrimeMinister, Paolo Gentiloni, which set up a special Na-tional Sustainable Development Committee, to bechaired by the Prime Minister or a delegated person1.

The decree establishing the steering committeeactually refers to the Directive, leading to inter-pretational uncertainty as to the resulting organ-isational structure, since the bodies set up by thetwo documents have a number of overlappingfunctions. It is hoped that this uncertainty will beresolved as soon as possible.Since its establishment, ASviS has argued for thecreation of a body within the Cabinet Office withresponsibility for coordinating and integratingthe policies adopted by the various ministerswith regard to the implementation of the 2030Agenda for sustainable development. Such an ini-tiative is, therefore, to be welcomed, as is theinclusion of the Director of ASviS, as the sole rep-resentative of Italian civil society, in the scien-tific committee2 that will assist the steeringcommittee in carrying out its duties.The creation of a body to coordinate the imple-mentation of the 2030 Agenda potentially marksimportant progress after the major disappoint-ments of the last year. These included the deci-sion taken by the Chamber of Deputies BudgetCommittee, in December 2018, to reject the Bud-get Law amendment proposed by ASviS that wouldhave changed the name of the InterministerialCommittee for Economic Planning (CIPE) into theInterministerial Committee for Sustainable Devel-opment. Prior to the elections, this idea had beenmet with widespread approval by many of the par-ties represented in Parliament, including the FiveStar Movement (Movimento 5 Stelle). The namechange would clearly not have been a mere for-mality, but the indication of a desire to assesspublic sector investment on the basis of eco-nomic, social and environmental criteria.Progress has been made in implementing the Na-tional Sustainable Development Strategy, approvedin December 20173. Whilst waiting for the CabinetOffice steering committee to start its work, theMinistry for the Environment, Land and Sea Protec-tion has proceeded to set up the “Sustainable De-velopment Forum” provided for in the Strategy,officially presenting the Forum’s terms of referenceduring the first National Sustainable DevelopmentConference, held in Naples in December 2018.

3. The 2030 Agenda in Italy

The Forum, which has yet to be officially consti-tuted, is intended to take the form of a multi-stakeholder platform similar to the body set upby the European Commission in 2017. TheForum’s members will be tasked with providingsupport designed to achieve consistency acrosssustainability policies, setting up working groupsdesigned to focus on the various areas indicatedin the Strategy (people, planet, prosperity, peaceand partnership), as well as another workinggroup to look at cross-cutting issues identified as“sustainability vectors” (knowledge, educationand communication). In order to ensure a coher-ent approach to supporting development of theNational Sustainable Development Strategy, theForum will work closely with the National Councilfor Development Cooperation in relation to theStrategy’s international dimension, whilst the an-nual national conference is intended to providean opportunity to assess and discuss the progressmade with regard to both dimensions of theStrategy.In August 2018, the Ministry for the Environment,Land and Sea Protection published a call for ten-ders inviting the submission of expressions of in-terest to conclude partnership agreements withregional authorities and the autonomous provincesin order to devise sustainable development strate-gies at the regional and provincial levels. By theend of 2018, almost all the regional authorities(18) and one of the autonomous provinces had en-tered into partnership agreements with the Min-istry, and various initiatives have been launched,some in collaboration with ASviS. In July 2019, theMinistry published a second call (worth €4 million,in line with the previous notice) relating to activ-ities that are totally distinct from those providedfor in the earlier agreements but which, at thesame time, are intended to supplement and linkup with them, as part of the wider process ofdrawing up and implementing the regional andprovincial strategies.In line with the proposal put forward by ASviS atthe Sustainable Development Festival, during ameeting held to discuss how to implement the 2030Agenda at the local level, in August 2019 the Min-istry published a similar call for tenders aimed atmetropolitan cities. Its objective is “to definemetropolitan sustainable development strategiesdesigned to implement the 2030 Agenda and na-tional and regional sustainable strategies and fo-cusing on the social, environmental and economicaspects of sustainability. The aims of the call (€2.5

million) are: to strengthen and improve the focuson sustainable development in the master plans formetropolitan areas, fully integrating all the dimen-sions of sustainability into metropolitan planning,programming and management processes; to pro-mote, alongside local institutions and metropolitanactors, integrated sustainable development initia-tives; to spread awareness and promote social andbusiness activism in relation to sustainability, in-cluding actions designed to broaden the involve-ment of citizens and civil society.Finally, under existing legislation, in February thegovernment presented its “Report on the impactof the Budget Law on the indicators of Fair andSustainable Wellbeing”. The impact analysisshould be based on the 12 indicators of Fair andSustainable Wellbeing selected by the ad hoc sci-entific committee in 2018, which included the Di-rector of ASviS4. Unfortunately, the Report’sassessment of the impact of the Budget Lawthrough to 2021 is limited to just four indicators:average per capita income, inequality, non-par-ticipation in the labour market (broken down bygender) and greenhouse gas emissions. As the doc-ument states, “Further indicators will be added inlater editions as progress is made in developingthe necessary statistical and modelling tools toprovide forecasts over the time-scale covered bythe economic planning cycle”.

Parliamentary initiativesIn April, the Chamber of Deputies debated a num-ber of motions regarding sustainable develop-ment, the declaration of a “climate emergency”and Italy’s candidature to host the COP 26 in2020, a summit that will take stock of policy ef-forts to combat climate change. The motion ap-proved (no. 1/00154 dated 1 April 2019) commitsthe government to:

• “the immediate and full implementation of theDirective of March 2018, establishing a Na-tional Sustainable Development Committeewithin the Cabinet Office, with the aim ofguiding and coordinating sustainability poli-cies, including periodic reviews of the NationalSustainable Development Strategy and of thepolicies intended to implement it;

• take initiatives designed to ensure that thelegislation and measures implementing theStrategy contain a technical report on the ex-pected impact in relation to each of the Sus-tainable Development Goals;


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• take steps to compel the government to de-liver on its commitment to present to Parlia-ment a report on the implementation of theNational Sustainable Development Strategy byFebruary of each year, providing an update onboth implementation of the national sustain-able development plan and of the impact ofthe Budget Law;

• launch, in coordination with other public andscientific bodies and with private entities andassociations, a national information campaigntargeting the general public and the worlds ofbusiness and finance, and focusing on theGoals set out in the 2030 Agenda and on therole to be played by each and every citizen orbusiness;

• set up a permanent roundtable with regionalauthorities, the autonomous provinces ofTrento and Bolzano and other local authoritiesto coordinate sustainable development initia-tives being carried out by the central govern-ment and regional, provincial and municipalauthorities;

• initiate a widespread consultation around thecountry and among institutions to developplanning and policy proposals backing Italy’scandidature to host COP 26 in Milan in 20205;

• initiate widespread discussion of the topic ofsustainability, partly in relation to the reflec-tion paper published by the European Commis-sion entitled “Towards a Sustainable Europe by2030”, bearing in mind that the next EuropeanCouncil will be called on to express an opinionon this document;

• begin a widespread process and discussion witha view to identify the legislative steps to betaken in order to introduce, via the appropri-ate procedures, the principle of sustainabledevelopment into the Italian Constitution asone of the founding principles”.

During the debate on the motion, all political par-ties, with varying degrees of emphasis, supportedthe idea of promoting circular economy, reduc-tions in greenhouse gas emissions, decarboniza-tion of the economy, energy efficiency and moreefficient waste management. The government,however, voiced opposition to a number of pro-posals, such as changing the National IntegratedEnergy and Climate Plan to bring it more into linewith the achievement of the goals set by the ParisAgreement of 2015.

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THE ITALIAN SENATE PLAYS HOSTTO GRETA THUNBERGIn April, the young Swedish activist, GretaThunberg, who is championing the fightagainst climate change, was invited by theSpeaker of the Senate, Elisabetta AlbertiCasellati, to take part in the event, Il tempocambia. È tempo di cambiare (“The weatheris changing. It is time to change”), coordinatedby the Director of ASviS, Enrico Giovannini.“We have come here today to listen to some-one who reminds us that we are abandoningthe most educated generation in human his-tory, a generation that bears no responsibilityfor the current state of the world,” observedGiovannini. For her part, Speaker Casellati de-scribed the first steps taken by the Senate tocut emissions and the use of plastic and toldthose present that next year the Senate wouldtake stock of what had been achieved.According to Greta Thunberg, “The saddestpart is that many children aren’t even awareof the fate that awaits them and the risk is thatthey won’t understand it until it’s too late. Inthirteen years, we could find ourselves in a sit-uation that is beyond human control and thatcould lead to the end of our civilisation as weknow it. But we also need to realise that weare basing our projections on estimates andcalculations. In reality, we may well reach thepoint of no return even sooner than 2030”.The statements made by other young activiststaking part in the debate also pointed to theneed for urgent cultural change across all thegenerations. According to the “World Youth Re-port: Youth and the 2030 Agenda for SustainableDevelopment”, published by the United NationsDepartment of Economic and Social Affairs inFebruary 2019, governments must take urgentsteps regarding education and employment: 142million young people have failed to completesecondary education, whilst 71 million are un-employed. The Report then goes on to highlightthe fact that this issue primarily affects devel-oping countries, where a further 1.9 billion youngpeople are projected to turn 15 by 2030. As a re-sult of targeted policies, and also thanks to theendless opportunities offered by social media,each member of this extraordinary mass of youngpeople could become a promoter of sustainabil-ity, driving efforts to achieve the SDGs.

The motion refers to the inclusion of the conceptof sustainability in the Constitution, one of thekey recommendations advanced by ASviS since itsfoundation. At the beginning of the XVIII legisla-ture, the draft bill providing for its inclusion waspresented, whilst, at the beginning of this year,draft legislation drawn up as part of a citizens’ ini-tiative, providing for the amendment of articles 2and 9 of the Italian Constitution in order to guar-antee greater intergenerational justice, sustain-ability and respect for the environment, was filedwith the country’s Supreme Court.

In June, however, the Senate voted down the re-quest to declare a climate emergency in Italy,contained in three motions presented by threeparties (Forza Italia, Partito Democratico andLiberi e Uguali), after it was opposed by the gov-ernment. The motion put forward by the govern-ing parties was, on the other hand, passed. Thelatter, however, does not refer to an emergencyand commits the government “to promote eco-de-sign; to facilitate the distributed production ofenergy from renewable sources; and to promotepublic awareness and information campaigns insynergy with local authorities, including thelaunch of environmental education programmes inschools”.

The presentation, on 27 February of this year, ofASviS’s report on “The 2019 Budget Law and sus-tainable development”6 to members of the govern-ment and Parliament provided an excellentopportunity to discuss the issues with representa-tives from the country’s leading political partiesand movements. The report is a unique, innovativedocument that, in providing a qualitative assess-ment of the expected impact of the over 1,000provisions in the Budget Law on the 17 SustainableDevelopment Goals, opens the way to a new ap-proach to drawing up and evaluating policies.

In order to bring about changes in the legislativeprocess in response to the 2030 Agenda, ASviS haswritten to the Speakers of the Chamber ofDeputies and the Senate and to the party whips torecommend the inclusion, in the explanatory notesaccompanying each draft bill, of details on the ex-pected impact of the proposed legislation on theachievement of the 17 SDGs. The recommendationwas put forward again by the Director of ASviS dur-ing the hearing before the Joint Budget Committeeof the Chamber of Deputies and Senate held to dis-cuss the report on the Fair and Sustainable Well-being indicators referred to above.

Finally, as part of the Nuove narrazioni per la co-operazione (New Narratives for Cooperation) pro-ject, coordinated by ActionAid and financed bythe Italian Agency for Development Cooperation,ASviS coordinated and ran the training course formembers of Parliament (from both the Chamberof Deputies and the Senate) on the 2030 Agenda,held at the Luigi Sturzo Institute from 25 March to15 April.


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3.2 Education on sustainabledevelopment in schools,universities and the publicadministration

As already noted, partnerships between civil so-ciety and educational institutions should be at theheart of a shared mission to refocus the educa-tional system around a sustainable developmentculture, transforming teachers and learners into“agents of change”. For this reason, in the lasttwelve months, ASviS has strengthened its part-nership with the Ministry of Education, Universi-ties and Research, following the signature threeyears ago of a Memorandum of Understanding (no.3397 of 6 December 2016). The aim is to provideeducation in sustainable development at publicand private schools of all types and levels andwithin provincial adult education colleges, inorder to boost awareness, knowledge and adop-tion of the lifestyles described in the 2030Agenda.

The 2019 edition of the competition set up byASviS and the Ministry of Education, Universitiesand Research, “Let’s score 17 Goals”, witnesseda significant increase in the number of participat-ing schools: the number of competition entries ex-amined by the jury have risen from 200 in 2017 toover 250 in 2018 and 472 in this year’s edition.However, it is clear that, despite growing interestand commitment in quantitative terms, we haveyet to see evidence of a full understanding of thecomplexities surrounding sustainable develop-ment, or of the ability to effectively communicatethe need for change, or to lead people to thinkabout how they might change their personal be-haviours in order to drive such change.

In order to strengthen training programmes focus-ing on the 2030 Agenda for teachers and the headsof schools of all types and levels, and to preparethem not only to facilitate the acquisition ofknowledge, but also to pass on all the skillsneeded to respond to the challenges posed by sus-tainable development, ASviS has boosted its exist-ing partnership with the National Institute forDocumentation, Innovation and Educational Re-search (INDIRE). In particular, at the request ofthe Ministry of Education, Universities and Re-search, a section has been created within the In-stitute’s platform to enable Italian schoolteachers to access the e-learning course created

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E-LEARNING COURSES BY ASviSIn 2017, ASviS developed an e-learning courseentitled “The 2030 Agenda and the SustainableDevelopment Goals”, which uses a simple andaccessible language to explain the 2030 Agendaand the 17 SDGs. The course is divided into 20modules and lasts for a total of approximatelythree hours. The first three modules provide an overviewof the 2030 Agenda and of the implementationand measurement strategies for the Goals,whilst each of the remaining modules coversone of the 17 Goals. The training course fea-tures multimedia teaching materials, interac-tive exercises and references to currentevents in order to show how the 2030 Agendarelates to the international and Italian con-text and to people’s everyday lives.The course is delivered asynchronously, en-abling the use of bookmarks and providing ahelp desk. Handouts are made available at theend of each lesson and certificates are issuedat the end of the course as proof that thetraining has been completed.The course has been made available to over 220ASviS members and numerous non-memberbusinesses and organisations. Thanks to theMemorandum of Understanding between theMinistry of Education, Universities and Researchand ASviS, the course is also available on theINDIRE platform for all teachers currently inservice. Italy’s Association of Journalists hasalso included the course in its SIGeF onlinelearning platform, with training credits issuedto participants and a questionnaire drawn upby ASviS to assess what has been learned.The course is available to approximately 70 uni-versities in the Rete delle Università per loSviluppo Sostenibile (University Network for Sus-tainable Development or RUS), which use it as a“starter course” on sustainable development, tothe Association of Italian Libraries (AIB) and Italy’sNational Association of Service Centres for Volun-teering (CSVnet). Many large companies have alsomade the course available to their employees.Finally, production of an English version of thecourse was completed in August 2019, whilsta new e-learning course is in the process ofbeing created for businesses focusing on sus-tainability, the circular economy and on sus-tainable, responsible impact investing.

by ASviS on the subject of “The 2030 Agenda andthe Sustainable Development Goals”7.

Since last May, access to the e-learning course(see the text box “E-learning by ASviS” on page64) has been extended to all of the 800,000teachers that work in Italy’s schools, having pre-viously been available only to newly hired staff(around 63,000 teachers, in addition to the samenumber of their tutors that over the last twoyears have had access to the course in the formof online self-learning). In addition, ASviS hasworked with INDIRE and the Ministry of Educa-tion, Universities and Research to develop theportal “School 2030: education to create value”(scuola2030.indire.it) launched in June. This of-

fers all teachers access to self-learning content,resources and materials designed to educate peo-ple on the values and the vision behind the 2030Agenda. The portal has also been used to makeavailable the book Un mondo sostenibile in 100foto (“A sustainable world in 100 photos”), writ-ten by Enrico Giovannini and Donato Speroni andpublished by Editori Laterza. This is an explana-tory guide to the 2030 Agenda in the form of pho-tographs and articles describing the state of ourplanet and of our socio-economic systems.

However, efforts to educate people about sustain-able development go beyond the school. In April,the Ministry of Education, Universities and Re-search hosted an event arranged by ASviS (in col-


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THE ASviS SUMMER SCHOOLS

In 2018, ASviS launched an advanced training programme focusing on the systemic logic of sustainabledevelopment, addressing the issues of environmental, economic and social sustainability through aninterdisciplinary approach. The first Summer School on Sustainable Development took place in Sienain September of last year. It was organised in collaboration with the Enel Foundation, Leonardo, theUniversity Network for Sustainable Development, the Sustainable Development Solutions Network Italy,the Mediterranean Sustainable Development Solutions Network and the University of Siena’s SantaChiara Lab.

The first edition proved a great success, with 146 applicants for the 30 places available. The decisionto organise a two-week residential intensive course was much appreciated by both tutors and partici-pants, who were able to discuss, debate, learn and experiment with the various aspects of sustaina-bility, whilst creating a network of people able to work over time within the various organisations towhich they belong. The second Summer School, held between 9 and 20 September 2019 with over 50participants, focused on the same key aspects as the first edition, but included a greater number ofinternational experts and an open day featuring a debate on the question, “Can education save theplanet?”.

ASviS also ran a second School in 2019: the Milan Summer School on Wellbeing and Sustainability inCities, held between 31 August and 7 September. This was organised in partnership with the “Milano2046” initiative, set up by the President of the Milan City Council to focus on the city’s future andcentred on issues surrounding the wellbeing of citizens and the community. The School was plannedand run with the support of universities in the Milan area (Bicocca, Bocconi, Cattolica del Sacro CuoreUmanitas, IULM, La Statale Politecnico and San Raffaele) and of the Eni Enrico Mattei Foundation, withcontributions from Assimoco, Banca Generali, BlackRock and Edison.

In this case, the aim was to provide high-profile, high-level training in wellbeing and sustainability,with a particular focus on policymaking for cities. 49 participants attended the School, including PhDstudents and researchers, local government leaders, members of associations that deal with local po-licymaking and teachers. The Milan School is intended to be the first in a series of initiatives to be re-plicated around the country, partly with the aim of developing agendas for urban sustainabledevelopment, as envisaged by the recent call for tenders aimed at metropolitan cities launched bythe Ministry for the Environment, Land and Sea Protection.

Finally, preparations are underway for a third training programme for personnel from regional autho-rities and the autonomous provinces, to be run in parallel with initiatives organised in collaborationwith the National School of Administration (SNA) and aimed at central government personnel.

laboration with the Enel Foundation) on “Highereducation and lifelong learning for sustainable de-velopment”. The meeting with the Undersecre-tary of State, Lorenzo Fioramonti, gave rise to anumber of concrete proposals, including a requestfor the Undersecretary to write to Italian univer-sity rectors, inviting them to commit to the 2030Agenda.

In April, following Greta Thunberg’s visit to Italy,the Undersecretary of State wrote to universityrectors recommending them to:

• introduce interdisciplinary courses and re-search projects linked to the 2030 Agenda.Given that the transition to a sustainable ap-proach requires, above all, a cultural and con-ceptual revolution, students and researchersmust be encouraged to think and act in a “sys-tematic” way, based on an approach that in-volves different disciplines and thatacknowledges the relationship between socialand natural sciences;

• promote concrete actions by, for example,making every university, research centre,academy, conservatoire and art college plasticfree, in line with best national and interna-tional practices. Energy efficiency, clean en-ergy production (by installing renewableenergy plants) and the responsible use ofwater can play an equally important role in re-minding everyone that the world of researchand training is a sector where innovation is apart of everyday life;

• integrate sustainability principles into the waythey run their institutions. In order to boostthe impact of innovative practices, it can helpto give sustainable development principles anintegral role in the day-to-day and extraordi-nary management of research centres and uni-versities (for example, by adopting sustainableprocurement practices and introducing sustain-able development considerations into univer-sities’ “third mission”, focusing on engagementwith local businesses and other institutions).

The universities wasted no time in replying.Putting universities at the heart of sustainable de-velopment was the main focus of the fifth editionof the Magnifici Incontri, a series of events organ-ised by the Conference of Italian University Rec-tors (CRUI). The meeting took place over two daysand involved representatives from 65 universities,who discussed issues relating to sustainable devel-opment, covering good practices and potential

strategies for the future. At the end of the discus-sion, the Manifesto delle Università per laSostenibilità (the “Universities’ SustainabilityManifesto”) was approved and will be turned intoan action plan by the University Network for Sus-tainable Development. The Manifesto acknowl-edges the key role played by universities inimplementation of the SDGs and indicates theconcrete actions to be taken in the near future invarious areas, adding a series of professional roleslinked to the principle of sustainability to thetraining courses on offer.

The launch of courses on sustainable developmentfor managers in the public sector is also impor-tant. The National School of Administration (SNA),in collaboration with ASviS, organised the first“Sustainability Management” course for seniorand middle managers from central government in-volved, above all, in managing general services(human resources, general affairs, contracts andservices, etc.). The course, which took the formof 120 hours of lessons held between November2018 and April 2019, aims to equip managementpersonnel with the necessary skills to create spe-cific leadership roles within central government,with responsibility for coordinating activities inaccordance with the SDGs (the management ofhuman and capital resources, energy procure-ment, waste management, mobility, etc.).

In June 2019, the SNA launched a second courseentitled “Integrated policies for the UN’s 2030Agenda on sustainable development”. The courseis designed for managers from the ministries in-volved in the policy areas relating to the 2030Agenda and aims to develop the public adminis-tration’s ability to define and implement publicpolicies that systematically take into account theinterconnections and potential trade-offs be-tween policy choices. The new course is being runalongside the course entitled “Europe and sustain-able development. Economic, social and environ-mental policies within the context of Europeaneconomic governance”, which takes an in-depthlook at issues linked to the 2030 Agenda from thepoint of view of relations with the EuropeanUnion.

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3.3 The mobilisation andcommitment of businesses

Sustainable development is playing an increasinglyimportant role as a model for analysis, innovationand action, guiding businesses and the countrythrough the process of transforming risks into op-portunities, including the definition of favourablelong-term economic scenarios. Businesses arethemselves asking for a shift towards sustainabledevelopment and there has clearly been a step-change over the last twelve months.

In particular, during the 2019 edition of the Sus-tainable Development Festival, the representa-tives of business and finance were keen tohighlight the urgent need to transition the eco-nomic and industrial system towards a systembased on economic, social and environmental sus-tainability, recognising that the transition to a sus-tainable, circular economy model represents anopportunity to accelerate the country’s economicand social development. During the Conferenceentitled Le imprese e la finanza per lo svilupposostenibile. Opportunità da cogliere e ostacoli darimuovere (“Business and finance for sustainabledevelopment. Opportunities to embrace and ob-stacles to overcome”), the ten leading businessassociations at the national level presented thegovernment with a joint document entitled“Speeding up the transition to sustainability.Businesses and the 2030 Agenda”8, setting outthe steps to be taken to accelerate implementa-tion of the SDGs.

The document published by the ten business as-sociations, all members of ASviS and signatories ofthe Milan Pact9, presents policymakers with con-crete proposals for the actions necessary to createan environment conducive to sustainable devel-opment, to accelerate the decoupling of eco-nomic growth from environmental pressure, todeal with the social aspects of the transition to aneco-friendly productive system, to drive the de-velopment and resilience of local communitiesand to promote an economic model based on sus-tainable development. The document also recom-mends that policymakers and regulators worktogether to carry out initiatives designed to drivea more deeply-rooted commitment to a culture ofsustainability within companies and adoption ofthe related principles. It also urges the above fig-ures to engage in dialogue with the Cabinet Officefor the purpose of developing relevant policies.

At the same time, in keeping with Europeantrends, Italy’s sustainable finance sector has madeimportant progress and shown that it is increas-ingly aware of the need to make the existing de-velopment model sustainable. Italy’s sustainableand responsible investment (SRI) market is led byinstitutional investors but, at the same time,there is growing interest among ordinary investorsin basing their investment decisions on environ-mental, social and governance (ESG) criteria, asshown by the significant growth in SRI instrumentsaimed at this customer segment.

In terms of size, the Italian market continues togrow and now represents almost 10% of the Euro-pean market. Yet, as noted in the final report pro-duced by the High Level Expert Group onSustainable Finance (the HLEG) and in the Euro-pean SRI Study, in Italy it is also necessary to ex-pand the SRI offering for the retail market andaccompany this with efforts to boost the availabil-ity of information and financial education on sus-tainability issues for both investors and financialadvisors, with the aim of increasing the take-upof sustainable finance products and services.

With regard to SRI strategies, according to the Eu-ropean SRI Study, “exclusions” and “engagement”are the preferred approaches followed by the Eu-ropean market, with approximately €1,450 billionand €135.7 billion in assets under management.Engagement has seen solid growth, reflecting, inItaly as elsewhere, renewed interest among insti-tutional investors in persuading companies toadopt policies based on sustainability. Thematicfunds have, however, seen the strongest growth,with assets managed by thematic funds havingrisen from over €2 billion in 2015 to almost €53billion at the end of 2017, whilst the impact in-vesting market has also recorded strong growth inItaly.

In this regard, a turning point for Italy’s sustain-able finance market was marked by the Bank ofItaly’s decision to increase the weight given to en-vironmental and social sustainability factors in in-vestment strategies, as announced in May 2019and illustrated by the Governor, Ignazio Visco,when attending the opening of the Sustainable De-velopment Festival in Rome.

It should also be noted that, in 2019, Cassa De-positi e Prestiti (CDP) amended its articles of as-sociation to include among its activities theprovision of financing to fund investment in thepromotion of sustainable development. This will


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allow CDP to have a positive impact, includingfrom a social and environmental viewpoint. In ad-dition, the new business plan explicitly refers toCDP’s contribution to achieving the Goals set outin the 2030 Agenda.

The introduction of non-financial reporting byLegislative Decree 254/2016, which has trans-posed EU Directive 2014/95 into Italian law, hasmade a significant contribution to increasingawareness of the issue of sustainable develop-ment among major Italian companies. The legis-lation requires entities of significant publicinterest to publish a non-financial statement en-abling readers to understand the business’s activ-ities, its performance, its results and its impact interms of the environment, society, people, re-spect for human rights and efforts to combat ac-tive and passive corruption, based on theirsignificance within the context of the company’sactivities and nature of the business10.

In this regard, the European Commission hasdrawn up guidelines designed to improve non-fi-nancial reporting by businesses, increase corpo-rate transparency and enable Europe to play aleading role in the sector. The main aim is to boosttransparency and encourage businesses to adoptsustainable business models and strategies, ex-plaining the short-, medium- and long-term impli-cations of the decisions they take.

The importance of the contribution the privatesector makes to the SDGs also emerges from thesurvey of 1,300 sustainability reports presented tothe Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), which hasidentified the areas and objectives that businessesconsider to be priorities. In the light of the impor-tance of this contribution, last December, theGovernance & Accountability Institute publisheda study entitled “Sector Study on SustainabilityMateriality of the SDG Targets and GRI Indicators”,based on a survey of sustainability reports pre-pared in accordance with the GRI’s G4 guidelinesand published between March 2016 and March2017, setting out decisions taken by businesses inrelation to the 169 targets in the 2030 Agenda.

3.4 ASviS’s activities

Organisational structure and cooperationwith other stakeholders

In September 2019, ASviS had 227 member organ-isations (15 more than last year) and 111 “asso-ciates” (up 61), namely organisations that, whilenot falling within the categories qualifying formembership, play an active role in promotingsustainable development and provide examplesof good practice, and thus collaborate with theAlliance.

ASviS’s activities, defined by the General Assem-bly through an annually approved programme, arecarried out with the support of 20 working groups(14 focusing on the SDGs, in some cases groupedtogether by topic area, and 6 on cross-cutting is-sues), in which around 600 experts appointed bymembers participate. Two new working groupshave been set up in the last twelve months: thefirst to focus on finance for sustainable develop-ment, the second to look at the role of culture forsustainable development.

The Secretariat encourages and coordinates im-plementation of the programme of activities andcontributes to realisation of the various initia-tives. The Editorial Board is responsible for man-aging the website and producing the weeklynewsletter, which has come to be considered akey source of information on sustainable develop-ment issues.

In terms of working with government institutions,which are too numerous to be described in detailhere, ASviS participates in the following initiatives:

• the “2030 Agenda, policy consistency, effec-tiveness and assessment” working group set upby the National Development CooperationCouncil at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs andInternational Cooperation;

• Italy’s Sustainable Finance Observatory at theMinistry for the Environment, Land and SeaProtection;

• the coordinating group at the National Sustain-able Development Forum set up by the Ministryfor the Environment, Land and Sea Protection;

• five partner topic groups to work on planningfor the period 2021-2027 and set up by the Cab-inet Office’s Department for Cohesion Policies.

The Director of ASviS is a member of the Be-nessere Italia (“Wellbeing Italy”) steering commit-tee set up by the Cabinet Office in July 2019.

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Finally, the Alliance is involved in planning activi-ties at Italy’s pavilion, focusing on sustainable de-velopment issues, at EXPO DUBAI 2020.

At the international level, ASviS also belongs to:

• the European Sustainable Development Net-work (ESDN), a network of institutional actors,associations and experts which has been deal-ing with sustainable development policies andstrategies since 2003;

• the SDG Watch Europe association, a Europeanalliance of civil society organisations createdto monitor implementation of the 2030 Agendafor sustainable development in the EuropeanUnion;

• the Partnership for the SDGs, the multi-stake-holder network, led by the UN’s SustainableDevelopment Division, that works on achieve-ment of the SDGs;

• Europe Ambition 2030, the coalition of civilsociety actors set up in March 2017 after theConference, “Europe Ambition 2030, makingEurope the world leader in sustainable devel-opment: a unique opportunity to build astronger European Union”, organised by ASviS,which has set out to rethink EU governance andpolicies, making achievement of the SDGs thecornerstone of the Union’s future actions.

ASviS has also signed a memorandum of under-standing with the Global Reporting Initiative(GRI), which will see the Alliance work with theGRI on the publication, scheduled for the secondhalf of 2019, of an Italian version of the reportingstandards to be used by companies when reportingon their sustainability performance. ASviS has alsoentered into a participation agreement with Foun-dation 20 (F20), a platform set up by over 20 foun-dations and philanthropic organisations fromvarious parts of the world, in view of the G20 sum-mit to be held in Italy in 2021. The Alliance is onthe European Union’s Transparency Register, whichis jointly managed by the European Parliamentand the EU Commission.

A recent study conducted by the European Parlia-ment, “Europe’s Approach to Implementing theSDGs: good practices and the way forward”,which examines the governance systems adoptedby all EU member states in implementing the 2030Agenda, has highlighted ASviS as an example ofEuropean good practice for civil society organisa-tions. Similarly, in June of this year, the report on“Implementing the Sustainable Development

Goals in the EU: a matter of human and funda-mental rights”, published by the EU Agency forFundamental Rights (FRA), refers to ASviS as anexample at European level, above all with regardto the implementation of Goals 10 and 16.

ASviS has an agreement with the Global CompactNetwork Italy Foundation, created to contributeto the development in Italy of the UN’s GlobalCompact, and with the Sustainable DevelopmentSolutions Network Italia (SDSN Italia), which ispart of the Sustainable Development SolutionsNetwork coordinated by Jeffrey Sachs on behalfof the United Nations. The latter was establishedin response to the UN’s appeal to partnerships forsustainable development to lobby governmentagencies and economic and social entities withinsociety and thus cooperate on promotion of the2030 Agenda in Italy.

ASviS also works with the Rete delle Universitàper lo Sviluppo Sostenibile (University Networkfor Sustainable Development or RUS), establishedby the Conference of Italian University Rectors.The main aim of RUS is to spread sustainabilityculture and good practices, within and beyonduniversities, by sharing skills and experiences, soas to increase the positive environmental, ethical,social and economic impact of the initiatives im-plemented by individual universities, and alsostrengthen the recognition and value of Italian ex-perience at international level. Approximately 70universities are currently members of RUS.

Institutional engagement

At the beginning of the year, the Alliance prepareda study of individual provisions in the 2019 BudgetLaw with reference to the 17 Sustainable Devel-opment Goals. This is contained in the document“The 2019 Budget Law and sustainable develop-ment”, which includes contributions from expertsfrom the Alliance’s member organisations. Thestudy shows that, beyond the individual provi-sions, the 2019 Budget Law fails to present an in-tegrated vision of the various policies forsustainable development, a widely supported ob-jective backed by over 80% of Italians, above allamong the young and well-informed, as shown byASviS’s survey of awareness of the 2030 Agendaand of “demand” for sustainable developmentpolicies. The absence of a “systemic” approach tocircular economy, the greening of production sys-tems and to youth and female employment is a


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matter of concern, as are the half-hearted at-tempts to combat climate change and environ-mental degradation.

The document, the first of its kind to be publishedin Italy, was presented and discussed at the Cham-ber of Deputies on 27 February. This event was at-tended by the Chamber’s Speaker, Roberto Fico,the Prime Minister, Giuseppe Conte, Enel’s CEO,Francesco Starace (the only Italian representativeon the multi-stakeholder platform on sustainabledevelopment created by the European Commission)and representatives from the country’s leading po-litical parties and movements. On this occasion,ASviS recommended the inclusion, in the explana-tory notes accompanying each draft bill, of an ex-planation of the expected impact of the proposedlegislation in the light of the 2030 Agenda.

ASviS also took part in a number of hearings on is-sues relating to the 2030 Agenda, notably:

• on 21 November 2018, the Director of ASviSgave evidence before the Chamber ofDeputies’ Foreign Affairs Committee as part ofits assessment of Italy’s international effortsto implement the 2030 Agenda for sustainabledevelopment;

• on 2 April 2019, the Director of ASviS gave ev-idence before the Joint Budget Committee ofthe Chamber of Deputies and Senate as part ofits examination of the report on the Fair andSustainable Wellbeing indicators for 2019;

• on 10 July 2019, the coordinators of ASviS’sGoal 4 working groups gave evidence beforethe Chamber of Deputies’ Culture Committeeas part of its survey of innovation in education.

Since its establishment, ASviS has argued for thecreation of a body within the Cabinet Office withresponsibility for coordinating and integrating thepolicies adopted by the various ministers with re-gard to implementation of the 2030 Agenda forsustainable development. On 9 October 2018, thePresident and Director of ASviS were invited toPalazzo Chigi to meet the Prime Minister,Giuseppe Conte. During the meeting, ASviS’s keyproposals were put forward, including those re-garding implementation of the Directive approvedby the previous government and then announcedby the Prime Minister when opening the third edi-tion of the Sustainable Development Festival.

The Sustainable Development Festival

One of the highlights of ASviS’s activities was thethird edition of the Sustainable Development Fes-tival, which over the years has played a leadingrole in raising awareness in civil society of the is-sues surrounding economic, social and environ-mental sustainability. The Festival aims to bringabout the cultural and political change that willenable our country to implement the 2030 Agendaand achieve the 17 Sustainable DevelopmentGoals.

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Organised with invaluable contributions from ASviSmembers and associates and with the support ofthe partners and tutors, the 2019 edition of theFestival was held between 21 May and 6 June, aperiod of particular importance for the future ofour country and for Europe: at the end of May, EUcitizens were called on to elect a new EuropeanParliament and to take part in regional and munic-ipal elections in Italy. The Festival thus served asan ideal opportunity to raise awareness amongnewly elected MEPs and local councillors on thechallenges represented by the 2030 Agenda, withthe aim of ensuring that the European Union andItaly’s local authorities put sustainable develop-ment at the heart of their policymaking.

Since its first edition, the Festival has achievedgrowing success, resulting in increased awarenessof the issues relating to sustainable developmentwithin Italian society. When ASviS launched thefirst Festival in 2017, we were extremely pleasedto have promoted the organisation of 220 eventsin almost every region. In 2018, the number ofevents rose to 702, before increasing to 1,061 in2019 (up 51% compared with the previous year),with events being organised by our members, uni-versities and schools, many cities, businesses,public bodies and NGOs, as well as by the Al-liance’s Secretariat and its working groups. Thou-sands of people from all over Italy took up theslogan for the third edition, Mettiamo mano alnostro future (“Let’s lend our hands to the fu-ture”). ASviS’s Secretariat organised the followingfive events:

• the press conference launching the Festi-val11, held on 2 May;

• the Festival’s opening event, Per un’Europacampionessa mondiale di sviluppo sosteni-bile (“Make Europe the world champion of sus-tainable development”)12, held at the SalaPetrassi in Rome’s Auditorium Parco della Mu-sica complex on 21 May;

• followed, on the evening of 21 May, by theConcert for a Sustainable Europe13 performedby the European Union Youth Orchestra’s stringensemble;

• the conference Le imprese e la finanza perlo sviluppo sostenibile. Opportunità dacogliere e ostacoli da rimuovere (“Businessand finance for sustainable development. Op-portunities to embrace and obstacles to over-come”)14, held at the Assolombarda Auditoriumin Milan on 28 May;

• the event that closed the third edition entitledItalia 2030: un Paese in via di svilupposostenibile (“Italy 2030: a sustainably devel-oping country”)15, held at the Chamber ofDeputies in Rome on 6 June.

In addition, events of national importance16 wereheld on every day of the Festival, highlighting thelinks between the 17 SDGs and dealing with topicssuch as: poverty and inequalities; gender equality;climate change and energy; natural capital andthe quality of the environment; the circular econ-omy, innovation and work; health, food and sus-tainable agriculture; international cooperation;cities, infrastructure and innovation. These werehigh-level meetings organised by ASviS members,with contributions from the Alliance’s workinggroups and tutors.The various editions of the Festival have seen agrowing commitment from Italian cities17, withmunicipal authorities working with local organisa-tions and activists, including universities, to en-courage and coordinate initiatives and makevenues available to host events, discussions, train-ing and gatherings focusing on the issue of sustain-ability. The cities of Bari, Bologna, Milan, Padua,Parma, Rome and Turin were the most heavily in-volved, with the latter hosting a projection of thelogo of the 2030 Agenda on the Mole Antonellianaevery evening during the Festival.


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Figure 2 – Locations for SustainableDevelopment Festival events in 2019

Over 20 million people got involved in the 2019edition of the Festival via social media, whilsthundreds of thousands took part in the events orwere able to stream them live. More than 100 mil-lion people saw the government advertising cam-paign broadcast on RAI’s various channels, incollaboration with the Cabinet Office’s Depart-ment for Information and Publishing and RAI’s Cor-porate Responsibility unit.There were over 1,044 press, radio and TV reportson the Festival (58% more than in 2018), whilst thehashtag #FestivalSviluppoSostenibile was used in7,500 tweets in 30 days, to be seen by over 21 mil-lion people and more than 10 million unique users.The hashtag #METTIAMOMANOALFUTURO reachedover 5 million people and 100,000 unique users in10 days. ASviS’s website saw a record number ofvisits in May 2019 (45,000 visitors, double the pre-vious month and almost a third more than oneyear earlier), whilst the Festival website18 had52,000 visitors (up 40% on the previous year). ThewebTV, with its daily news programme, was vis-ited by 35,000 people, whilst the advert promot-ing the Festival was shown in stadiums during thefinal round of games in the Serie A football leagueseason, in airports and on high-speed trains andregional services operated by Ferrovie dello Stato.During the Festival, the importance and urgencyof adopting a new development model that wouldput Italy on a more sustainable footing was ex-pressed by many participants across governmentinstitutions and the different sectors of Italian so-ciety. In addition to the above-mentioned state-ments from the Prime Minister and the Governorof the Bank of Italy, the 10 leading business asso-ciations told the government what needs to bedone to speed up the transition to sustainable de-velopment and asked for the creation of a specificgroup of experts to work on the related policies.The trades unions (CGIL-CISL-UIL), environmentalcampaigners and representatives from the privatesector have drawn up guidelines for an ambitiousand fair energy transition. Women’s rights groupshave asked the government to set up a women’sempowerment committee. Italian universitieshave drawn up a Manifesto for sustainable devel-opment in universities and hundreds of schoolshave involved students in concrete projects de-signed to raise awareness of the issues surround-ing sustainability. Finally, from this year, theSustainable Development Festival has partneredwith another seven of the most important festivalsfocusing on issues of importance to Italian civil so-

ciety19, with the aim of combining all the coun-try’s energies and proposing radical changes toItaly’s social and economic systems.The Festival is also unique at international level,so much so that the 2018 edition was selected (asItaly’s sole representative) to be among the threefinalists in the “Connector” category, of the “SDGAction Awards”20 one of seven into which thecompetition created by the United Nations Secre-tariat, is divided, representing a sort of Oscarprize for the 2030 Agenda. The prizes awarded tothe winners, chosen from among the approxi-mately 2,000 projects entered, reward innova-tive, high-impact initiatives designed to engagethe public and build networks in order to bringabout the changes needed to achieve the SDGs.

Awareness raising and information

As part of a number of communication and infor-mation campaigns, the Alliance has begun workingwith leading news providers, who have used ma-terials produced by ASviS. If, in general, mediacoverage of ASviS’s activities has increased con-siderably compared with the previous year, theASviS Report continues to grow in size and thenews provided through other communicationchannels is referred to in the media, three initia-tives stand out above all:

• “Corriere Buona Notizie” published key con-tent from the ASviS Report for 2018 in 17 fea-tures, dedicating two pages to an analysis ofeach SDG, with interviews, comment and ex-pert analysis, accompanied by effective info-graphics;

• from the beginning of January to the end ofMay 2019, each week the Repubblica.it websitepublished weekly articles relating to sustain-ability and ASviS’s activities, accompanied byan edition of ASviS’s webTV news programme;

• from 15 March 2019, the editorial from theweekly newsletter is published in full atLinkiesta.it.

The asvis.it portal, with its 17 sites focusing oneach of the Sustainable Development Goals, isregularly updated and improved, registering a sig-nificant rise in visits, even after adjusting forthose linked to the Festival. A project was re-cently launched with the aim of bringing the por-tal into line with the growing demand forinformation and fully exploiting synergies with so-cial and multi-media channels. At the same time,

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the weekly newsletter, published every Thursday,now has a readership of 10,000 and offers infor-mation and commentaries on aspects of sustain-able development currently in the news in Italyand around the world.

ASviS is responsible for two weekly programmeson Radio Radicale: Alta sostenibilità, featuring ahalf-hour debate organized by ASviS with the par-ticipation of politicians and experts; Scegliere ilfuturo, a Friday show with Enrico Giovannini,looking at current issues.

Over the last twelve months, a number of socialmedia campaigns have been run with the aim ofhelping to publicise the Alliance’s messages. Thishas increased the number of followers on Face-book (@asvisitalia) to 21,000 and on Twitter(@ASviSItalia) to 8,700, whilst increasing visibilityon YouTube, Instagram and Linkedin. In particular:

• following publication of the Report for 2018,an online campaign called Un goal al giorno(“A goal a day”) was run, featuring in-depthanalysis of Italy’s position with regard to theSDGs in the 2030 Agenda taken from the Re-port. The campaign was run through ASviS’sTwitter and Facebook accounts, reaching over630,000 people;

• a second campaign was run in February 2019 tomark the presentation of ASviS’s report on “The2019 Budget Law and sustainable development”;

• ASviS took part in the global #fridaysforfuturecampaign to raise awareness of the fightagainst climate change, in addition to varioussocial media campaigns promoting and publi-cising initiatives such as SEEDSandCHIPS on thefuture of food, #Obiettivo2030, as part of theItalian Earth Day Village, and the Food EconomySummit promoted by the Feltrinelli Foundation.

ASviS’s webTV, which broadcasts weekly through-out the year, offers a summary of major events inItaly and around the world focusing on sustainabledevelopment, featuring interviews, reports and in-depth analysis. During the Festival, the webTVbroadcast a special daily edition focusing on thevarious events, including opinion and footage fromacross the country, broadening its audience throughvarious social media channels and websites. Eachedition was published on YouTube, Facebook, Twit-ter, LinkedIn and on the websites asvis.it and fes-tivalsvilupposostenibile.it, with a total of around35,000 views. A summary of the 17 days of eventsthroughout Italy was also produced.

In collaboration with Radio Radicale TV, live cov-erage of the second global climate strike wasbroadcast on 24 May, with reports from events inRome, Milan, Naples, Turin and Bari. Photos, info-graphics, books and reports were used to describewhat would appear to be the biggest youth move-ment in the last 40 years, created in response tothe biggest emergency of this century. The eventswere live streamed over ASviS’s channels andRadio Radicale TV, including the station’s digitalterrestrial channel.Finally, in September, the publishing house, Edi-tori Laterza, published Un mondo sostenibile in100 foto (“A sustainable world in 100 photos”),written by Enrico Giovannini and Donato Speroni,with artwork by Manuela Fugenzi. Thanks to sup-port from Enel, an online version of the book isavailable for secondary schools and can be ac-cessed on the INDIRE platform.

Research initiatives

Over this year, the working group on statistical in-dicators has developed an information system, up-dated at the time of this Report, with the aim ofmonitoring the progress made towards achievingthe 17 SDGs at national, regional and Europeanlevel. Working closely with the groups responsiblefor each of the Goals, the group processed thedata made available by Istat (Italy’s National Sta-tistical Office), ISPRA (the Institute for Environ-mental Protection and Research), Eurostat andother authoritative sources to calculate compositeindicators for each EU country, for Italy and forthe 21 regions and autonomous provinces.

In 2018, ASviS worked with the ConfederazioneNazionale dell’Artigianato e della piccola e mediaimpresa (Italy’s National Confederation of Craftsand Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, or CNA)on two research projects focusing on the reduc-tion of food waste in the bread production chainand energy efficiency in private homes. In addi-tion, the group has initiated work on a project,commissioned by the Lazio Region, that aims tocreate a model capable of estimating the eco-nomic impact of the NGOs located in the region.

The group is also responsible for the support pro-vided to local government, such as regional andmunicipal authorities, in rating their performancewith respect to the SDGs and in drawing up localsustainable development strategies, in accor-dance with the agreement entered into with the


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Ministry for the Environment, Land and Sea Pro-tection. ASviS is currently working on these as-pects with a number of authorities, including theEmilia-Romagna and Tuscany Regions, the Au-tonomous Province of Trento and the cities ofTaranto and Parma.

Finally, ASviS has launched the Local Goals pro-ject, as part of the NOPLANETB hub. This projectaims to make the research and awareness-raisingactivities carried out nationally by ASviS, in rela-tion to the 2030 Agenda, relevant at local level.The objective of Local Goals is to support theEmilia-Romagna Region in creating statistical toolsto monitor progress towards achieving the SDGs,in rating local businesses in terms of sustainabilityand in using the information gathered in order toraise awareness among two target groups: re-gional policymakers and businesses.

Saturdays for Future

The Saturdays for Future (saturdaysforfuture.it)initiative was launched by Enrico Giovannini(ASviS) and Leonardo Becchetti (NeXt) on 5 Junevia a letter published in the daily newspaper,Avvenire: “What if the young generations takingpart in the ‘Fridays for Future’ movement, thathas mobilised students from all over the world inorder to urge adults and institutions ‘not to stealtheir future’ and to build a sustainable tomorrowfor the Planet, were to involve their families in a‘Saturdays for Future’ initiative, dedicated tochanging consumption habits? That is to say, whatif Saturday - the day following the climate strikes,the day on which over half the population doestheir weekly shopping – were to become a day onwhich everybody focused on environmental andsocial sustainability?”. The proposal was wel-comed by large parts of Italian society and in par-ticular by the Prime Minister, who reactedpositively to the appeal, reiterating the govern-ment’s commitment to such issues.

ASviS invited everyone, starting from its networkof member organisations, to work together to cre-ate Saturdays for Future. The first step in this pro-cess took place on 28 September 2019, the dayafter the third global climate strike, and markedthe beginning of a shared path towards buildinggreater awareness of sustainable patterns of pro-duction and consumption.

Other projects

ASviS has sponsored more than 30 events over thelast year, in recognition of the proven commit-ment of the events’ organisers to spreadingawareness of 2030 Agenda issues throughout Italy.For the second year running, ASviS sponsored andparticipated in the Alberobello Summer School,“The philosophy behind sustainable develop-ment”, organised by the Ministry of Education,Universities and Research and the Centro diRicerca per gli Studi Filosofici (the Centre for Re-search into Philosophical Studies, or CRIF). Thecourse is aimed at primary and secondary schoolteachers and other people working in educationand the social and cultural sectors.

Sponsored by ASviS, the Associazione Parchi e Gi-ardini d’Italia (the Italian Association of Parks andGardens, or APGI) participated in the SustainableDevelopment Festival, encouraging all Italian gar-dens to take part in the Appuntamento in Gia-rdino (“Open Gardens”) initiative. The aim is tohave the general public discover Italy’s gardens,by their nature small ecosystems and accurate re-flections of how our climate is changing, with aview to raising visitors’ awareness of issues sur-rounding the environment and sustainability.

Finally, ASviS is a member of the Turin Book Fair’sSustainability Board, set up in 2019 with the aimof making the Fair not only a sustainable event,but also with a view to promoting a culture of sus-tainability and spreading awareness of the relatedissues.

In terms of research activities:

• At the European level, ASviS participates in theNOPLANETB project, whose goal is to develop,test and disseminate effective solutions de-signed to meet local and global social needs,organising matching funds campaigns to raisemoney from donors and businesses in order tocreate a shared fund to finance efforts to com-bat climate change. The organisations thatbenefit from the funding are also included incoaching and training programmes designed toboost their expertise;

• the European Schools for the UN SustainableDevelopment Goals implementation (SUDEGO)project, a part of the Erasmus+ programme, iscoming to an end. The project, of which ASviSis a partner, was set up to facilitate the acqui-sition of expertise and encourage the attain-ment of relevant, high-quality skills. In addition

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to Italy, the other countries involved are Spain,Finland, the United Kingdom and Bulgaria. Theproject is primarily aimed at secondary schoolteachers, with students from the same educa-tional cycles as final beneficiaries, but alsoseeks to involve business and public sectorstakeholders, and decision makers in the fieldof education.

The Alliance also took part in the two editions ofthe WIP-ECOSOC project organized in 2019. Thisproject was set up by the Associazione Diplo-matici, an Italian NGO and a member of ASviS withspecial consultative status with the United NationsECOSOC, and run between March and April and inJuly of this year on the occasion of the High-levelPolitical Forum (HLPF). The high-level WIP-ECOSOCtraining programme offers young aspiring diplo-mats the chance to access high-quality work expe-rience and get a first-hand taste of the work of theUnited Nations, by taking part in numerous semi-nars, visits and meetings with professionals, rep-resentatives of international organisations andcivil society actors. The aim of the last edition wasto inform students on the issues being debatedduring the HLPF, the annual assembly of UN mem-ber states in New York that reports on the progressmade in achieving the Sustainable DevelopmentGoals set out in the 2030 Agenda.

Finally, ASviS has continued to work on the TO-ward 2030, a project combining art and urban re-generation launched in partnership with Turin CityCouncil and Lavazza. By the end of 2019, the aimis to use the universal language of street art lo-cated in the centre of the city and in its suburbsto spread the word about the 17 Goals. In additionto being a member of the scientific committee,ASviS also worked on creating the area of the pro-ject’s website dedicated to the 2030 Agenda, in-cluding an in-depth look at the various Goals. Acatalogue is to be published at the end of the pro-ject, with a view to fully capitalising on the pro-ject and the works produced and reaching a wideraudience.

3.5 Italy’s path to sustainabledevelopment

How does Italy rank with respect to the SDGs

During an event at the Chamber of Deputies on 27February 2019, attended by the Chamber’sSpeaker, Roberto Fico, and the Prime Minister,Giuseppe Conte, ASviS presented an updated ver-sion of the composite indicators developed to de-scribe Italy’s performance with respect to the 17SDGs. The data presented here benefit from thepublication by the second Istat Report on theSDGs, presented last April, which included a num-ber of new elementary indicators. As a result, thecomposite indicators have undergone certainchanges that are particularly significant for Goals1, 4, 7 and 1421.

The composite indicators were developed usingthe Adjusted Mazziotta-Pareto Index (AMPI)method, which was also adopted by Istat to de-velop the composite indicators for the Fair andSustainable Wellbeing indicators referred toabove. Specifically, a composite indicator (start-ing from more than 100 elementary indicators)was developed for 15 out of the 17 Objectives,while for Goals 13 and 17 it was decided to con-tinue using a single headline indicator. Both theindicators provided by Istat and the compositeindicators are available in the ASviS database,which also contains data for the different re-gions. The Italian figure for 2010 represents thebase value (equal to 100) and the indicators showthe improvement (if the value rises) or the dete-rioration (if it falls) in the situation compared tothe value for 2010. If a composite indicatorshows improvement, this doesn’t necessarilymean that Italy is on a path that will enable it tomeet the Goals by 2030, but merely that “on av-erage” the country is moving in the right direc-tion, as the distribution (i.e. aspects relating toinequalities) of the phenomenon is not ac-counted for.

Looking at the most recent data, Italy shows signsof improvement in nine Goals (3, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11,12, 16 and 17) between 2016 and 2017, whilst, inthe same period, its performance with respect toGoals 4 and 13 was broadly unchanged and the in-dicators for Goals 1, 2, 6, 7, 14 and 15 deterio-rated. Between 2010 and 2017, on the otherhand, Italy reports improvements in nine areas:food and sustainable agriculture, health, educa-


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tion, gender equality, energy system, innovation,sustainable patterns of production and consump-tion, efforts to combat climate change and inter-national cooperation.

In six areas, on the other hand, the situation hasworsened: poverty, economic and employmentconditions, urban conditions, the condition ofthe sea, the terrestrial ecosystem and the qual-ity of governance, peace, justice and strong in-stitutions. In the case of the two other Goals(water and inequalities), the situation is broadlyunchanged.

Between 2010 and 2017, the situation improvedsignificantly for the following Goals:

• Goal 2 (End hunger, achieve food security andimproved nutrition and promote sustainableagriculture). After the significant improve-ment seen through to 2016 – due primarily toincreases in agricultural productivity and inthe proportion of agricultural land under or-ganic cultivation – the last two years havewitnessed a downturn, caused mainly by in-creased use of fertilisers in agriculture (up7.1% between 2016 and 2017). There is, how-ever, positive news regarding one of the ele-mentary indicators relating to the use ofplant protection products (pesticides, weedkillers and so on), which fell 20% between2010 and 2017.

• Goal 3 (Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all and at all ages). This indicator hasimproved over the period in question. Aboveall, since 2015, the improvement reflects re-ductions in the probability of death under 5years old (3.4 deaths under 5 years old perthousand live births in 2017) and in the stan-dardised proportion of people aged 14 or overwho do not engage in any physical activity, de-spite a contemporaneous increase in mortali-ties resulting from road traffic accidents.After a significant decline in such mortalitiesuntil 2016, the rate started to rise again in2017.

• Goal 4 (Ensure inclusive and equitable qualityeducation and promote lifelong learning oppor-tunities for all). This indicator has significantlyimproved over the years. Since 2010, there hasbeen a major improvement in both the propor-tion of people aged 30 to 34 with a universitydegree and in the proportion of 25 to 64-yearolds who have at least completed secondaryschool. It should also be noted that the per-

centage of 15-year old students failing to at-tain functional skills in mathematics has de-clined over time. Finally, in the last year, therate of early leavers from education and train-ing has worsened, in contrast with previousyears, to stand at 14%.

• Goal 5 (Achieve gender equality and empowerall women and girls). The relevant indicatorhas improved throughout the period under re-view. After the slight decline seen in 2016,the indicator again improved in 2017 thanksto an increase in the participation of womenon the boards of listed companies and in de-cision-making bodies. The good performanceof the composite indicator was backed bygrowth in the employment rate for womenand in the proportion of graduates who arewomen.

• Goal 7 (Ensure access to affordable, reliable,sustainable and modern energy for all). Thiscomposite indicator, after an initial increasedue to improvements in all the elementary in-dicators, has declined since 2014. This reflectsa reduction in the quantity of energy producedfrom renewable sources which, after peakingin 2014, has fallen by six percentage points inthe last four years.

• Goal 9 (Build resilient infrastructure, promoteinclusive and sustainable industrialisation andfoster innovation). All the elementary indica-tors for this Goal have continued to show sig-nificant improvements. Indicators regardinghouseholds with access to broadband, internetuse, the number of researchers per 10,000 in-habitants and the proportion of freight trans-ported by rail have all increased. Theperformance of the composite indicator hasalso benefitted from growth in the valueadded by manufacturing industry and thesharp decline in CO2 emissions per unit ofvalue added.

• Goal 12 (Ensure sustainable production andconsumption patterns). This composite indi-cator has risen significantly thanks to im-provements in almost all the elementaryindicators. Major progress has been made inrelation to the circularity of materials andthe percentage of recycled waste, which at49.4% is close to the European target for 2020(50%). Beyond this, the internal consumptionof materials per unit of GDP continues to fall(down 26% compared with 2010), whilst the

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number of organisations registered with theEco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS)has worsened, having declined year afteryear.

• Goal 13 (Take urgent action to combat climatechange and its impacts). The headline indica-tor (total greenhouse gases according to airemissions accounts) improved until 2014, be-fore worsening in the following three years asthe economy picked up. Analysing the indicatorin detail, it should be noted that three-quar-ters of total greenhouse gas emissions are pro-duced by industry, whilst the remainingemissions are caused by households.

• Goal 17 (Strengthen the means of implemen-tation and revitalise the global partnership forsustainable development). The headline indi-cator - represented by the share of official de-velopment assistance (ODA) in gross nationalincome (GNI) - increased significantly in theperiod 2014-2017, partly due to the increasein aid for immigrants, which rose to accountfor 0.3% of GNI. Despite the progress made,the level reached remains well below the tar-get of 0.7% of GNI set in the Europe 2020Strategy.

The situation is significantly worse for theseGoals:

• Goal 1 (End poverty in all its forms every-where). This indicator, after remaining stablefrom 2012 to 2014, has worsened consider-ably since then. In the two-year period from2016 to 2017, the decline was due to in-creases in both absolute and relative poverty,which are both at their highest levels for theperiod in question (8.4% and 15.6% of thepopulation, respectively). People in absolutepoverty include 1,112,000 young people be-tween the ages of 18 and 34, the highest fig-ure since 2005. 2017 saw a reduction inserious material deprivation, although this re-mains 3.5 percentage points above the Euro-pean average.

• Goal 8 (Encourage sustainable, inclusive andsustainable economic growth, full and produc-tive employment and decent work for all). Thisindicator is strongly influenced by the eco-nomic cycle. As a result, the indicator wors-ened until 2014 due to the decline in GDP percapita and increases in unemployment and inthe proportion of young NEETs (the highest inthe EU), followed by a slow recovery between

2015 and 2017. Finally, there has been an on-going decline in the number of fatal injuriesand permanent disabilities per 10,000 workers,reflecting a 25% improvement in the period2010-2016.

• Goal 11 (Make cities and human settlementsinclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable). Thecomparison with 2010 continues to be nega-tive, despite the improvement of the last threeyears. The recent positive trend is primarilydue to an improvement in the indicators relat-ing to recycling and the proportion of totalurban waste collected that is sent to landfill,in addition to a decrease in the number of peo-ple living in dwellings with structural or damp-related issues. There has also been a sharp fallin the proportion of the urban population ex-posed to particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5)since 2010. The problem of Illegal building hasgot worse throughout the period under review,having risen by eight percentage points com-pared with 2010.

• Goal 14 (Conserve and sustainably use theoceans, seas and marine resources for sus-tainable development). This indicator hasseesawed, having improved until 2015, thanksto a notable improvement in the indicator forprotected marine areas, before worseningsignificantly in the last two years as a resultof an increase in fishing activity and in over-fishing, the indicator for which stands at83.3% compared with the European averageof 42%.

• Goal 15 (Protect, restore and promote sus-tainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustain-ably manage forests, combat desertification,and halt and reverse land degradation andhalt biodiversity loss). The composite indica-tor shows an extremely negative trendcaused by sharp deteriorations in the ele-mentary indicators for territorial fragmenta-tion and land cover. There has been animprovement in wooded areas, though this islinked to the progressive abandonment ofagricultural land.

• Goal 16 (Promote peaceful and inclusive so-cieties for sustainable development, provideaccess to justice for all and build effective,accountable and inclusive institutions at alllevels). This indicator shows a very negativetrend until 2014, before improving consider-ably, thanks to an overall improvement in the


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Figure 3 – Composite indicators for Italy

GOAL 1End poverty in all its forms everywhere

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GOAL 2End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

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GOAL 3Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

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GOAL 4Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all

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GOAL 5Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 201760

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GOAL 6Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all

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GOAL 7Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 201760

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GOAL 8Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all

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GOAL 9Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 201760

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GOAL 10Reduce inequality within and among countries

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GOAL 11Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

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GOAL 12Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

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GOAL 13Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

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GOAL 14Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development

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GOAL 15Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss

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GOAL 16Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels

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indicators for crime (the homicide rate – oneof the lowest in Europe -, robberies, burglar-ies and muggings) and for the percentage ofadult prison detainees awaiting judgement.However, whilst this latter indicator hasfallen, prison overcrowding has worsened(114 detainees per 100 available places in2017).

Finally, the situation is unchanged for theseGoals:

• Goal 6 (Ensure availability and sustainablemanagement of water and sanitation for all).This indicator showed a positive trend until2014, driven by a reduction in householdswho do not trust their tap water for drinkingpurposes and in those who complain about ir-regularities in the water supply. In the lastthree years, however, there has been a no-table decline, reflecting an increase in thenumber of households who complain about ir-regularities in the water supply and a de-crease in the efficiency of drinking waterdistribution.

• Goal 10 (Reduce inequality within and amongcountries). After a lengthy period of ups anddowns, from 2015 onwards, this indicator hasimproved thanks to an upturn in the rates ofgrowth in per capita household incomeamong the poorest 40% of the population andin per capita household income among thetotal population. The indicator of disposableincome inequality is higher in 2017 comparedwith 2010 and is above the European average.Finally, there has been an ongoing deteriora-tion in the poverty risk indicator.

The regions and sustainable developmentpolicies

As noted previously, the Ministry for the Environ-ment, Land and Sea Protection has urged regionalauthorities and the autonomous provinces todraw up regional sustainable development strate-gies in line with the national strategy approvedby the Interministerial Committee for EconomicPlanning (CIPE) in December 2017. As set out inthe latter, regional strategies should be devel-oped on the basis of the capabilities of the vari-ous local institutions to cooperate in order todevise, plan and deliver on a shared strategy. Thismeans organising targeted interventions: to fos-ter and mobilise the resources that can enhancelocal expertise and have an impact on the localecosystem and its governance, increasing the de-gree to which citizens take part in public deci-sion-making and improving social quality for localcommunities.

In the Report for 2018, ASviS used composite indi-cators to measure regional performance for thefirst time, enabling it to assess the progress madein implementing each of the SDGs in the differentregions. The Alliance subsequently began talkingto a number of regional authorities about helpingthem to draw up a position statement on theSDGs. To this end, rather than focus on the rela-tive position of each region, it is important to as-sess performance with respect to the variousSDGs. The following pages provide an analysis ofthe changes in the composite indicators for eachregion between 2010 and 2017, in relation to thevarious Goals.

To ensure a correct interpretation of the compos-ite indicators at regional level, it should above allbe noted that the following charts are based onelementary indicators that are partially differentfrom those applied with reference to Italy as awhole, given that disaggregated figures for theseparate regions are not in all cases available. Forthis reason, it was not possible to compute the in-dicators for Goal 13 (Climate change), Goal 14(Life below water) and Goal 17 (Peace, justice andstrong institutions). Secondly, the method used tocompute the composite indicators is based on thechoice of a base value (the one used by Italy in2010) and the standardisation of elementary indi-cators within an interval set between the mini-mum and maximum values for each indicator forall the components taken into account and over

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GOAL 17Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 20172004

60

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the full period of time. This means that the mini-mum and maximum values differ depending onwhether they refer to Italy as a whole or to all theItalian regions. Finally, whilst all the regional in-dicators have been computed with reference tothe base value for Italy in 2010, it is possible tocompare the performance of the various Goalsover time within the same region, but not the ab-solute rankings for the various indicators. As a re-sult, the following charts show absolute changesin the composite indicators between 2010 and2017 for the various Goals and for each individualregion.


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Valle d’Aosta

Goa

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Goa

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Goa

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Goa

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-10

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10

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30

Valle d’Aosta has seen major improvements in re-lation to Goals 4 and 12, whilst recording signifi-cant declines for Goals 3 and 8. The deteriorationin Goal 3 reflects an increase in the rate of mor-tality due to suicide and in the rate of injury re-sulting from road traffic accidents, which hasrisen from 12.6 per 100,000 people in 2012 to 32.2per 100,000 in 2017. The indicator for Goal 8 hasdeclined due to an increased unemployment rateand an increase in the incidence of involuntarypart-time workers as a proportion of the total em-ployed. Goal 4 has seen the biggest improvementbetween 2010 and 2017 (up 23%), thanks to theincreased percentage of people aged between 25and 64 who have taken part in education or train-ing in the previous 4 weeks (the figure has dou-bled over a seven-year period) and in thepercentage of people aged 30 to 34 who have auniversity degree.

Piedmont

Goa

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Goa

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Compared to 2010, Piedmont has made significantprogress in terms of Goals 4 and 9, whilst record-ing a major decline in only the indicator for Goal8 (down 6%), above all due to a reduction in realannual GDP growth per inhabitant and per workerand an increase in the incidence of involuntarypart-time workers. The positive performance withregard to Goal 9 (up 9%) reflects increases in re-search intensity, in the number of researchers (infull-time equivalent terms) and in the percentageof households with access to fixed and/or mobilebroadband (up 25 percentage points). Finally, theimprovement in Goal 4 reflects a reduction inearly leavers from education and training and anincrease in the percentage of people aged 30 to34 who have a university degree.

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Lombardy

Goa

l 1

Goa

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Goa

l 3

Goa

l 4

Goa

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Goa

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Goa

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Goa

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Goa

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Goa

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Goa

l 15

Goa

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-10

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0

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Lombardy has witnessed particular improvementswith regard to Goals 4 and 9. The increase in Goal4 is driven by increases in the percentage of peo-ple aged between 25 and 64 who have taken partin education or training in the previous 4 weeksand in the percentage of people aged 30 to 34 whohave a university degree. The positive perfor-mance with regard to Goal 9 reflects increases inthe number of researchers (in full-time equivalentterms) and in the percentage of households withaccess to fixed and/or mobile broadband. The sit-uation regarding Goal 8, on the other hand, hasworsened, above all due to a worsening of the in-dicators relating to the incidence of involuntarypart-time workers as a proportion of the total em-ployed and to real GDP growth per worker.

The autonomous province of Bolzano/Bozen

Goa

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Goa

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Goa

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Goa

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-5

0

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10

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The autonomous province of Bolzano/Bozen hasimproved in relation to Goal 4 and, to a lesser ex-tent, Goal 9, whilst none of the Goals has seen amajor deterioration. There has been positiveprogress in relation to Goal 4, thanks to improve-ments in early leavers from education and trainingand in the percentage of people aged between 25and 64 who have taken part in education or train-ing in the previous 4 weeks. Goal 9 has improved,on the other hand, due to increases in the numberof researchers and in the percentage of house-holds with access to fixed and/or mobile broad-band.

LiguriaG

oal 1

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Goa

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Goa

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Goa

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-5

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20

Liguria has improved significantly in relation toGoals 5, 9 and 12. The composite indicator thathas made the biggest progress is the one for Goal12 (up 19%), thanks to improvements in the ele-mentary indicators relating to waste (above allthe proportion of urban waste sent to landfill outof total urban waste collected and the percentageof urban waste recycled, which has doubled overa seven-year period). The indicator for Goal 9 hasimproved by over 11%, reflecting increases in thenumber of researchers (in full-time equivalentterms) and in the percentage of households withaccess to fixed and/or mobile broadband. TheGoal relating to health has worsened due to an in-crease in the rate of injury resulting from roadtraffic accidents, which has doubled in the periodunder review, and a reduction in the proportionof over-65s vaccinated against influenza.


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The autonomous province of Trento

Goa

l 1

Goa

l 2

Goa

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Goa

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Goa

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In the autonomous province of Trento, the com-posite indicator that has recorded most progressis the one for Goal 4 (up 14%), reflecting increasesin the percentage of people aged 30 to 34 whohave a university degree and in the percentage ofpeople aged between 25 and 64 who have takenpart in education or training in the previous 4weeks. The indicators for Goals 5 and 9 have alsoimproved significantly. In terms of Goal 5, the im-provement is linked to an increase in the numberof women elected to the provincial council and anincrease in the number of female graduates.

Veneto

Goa

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Goa

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Goa

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Goa

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Veneto has seen a sharp improvement regardingGoals 4, 5 and 9. Goal 4 has improved thanks toincreases in the percentage of people aged be-tween 25 and 64 who have taken part in educationor training in the previous 4 weeks and in the per-centage of people aged 30 to 34 who have a uni-versity degree. The improvement in Goal 9 isinstead due to increases in the number of re-searchers (in full-time equivalent terms) and inthe percentage of households with access to fixedand/or mobile broadband.

Friuli-Venezia Giulia

Goa

l 1

Goa

l 2

Goa

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Goa

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Goa

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Goa

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Goa

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Goa

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-10

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Friuli-Venezia Giulia has seen improvementsabove all in relation to Goals 4 and 9. The in-crease for Goal 4 is due to the elementary indica-tors regarding the percentage of people agedbetween 25 and 64 who have taken part in edu-cation or training in the previous 4 weeks and inthe percentage of people aged 30 to 34 who havea university degree. The improvement in Goal 9reflects an increase in the percentage of house-holds with access to fixed and/or mobile broad-band and an increase in knowledge workers as aproportion of the total employed. Goal 8 hasrecorded a significant drop, reflecting increasesin the rate of non-participation in the labour mar-ket and in the incidence of involuntary part-timeworkers as a proportion of the total employed.

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Tuscany

Goa

l 1

Goa

l 2

Goa

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Goa

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Goa

l 5

Goa

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Goa

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Goa

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Goa

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Goa

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Goa

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Tuscany has seen improvements in the compos-ite indicators for Goals 4, 9 and 12. The im-provement in Goal 4 was driven by a reductionin early leavers from education and training, ac-companied by an increase in the percentage ofpeople aged 30 to 34 who have a university de-gree. Goal 12 has improved due to improve-ments in all the indicators under review, aboveall those regarding the percentage of urbanwaste recycled and the production of urbanwaste. Goal 16 has seen a marked downturnover the relevant period due to an increase inrobberies, burglaries and muggings.

Umbria

Goa

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l 2

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Goa

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Goa

l 5

Goa

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Goa

l 12

Goa

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Goa

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-10

-5

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15

Umbria has above all improved its performance inrelation to Goals 10 and 12, whilst recording a sig-nificant deterioration with regard to Goal 6. Goal12 (up 14%) has benefitted from improvements inthe indicators relating to the proportion of urbanwaste sent to landfill out of total urban waste col-lected and the percentage of urban waste recy-cled. Goal 10 has also seen a marked improvement(up 13%) since 2010, above all thanks to an in-crease in the rate of growth of per capita house-hold income among the poorest 40% of thepopulation. The situation regarding Goal 6 has de-teriorated above all due to a reduction in the ef-ficiency of drinking water distribution.

Emilia-RomagnaG

oal 1

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Emilia-Romagna has recorded improvements re-garding Goals 4 and 9. Goal 9’s 17% increase com-pared to 2010 reflects improvements across allthe elementary indicators, above all those relat-ing to the number of researchers (in full-timeequivalent terms) and the percentage of house-holds with access to fixed and/or mobile broad-band. Goal 4 has improved thanks to increases inthe percentage of people aged between 25 and64 who have taken part in education or trainingin the previous 4 weeks and in the percentage ofpeople aged 30 to 34 who have a university de-gree. The situation regarding Goal 16 has wors-ened slightly due to an increase in robberies,burglaries and muggings.


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MarcheG

oal 1

Goa

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l 3

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Over the period from 2010 to 2017, the Marche re-gion has seen significant improvements regardingGoals 4 and 9. The increase in the indicator forGoal 9 reflects increases in the number of re-searchers per 10,000 inhabitants and in the pro-portion of households with access to broadband,whilst the improvement in Goal 4 is due to an in-crease in the percentage of people aged between25 and 64 who have taken part in education ortraining in the previous 4 weeks. The indicator forGoal 8, on the other hand, has worsened, with theincidence of involuntary part-time workers as aproportion of the total employed being higherthan the figure for 2010.

Lazio

Goa

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Goa

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Goa

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Goa

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-5

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25

Lazio has seen particularly sizable improvementsin the indicators for Goals 2, 4, 5, 9 and 12. Thepositive trend regarding Goal 12 has been drivenby increases in the proportion of urban waste sentto landfill out of total urban waste collected andthe percentage of urban waste recycled. Goal 5has improved thanks to an increase in the numberof women elected to the regional council and anincrease in the number of female graduates. Goal6 has gone backwards due to an increase in thenumber of households who complain about irreg-ularities in the water supply and a decrease in theefficiency of drinking water distribution.

Abruzzo

Goa

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Goa

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Abruzzo has seen major improvements regardingGoals 9, 10 and 12. The increases in the propor-tion of households with access to broadband andin the percentage of urban waste recycled (whichhas doubled in the period under review) have ledthe improvements in Goals 9 and 12, respectively.Goal 10, relating to inequalities, has also seen animprovement due to a sharp increase in the rateof growth of per capita household income amongthe poorest 40% of the population and among thepopulation as a whole. Goal 8 has registered thebiggest decline due to a reduction in real annualGDP growth per worker and an increase in the in-cidence of involuntary part-time workers.

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Campania

Goa

l 1

Goa

l 2

Goa

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Goa

l 4

Goa

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Goa

l 6

Goa

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Goa

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l 16

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101214

Campania saw major improvements in Goals 4, 9and 12 between 2010 and 2017. The indicator re-garding Goal 4 reflects an increase in the propor-tion of 30 to 34-year olds with a university degree,whilst the indicator for Goal 12 benefitted from areduction in the proportion of urban waste sentto landfill out of total urban waste collected. Theimprovement in relation to Goal 9 reflects an in-crease in the proportion of households with accessto broadband. Among the indicators that havegone backwards, the negative performance re-garding Goal 11 is due to a reduction in seat kilo-metres offered by local public transport.

Apulia

Goa

l 1

Goa

l 2

Goa

l 3

Goa

l 4

Goa

l 5

Goa

l 6

Goa

l 7

Goa

l 8

Goa

l 9

Goa

l 10

Goa

l 11

Goa

l 12

Goa

l 15

Goa

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-10

-5

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5

10

15

The Goals that show the greatest improvement inApulia are 5 and 12. The indicator relating to gen-der equality has improved thanks to increases inthe number of women elected to the regionalcouncil, in the employment rate for women andin the number of female graduates. In terms ofGoal 12, the composite indicator benefitted fromincreases in the percentage of urban waste recy-cled and in the proportion of urban waste sent tolandfill. Increases in the unemployment rate andin the incidence of involuntary part-time workershas instead had a negative impact in relation toGoal 8.

MoliseG

oal 1

Goa

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Over the period from 2010 to 2017, Molise wit-nessed a significant improvement in the indicatorrelating to Goal 9, which benefitted from an in-crease in the proportion of households with accessto broadband. Goal 8 is the most critical area,with the decline linked to a general decline in allthe elementary indicators, including an increasein the unemployment rate and in the incidence ofinvoluntary part-time workers.


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BasilicataG

oal 1

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Over the period from 2010 to 2017, Basilicata wit-nessed an improvement in the indicators relatingto Goals 4, 9 and 12. The improvement in the in-dicator regarding education above all reflects anincrease in the proportion of 30 to 34-year oldswith a university degree. The improvement inGoal 12, on the other hand, is due to an increasein the percentage of urban waste recycled. Theonly Goal to see a sharp decline is 6, reflecting asignificant increase in the number of householdswho complain about irregularities in the watersupply and a decrease in the efficiency of drinkingwater distribution.

Sicily

Goa

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Goa

l 2

Goa

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Goa

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Goa

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Sicily saw a major improvement in Goal 5, withsmaller improvements regarding Goals 4, 9, 10and 12. The indicator relating to gender equalityhas improved thanks to increases in the numberof women elected to the regional council and inthe employment rate for women. The positiveperformance relating to Goal 10 reflects an upturnin the rates of growth in per capita household in-come among the total population and in percapita household income among the poorest 40%of the population. The indicator for Goal 8 wasthe only one to register a significant decline,caused by a general worsening of all the elemen-tary indicators, above all increases in the rate ofunemployment and in the incidence of involuntarypart-time workers.

Calabria

Goa

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The biggest improvements in Calabria were regis-tered by the indicators for Goals 9 and 12. The im-provement in Goal 9 is due to increases in theproportion of households with access to broad-band and in the number of researchers per 10,000inhabitants. The improvement regarding Goal 12reflects an increase in the percentage of urbanwaste recycled, which has more than tripled overthe period under review. Goals 1 and 8 saw signif-icant declines. The Goal relating to poverty wasthe worst performer, due to a sharp increase inthe proportion of households in relative poverty(up from 19% to 35%) and in the number of indi-viduals living in low labour-intensive households.The indicator for Goal 8 reflects growth in therate of unemployment and in the incidence of in-voluntary part-time workers.

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SardiniaG

oal 1

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Sardinia saw a major improvement in Goal 7 and,to a lesser extent, in Goal 4. The overall indicatorfor Goal 7 improved thanks to sharp growth in theuse of energy from renewable sources (as a pro-portion, up from 16% to 36%). The improvementin Goal 4 reflects increases in the percentage ofpeople aged between 25 and 64 who have takenpart in education or training in the previous 4weeks and in the proportion of 30 to 34-year oldswith a university degree. The worst performancerelates to Goal 1, reflecting growth in the propor-tion of households in relative poverty and in thenumber of individuals living in low labour-inten-sive households.


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UPDATE OF THE URBAN AGENDA FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Following Report no. 1/2019 on the Urban Agenda for sustainable development. Goals and proposalsproduced by ASviS and Urban@it (July 2019)22, we have updated 5 of the 17 priority goals selected toreflect recently published data. Figure 4 shows the goals for which updated figures are available(Poverty, Road traffic accidents, Housing, Urban mobility, Security) and the new overall situation. Thegoals were selected for the ASviS Report for 201823 and the relevant territory consists of the areas (De-gurba 1 or Degurba 1+2) that Eurostat defines “urban areas” (where it was not possible to obtain dataon this scale, the territorial classifications indicated from time to time were used). We have used thetraffic light method to show the progress made (“green” indicates that good progress has been madetowards achieving the Goal; “amber” indicates a situation of uncertainty; “red” means that the Goalcannot be achieved) and applied it to the last two years for which figures are available, comparedwith the previous two-year period.

The situation has deteriorated with respect to the Report in July, which showed green for 5 goals andred for 12, whilst there are now 4 goals marked green and 13 red. The goals where progress is positive(green) are: poverty (Goal 1); university graduates (Goal 4); renewable energy (Goal 7) and security(Goal 16). With regard to poverty, the situation is in any event concerning, as in 2018 the people atthe risk of poverty and social exclusion were more or less the same as in 2008 and were concentratedin less densely populated areas (Degurba 3).

The 13 goals with a negative performance (red) are: housing (Goal 11), which has changed colour withrespect to the Report of last July; road traffic accidents (Goal 3); dropouts from education (Goal 4);gender equality (Goal 5); water (Goal 6); employment (Goal 8); innovation (Goal 9); urban mobility(Goal 11); use of the land (Goal 11); culture (Goal 11); air quality (Goal 11); green space (Goal 11)and waste recycling (Goal 12).

Goal 1 - Poverty Goal 3 - Road traffic accidents Goal 4.1 - Dropouts from educationGoal 4.2 - University graduatesGoal 5 - Gender equalityGoal 6 - WaterGoal 7 - Renewable energyGoal 8 - EmploymentGoal 9 - Digital transitionGoal 11.1 - HousingGoal 11.2 - Urban mobilityGoal 11.3 - Use of the landGoal 11.4 - CultureGoal 11.5 - Air qualityGoal 11.6 - Green spaceGoal 12 - Waste recyclingGoal 16 - Security

2012-2015 2015-2016 2016-2017 2017-2018

Figure 4 – Comparison of short-term performance of the 17 priority goals over time

To summarise: ASviS Report for 2019 4 and 13 . Report no. 1/2019 5 and 12 .*The figures have been updated with respect to Report no. 1/2019

**

**

*

3.6 The evolution of legislationin relation to the SDGs

GOAL 1 - NO POVERTYEnd poverty in all its formseverywhereIn the last year there has been a significant increasein the resources directed towards combattingpoverty, even though the frequent policy changestend to have a negative impact on their effective-ness. Istat’s SDG Report for 2019 shows that, in2017, 28.9% of Italians lived in poverty and in a stateof social exclusion, marking a reduction comparedto the previous year but still far away from achiev-ing the target set in the Europe 2020 Strategy. Also,the Report noted, 20.3% of the population was atrisk of poverty and 10.1% was experiencing severematerial deprivation. Regional disparities are unfor-tunately all too apparent: almost half (44.4%) of in-dividuals in southern Italy are living either in povertyor in a state of social exclusion, whilst the corre-sponding figure for the north of the country is 18.8%.

Moreover, there were over 1.8 million (7%) ofhouseholds living in absolute poverty in 2018,making a total of 5 million people (8.4% of the en-tire population). Despite the modest economic re-covery of recent years, these figures remain closeto the highest levels recorded since 2005. Youngfamilies, in particular, are the worst hit (with anincidence of poverty of 10.4%) and the conditionof minors is the cause for greatest concern: 12.6%of minors live in absolute poverty, making a totalof 1.3 million children.

The commitment included in the Coalition Agree-ment to introduce a Citizens’ Basic Income (CBI)began to take shape in the 2019 Budget Law. “Themeasure is designed to provide income support forItalian citizens in need; the amount to be dis-bursed shall be determined with reference to thepoverty threshold in terms of both income and as-sets”. The value of the payments has been set at€780 per person, per month, whilst the OECDequivalence scale is used in the case of largerfamilies. The government plans to allocate €17billion a year to pay for the initiative, setting upa “Fund for Citizens’ Basic Income”. In reality, thisamount is due to finance both the Citizens’ BasicIncome and the pension reform dubbed “Quota100” (Law Decree 4 of 28 January 2019).

It is important to note that introduction of the CBIhas not resulted in the abolition of the so-called

“Poverty Fund” set up in 2017, but has merely re-duced its funding, which nevertheless remains sig-nificant for the 2019-2021 period (approximately€347 million for 2019, €587 million for 2020 and€615 million for 2021). These sums represent ap-proximately 15% of the total amount allocated tothe “Poverty Fund” and refer to the amount pre-viously earmarked for use in expanding local socialservices (the Fund’s so-called “services quota”).This is important, as it will enable the governmentto continue to pay the Inclusion Income (Redditodi Inclusione, ReI), the measure introduced at thebeginning of 2018 with the aim of combattingpoverty at national level.

The introduction of the CBI marks an extremelyimportant development in the Italian welfare pro-vision, as it marks a renewed government drive tocombat poverty and offer support to people livingin deprivation. However, the form of the schemeand the way in which it is to be delivered haveraised a number of doubts about the purpose ofthe policy, as well as concerns over the adminis-trative aspects of implementation, which we willnot analyse here.

Above all, the provision of income support cannotbe expected to eradicate poverty as defined inthe 2030 Agenda, which refers to a multidimen-sional phenomenon that is not limited to the eco-nomic aspect alone, but can at the most addressonly a number of the related issues. Social as-pects, for example, relating to access to decenthousing, healthcare and education, are almost en-tirely overlooked as a result of the decision tofocus on income support, which is moreover to beprovided in such a restrictive manner as to onlybe made available when the effects of poverty onpeople have reached the most advanced stage. Inthis way, the impact in terms of prevention, or atleast of reducing deprivation, is downgraded.

Adequate attention is also not paid to employ-ment, which has a key role to play in reducingpoverty and social exclusion. The CBI limits itselfto attempts to help the unemployed find work byboosting job centres, whilst failing to deal withthe lack of demand for labour, which is especiallynotable in certain areas of the country due toyears of economic stagnation at the nationallevel, with major gaps between the differentareas of Italy not only with regard to levels of em-ployment, but also in terms of the quality of jobson offer. It is in fact no surprise that there hasbeen an increase in the numbers of the so-called

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working poor, people who have a job, but who arenot over the poverty threshold.

In conclusion, it is clear that the real impact ofthe Citizens’ Basic Income does not depend onlyon the resources made available, but also on theefficacy of the implementing decrees, the effec-tive involvement of bodies active at local level,the degree of beneficiaries’ determination to findwork, how it interacts with the different measurespreviously adopted in order to combat povertyand on synergies with job creation schemes.

In this regard, it should be remembered that in-vesting in efforts to fight poverty, in its many dif-ferent aspects, from the earliest years of liferequires a combination of income support andequally sizeable investment in infrastructure andservices for young children and adolescents and inthe related personnel. The lack of such investmentover the last decade has meant, as the above fig-ures from Istat show, that children and young peo-ple have not been protected from the effects ofthe dual crisis that has struck Italy. It is also nec-essary to take an organic approach to reorganisingthe numerous subsidies and other measures in-tended to help parents, as these are currentlyhighly fragmented and not very effective.

The government has also extended and refinancedthe “Fund for initiatives to combat child educa-tional poverty”, although particular attention isrequired here, as it would seem that the availablefunding is to be reduced. It is crucial to ensure thecontinuity of the measures adopted to combat thisform of poverty and put in place inclusion initia-tives designed to foster the active involvement ofchildren themselves.

GOAL 2 - ZERO HUNGEREnd hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promotesustainable agricultureThe main legislative interventions relating to theachievement of Goal 2 are included in the 2019Budget Law, in Law Decree 27 of 29 March 2019,containing “Urgent measures to provide a boostfor the agricultural sectors”, and Law Decree 35of 2019, containing “Urgent measures to promoteeconomic growth and resolve specific crises”.

With regard to the efforts to overcome foodpoverty, the 2019 Budget Law has increased theamount of money (€1 million annually for 2019,2020 and 2021) available to the fund set up to fi-

nance food banks (created by art. 58, paragraph1 of Law Decree 83 of 2012), which already hadfunding for €5 million per year. In addition, the In-terministerial Decree of 25 July 2019 has ear-marked €14 million to fund the purchase ofDOP-certified pecorino cheese to be distributedby charities to people in need. This measure hastwo objectives: to help producers avoid a marketcrisis and to provide people with a highly nutri-tious food.

With regard to the impact of the food system onhealth, the 2019 Budget Law has increased thenumber of staff employed by the Central Inspec-torate in order to boost efforts to protect foodquality and combat agri-food fraud. Interministe-rial Decree 131 of 1 October 2018, “Regulationsgoverning the use of the terms ‘baker’ and ‘freshbread’ in labelling and introduction of the term‘processed bread’”, thanks to which Italian con-sumers throughout the country can finally distin-guish bread that is truly fresh from bread that hasbeen processed, precooked and frozen or wherethe baking process is completed at the point ofsale. Law Decree 135/2018 (the so-called “Simpli-fications Decree”), converted into law on 13February 2019, has introduced a number ofamendments to the “Provisions on food labellingand quality”, specifying when it is mandatory toshow the place of origin. In Italy, this is onlymandatory for dairy products, pasta, rice andtomatoes, whilst the European Union has ex-tended the legislation to cover fresh meat, fruit,fresh vegetables, eggs, honey, extra virgin oliveoil and fish, whilst excluding, for example, pro-cessed meats, fruit juices and preserves. The newrules (which will come into effect once an imple-menting decree has been issued) makes it possibleto extend the mandatory inclusion of the place oforigin to all food labelling. Finally, Law 44 of 2019has allocated €2 million to finance promotionaland information campaigns created by the Min-istry of Agriculture, Food, Forestry and Tourismand designed to promote the consumption ofextra virgin olive oil, citrus fruits and productsmade from sheep’s and goat’s milk.

The agri-food sector’s ability to achieve sustain-ability is influenced by measures designed to havean impact on the competitiveness of businesses.In terms of incentives for training and investment,the 2019 Budget Law has confirmed the existingmeasures. However, the aspect that should behighlighted most is the fact that these measures


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are primarily designed to drive technological anddigital transformation, with little attention paidto the circular economy. The bonus made avail-able for talented young people aims to rewardmerit, an excellent initiative that needs to be re-viewed with regard to timing.

As for local development initiatives, other thanthe additional resources made available for theplan to promote “Made in Italy” products, onepositive step has been the plan to handover publicland to large young families. There are two sidesto this measure: on the one hand, the governmentwishes to boost population growth by providingsupport for families, whilst on the other promot-ing the socio-economic development of ruralareas and helping to reverse the trend towardsthe abandonment of agricultural land in certainareas of southern Italy. The scheme offers familiesan opportunity to make a living, whilst also stim-ulating entrepreneurship in the primary sector.

With regard to the environmental sustainabilityof agriculture, all the measures included in theBudget Law could have a positive impact, butwhat is missing is a proper strategy. Alongside con-

firmation of certain policies, such as incentivesfor biogas production or refinancing of the sus-tainable phosphorous platform (at a relatively lowcost given its importance for the sector’s produc-tivity), a number of new measures have been in-troduced to encourage businesses to improve theirenvironmental performance. More immediate ini-tiatives regard incentives for the use of recycledproducts or compostable or recyclable packaging,whilst longer term policies relate to boosting theavailability of knowledge. Efforts to develop bee-keeping are also welcome, above all if this in-volves incentives for biomonitoring.

With regard to the more general measures relatingto the profitability of firms, changes to the legis-lation on direct selling could have a positive im-pact (offering sellers the opportunity to expandthe range of products they offer by adding thoseproduced by other firms), as could the introduc-tion of a national register of fruits and vegetables.This measure responds to requests from membersof the fruit and vegetable trade. Detailed infor-mation about land use and production potential inthis sector could help to improve production plan-

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THE STATE OF FOOD SYSTEMS IN ITALY AND POSSIBLE ACTIONS

The Food Sustainability Index24, an index developed by the Economist Intelligence Unit with the BarillaCentre for Food & Nutrition (BCFN) to measure the sustainability of food systems, offers us an overviewof the situation in Italy. Based on these findings, we can see that:

• Presence of insurance mechanisms foragriculture

• Relatively low greenhouse gasemissions

• Innovative legislation• Positive initiatives by the third sector• Public-private partnerships• Good level of scientific interest in the

issue

• High life expectancy• High healthy life expectancy• Many initiatives promoting healthy

lifestyles

• Significant virtual water trade• Low level of carbon in soil• High average age of farmers and low

percentage of women in agriculture• Few opportunities to invest in

sustainable agriculture

• High levels of waste per capita• Absence of monitoring systems• Absence of specific waste reduction

and food loss targets

• Overweight children, adolescents andadults

• Low levels of physical activity• High levels of sodium consumption

Pillar Strengths Areas for improvement

Sustainableagriculture

Food wasteand losses

Nutritionalchallenges

Figure 5 - Food systems in Italy: strengths and areas for improvement

ning and the balance between supply and de-mand. Exact details on how the legislation is tobe implemented are to be provided in a ministe-rial decree.

Law Decree 27 of 29 March 2019, containing “Ur-gent measures to provide a boost for the agricul-tural sectors”, focuses on the dairy, sheep andgoat, olive and olive oil, citrus fruit and pig farm-ing sectors, which have been the worst hit by thecrisis. The legislation has introduced measures de-signed to boost the quality and competitivenessof sheep’s milk with benefits throughout the sup-ply chain, temporary measures to regulate supply,the private storage of DOP-certified cheeses, re-search, innovation and infrastructure works. It hasalso intervened in the olive oil sector, providingfor the destruction of olive trees infected withXylella, in derogation of existing legislation andother measures designed to combat the disease.To contribute to the restructuring of these sec-tors, given the problems relating to productionand the need to improve productivity and com-petitiveness, the legislation provides agriculturalbusinesses with financial aid to help them coverall or part of the interest expense payable in 2019on bank loans obtained by 31 December 2018.

Law Decree 35 of 2019, containing “Urgent mea-sures to promote economic growth and resolvespecific crises”, provides financing of €1.5 milliona year for Italian consortia operating abroad, withthe aim of covering the cost of obtaining legalprotection for products affected by the phe-nomenon of “Italian sounding”25.

With regard to trading relations with third coun-tries and improvements to competitiveness in theItalian food industry, the following should benoted:

• the EU Commission’s Implementing Regulation2019/67 of 16 January 2019, introducing safe-guards with regard to imports of Indica riceoriginating in Cambodia and Myanmar/Burma,a measure adopted at Italy’s request;

• the free trade agreements between the EU andVietnam (June 2019) and the EU and Singapore(October 2018), whilst in February 2019 theagreement with Japan came into effect. Theseagreements will, among other things, enable acountry’s products to be protected through theuse of geographical indications, such as DOP orIGP, from the sort of imitations commonlyfound in the countries concerned;

• EU Directive 2018/2001 of 11 December 2018,promoting the use of energy from renewablesources, and the Commission’s Delegated Reg-ulation (EU) 2019/807 of 13 March 2019, haveintroduced measures designed to boost thesector’s competitiveness and its ability to pro-duce food that can help to overcome foodpoverty;

• EU Directive 2019/633 of 17 April 2019, ad-dressing the issue of unfair trading practicesbetween agricultural and food businesses, hasintroduced protections designed to boost thesystem’s competitiveness.

Finally, in December 2018, the UN General Assem-bly approved the “Declaration on the rights ofpeasants and other people working in rural areas”(A/HRC/RES/39/12). Although this is a non-bind-ing document, it represents clear policy guidancefor the international community in recognisingagricultural models capable of helping to beatfood poverty, improving the state of agriculture indeveloping nations, and having an impact on theproduction of safe, quality food in line with socialand environmental restrictions. In this regard, itshould be noted that Italy abstained during thevote on adoption of the Declaration.

GOAL 3 - GOOD HEALTH ANDWELLBEINGEnsure healthy lives and promotewellbeing for all at all agesOver the last year, new legislation regardinghealth and wellbeing issues has focused on threekey areas: the size of available resources and theshortage of health professionals; renewal of thePatto della Salute (“Health Pact”); regionalismand the request for greater differentiated auton-omy from three northern regions.

With regard to financing, the 2019 Budget Law hashalted the decline in funding for Italy’s NationalHealth Service, allocating €114.439 billion in fund-ing for 2019 (€1 billion more than for 2018) andproviding for increases of €2 billion in 2020 and€1.5 billion in 2021. This is in addition to addi-tional funding for regional authorities to financethe purchase of innovative drugs and cancer treat-ments (€164 million and €500 million, respec-tively, from 2019). The increases are, however,subject to agreement being reached by centraland regional governments on the new “HealthPact for 2019-2021”, which should have taken


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place by March 2019. Despite these decisions, theParliamentary Budget Office has forecast thathealth service spending as a share of GDP will con-tinue to decline, falling from 6.6% in 2018 to 6.3%in 2021, a level below the European average.Moreover, there is no additional funding for initia-tives aimed at promoting and fostering healthylifestyles, which would prevent many chronic dis-eases (cardiovascular diseases, cancers, respira-tory illnesses, diabetes, etc.).

Numerous issues regarding the various expenseitems have been raised. In relation to infrastruc-ture, expenditures of €150 million for 2019 and€100 million a year in 2020 and 2021, targeted atplans to modernise the technology infrastructureused in electronic booking systems, is thought tobe insufficient in view of the increase in chronicdiseases and the resulting growth in demand fortreatment, and given repeated warnings that, inmany regions, patients are having to wait muchlonger for treatment than the related waitingtime targets. Shortages of both doctors and nurs-ing staff, held to be one of the principal causesbehind growing waiting lists, represent a furtherpressure point, as the resources made availableto fund contract renewals are inadequate. Onepositive aspect is the rise in the number of spe-cialists, but no steps have been taken to resolvethe lack of nursing staff and of other healthcareprofessionals.

The Budget Law has also addressed a number ofkey aspects linked to expenditure on drugs, re-lating in particular to the system of paybacks,spending caps and negotiation of drug prices. Thenew legislation aims to overcome the difficultiesencountered since 2013 with the systems put inplace to make up for the deficits recorded by anumber of health trusts and the related disputes,focusing on the introduction of electronic invoic-ing. The Plan, announced on several occasions bythe Planning Department, has yet to be madepublic.

The fund for people in need of continuous carehas been increased by €100 million per year forthe three-year period 2019-2021, but the re-sources provided appear in any event to be insuf-ficient to adequately meet the needs of disabledpeople. Increased funding has been made avail-able for labour market inclusion, with INAIL reim-bursing 60% of the salary paid to a disabledworker returning to work for up to 12 months,where the worker’s absence was due to a tempo-

rary inability to work. Funding has been increasedfor the Dopo di Noi project (which again amountsto €56.1 million), whilst funding for carers (€5million per year over the three-year period) andfor disabled mobility has also risen. At the sametime, however, measures have been introducedthat have increased inequalities, such as the de-cision to exclude non-EU immigrants from theFamily Card scheme granting large families dis-counts on services, whilst the government has re-moved restrictions on the use of the fundsallocated for the provision of healthcare to for-eigners not registered with the National healthService.

The increased revenue raised from the tax ongambling (video lotteries, slot machines, remotegaming, betting, bingo, etc.) is to be used to com-bat addiction and the related diseases, with anannual sum of around half a billion expected tobe raised. Above all, it could be used to slow thecontinuous growth in gambling.

With regard to the levels of basic healthcare,which were updated in 2017, approval of the re-lated fare classes has yet to be received from theMinistry of the Economy and Finance and no fundshave been allocated. The so-called superticket(an additional fee payable for medical services incertain regions) has not been eliminated, aspromised, but the option for regional authoritiesto replace it with a similar charge has been ex-panded.

The process of revising the “Health Pact” is prov-ing difficult, above all due to the issues arisingfrom the request for greater autonomy from threenorthern regions. According to sources within theMinistry, the new Pact is expected to contain plan-ning provisions and measures designed to improvethe quality of the treatment and services providedand cost efficiencies. To this end, in May 2019, theMinister of Health set up eleven working groups todraw up the Pact for the period 2019-2021, eachfocusing on the following areas: levels of basichealthcare and deficit reduction plans, human re-sources, mobility, entities in special measures, themanagement of medicines and medical devices,local arrangements for the provision of health andsocial care, supplementary funds, forecastingmodels, research, efficiencies and the appropri-ate use of resources. In addition, a consultationprocess took place in July with the aim of gather-ing views on what should be included in the newPact. This involved three separate sessions at-

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tended by 350 representatives from patients’groups, civil society organisations (includingASviS), trade associations, research and develop-ment bodies, labour organisations and profes-sional bodies.

With regard to the request for greater differenti-ated autonomy made by the Lombardy, Veneto andEmilia-Romagna regions as prescribed by Law 405of 2001, talks between the regional authorities andthe government are still ongoing, with the twosides a long way from reaching agreement.

Draft Law 1315 was approved on 19 June 2019.This was converted, with amendments, into LawDecree 35 of 30 April 2019, containing emergencymeasures for national health service provision inthe Calabria region and other urgent health-re-lated measures. The legislation has appointed aSpecial Commissioner to assume control of healthservices in Calabria, as well as containing variousprovisions applicable at national level. With re-gard to the placement of regional health servicesin special measures (involving the appointmentof a Commissioner), the “Health Pact” calls foreach region placed in special measures to workalongside a partner region acting as a bench-mark. Such regions have been granted the possi-bility to choose with which other region they wishto partner.

Finally, it should be noted that:

• since June 2019, the Ministry of Health websiteincludes a new service enabling members ofthe general public, patients’ groups, healthtrusts, National Health Service personnel, sup-pliers, regional authorities and autonomousprovinces to request the inclusion of newtreatments or services among those classifiedas basic;

• on 30 May 2019, central government and re-gional authorities reached agreement on the“Plan for the application and dissemination ofgender medicine”, drawn up by the Ministry ofHealth with the support of the relevant depart-ment within the National Institute of Healthand in collaboration with a technical and sci-entific committee. The Plan proposes to issuecoordinated guidance by indicating practicesthat take into account the differences linkedto gender, with the aim of guaranteeing thatthe National Health Service provides quality,gender appropriate services on a consistentbasis throughout Italy.

GOAL 4 - QUALITY EDUCATIONEnsure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelonglearning opportunities for allIn the last twelve months a number of worryingsigns have emerged, requiring careful interpreta-tion and an appropriate political response. We arereferring above all to the increase in the rate ofearly school leaving reported by Eurostat, withthe rate for people leaving education or trainingwithout having obtained a diploma or any form ofqualification rising from 14% in 2017 to 14.5% in2018. This marks the end of a ten-year period ofgradual convergence towards the much lower Eu-ropean average. The most notable reversal of thetrend regards girls for reasons that have yet to beunderstood.

A second alarm bell rang when the results of theINVALSI tests were presented, as usual, duringthe summer: instead of diminishing, the alreadysizeable gaps between the different regions arewidening, with highly unsatisfactory resultsachieved by schools in the south of Italy andtheir students. This led the experts from INVALSIto declare that “in large parts of the south,there are adolescents sitting their third-yearmiddle school exams with the knowledge of afifth-year primary school student”. Moreover,such poor results shouldn’t be allowed to hidethe unconvincing performance of regions in cen-tral Italy.

The result of the OECD’s three-year PISA survey,expected in December, will presumably confirm(at district level, given the lack of funding for re-gional surveys) the existence of large gaps be-tween the various areas of the country. Thisdespite the fact that the educational system is intheory based on highly uniform approaches to therecruitment and remuneration of teachers and toregulating and organising the use of facilities andthe school day, and a highly-standardised nationalcurriculum. At least with regard to SDG 4, there-fore, it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that dif-ferent areas of the country are unfortunatelymaking uneven progress towards meeting theGoals of the 2030 Agenda26, contradicting themotto “no one left behind”.

In the last year, Italian lawmakers have provento be rather inconsistent when it comes to edu-cation. On the one hand, they appear commit-ted to systematically demolishing and


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weakening everything done in recent years,above all in relation to Law 107 (the so-called“Good School” law) and the resulting legislativedecrees. On the other, they have attempted to

take the educational system in a new direction,although this has often involved building on thevery foundations that they have themselvesweakened.

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THE INCLUSION OF THE 2030 AGENDA IN THE CIVIC EDUCATION LAW

The approval of the law on the introduction of civic education courses (Law 92 of 20 August 2019, inforce from the next school year) - for a total of at least 33 hours a year from the first year of primaryschool through to the fifth year of high school - can be viewed in two ways. On the one hand, the factthat the process of “shaping responsible and active citizens and fostering full and informed involvementin the civic, cultural and social life of communities” (art. 1) is expected to make reference not onlyto the Italian Constitution, but also to the equally essential 2030 Agenda (art. 3), should be warmlywelcomed. The traditional pillars of civic education, based on a knowledge of Italian and European in-stitutions and promotion of the principles of legality and rights and obligations, are therefore to bereinforced with new, no less important, pillars: intergenerational solidarity and education on sustain-able development and on global citizenship. In this regard, the 2030 Agenda training courses for teach-ers already created by ASviS in partnership with the Ministry of Education, Universities and Researchand the National Institute for Documentation, Innovation and Educational Research (INDIRE) may proveuseful.

On the other, however, the approved legislation raises a number of doubts over its everyday applica-tion in Italian schools, which is expected to begin from the next school year. The first issue relatesto the decision to make civic education a “cross-cutting subject” (art. 1): a subject to be taught forone hour a week and subject to the usual periodic and end-of-course assessments. Civic education –in both its traditional form and after the inclusion of sustainable development and global citizenship– should not only aim to ensure that students are adequately informed, but also foster virtuous be-haviours. All the subject areas, and indeed all the learning that takes place in schools, should be in-volved in achieving this objective. It is not clear if, and to what extent, the term “cross-cuttingeducation”, repeated no less than five times in the text of the law, has been fully committed to andunderstood by teachers.

An answer appears to be provided by examining what the law says about who should be responsiblefor teaching the courses. In first-cycle institutions (primary and middle schools), responsibility is tobe shared among all the teaching staff within the school. In secondary schools, on the other hand,teaching of the courses will be the responsibility of staff who teach law-related subjects and eco-nomics, provided that they are members of the school’s teaching staff. A coordinator is to be nom-inated for each class. This means that a new subject is being introduced, but that there will be nonew specifically trained staff to teach it. Moreover, the new courses will require schools to reachagreement on new arrangements within schools, affecting teachers’ timetables and workloads, andthis cannot be taken for granted. It is to be hoped that the shared course design aspect is givengreater weight than contractual considerations, though it is by no means certain that this will bethe case.

Finally, the new law “must not give rise to new or increased public spending requirements and thelegislation should be implemented with existing human, capital and financial resources”. This is yetanother example of an ongoing weakness in the Italian educational system, represented by the lackof coordination between the setting of ambitious goals and the provision of the appropriate supportand incentives. The legislation states that the €4 million to be used to fund the training of teachersto deliver courses in the cross-cutting subject of civic education must be taken from the existingtraining budget (thus reducing the funds available to finance potential training initiatives in otherareas). The fact that there are almost 400,000 classes to be taught the new subject begs the questionas to how far the allocated funds will go in supporting the initiative.

The Budget Law marked an opportunity to taketwo important steps backwards: with regard tothe innovative didactic methods used in the workexperience schemes that have been mandatoryfor all high school students over the last threeyears, and with respect to the new three-yeartraining programmes forming part of the new ap-proach to the initial training and recruitment ofsecondary school teachers, both introduced byLaw 107 of 2015.

The new work experience scheme – renamed“Development of cross-cutting skills and orienta-tion” - failed to take off, partly due to a delayin approval of the ministerial guidelines. Mean-while, the old system has been delegitimised,with the result that the 2018-19 school year waswasted, with schools going back to doing theirown thing.The decision taken by the Chamber of Deputies’Culture, Science and Education Committee tocarry out a survey of innovation in education(which saw ASviS give evidence during the sessionof 10 July) reveals the fact that parliament is fullyaware of the importance of fostering new formsof teaching and learning in the school of thetwenty-first century.

GOAL 5 - GENDER EQUALITY Achieve gender equality and empowerall women and girlsLaw 69 of 19 July 2019, the so-called CodiceRosso or “Code Red” legislation, is meant to pro-tect the victims of domestic and gender-based vi-olence and has amended the criminal code andthe code of criminal procedure. The law has in-troduced important new offences, such as re-venge porn, forced marriage and permanentfacial injury. Provisions regarding the violation ofrestraining orders and stay-away orders havebeen strengthened, whilst sex offenders must re-ceive psychotherapy, and special training coursesare to be organised for police, Carabinieri andprison officers. Funding for children orphaned asa result of femicide has also been increased,whilst concerns have been raised about the re-quirement for victims to be interviewed withinthree days, as this could put the victim in danger,particularly given the widely acknowledged reluc-tance of some women to take action immediatelyafter the event. Furthermore, the requirementfor the law not to impose additional expenditurecould also mean that it will not be fully applied,

despite the fact that funding has been allocatedfor other provisions.

Efforts to combat the verbal abuse of womenhave, as in previous legislatures, been the sub-ject of proposed amendments to the MancinoLaw (205/1993), though this has not resulted insignificant changes. To address this issue, whichhas come very much to the fore in recentmonths, it is essential to adopt strategies de-signed to tackle the sort of socially unacceptablebehaviour that appears to be on the rise in Italy,involving continuous and carefully planned ef-forts to deal with the issue. It is important toavoid the acceptance of any form of discrimina-tion or violence against women in social mediaand elsewhere, and to keep a close eye on alltypes of sexist language. From this point of view,it is a shame that the recently approved law rein-troducing civic education in schools has failed tomake explicit reference to the issues around re-spect and gender equality. These issues were, incontrast, dealt with in the Regulation containingmeasures on respect for human dignity and thenon-discrimination principle and relating to ef-forts to combat hate speech, approved by theAutorità per le Garanzie nelle Comunicazioni(the Italian Communications Regulator) in its De-termination of 15 May 2019.

Evidence of the importance given to the issue ofviolence against women is provided by the Sen-ate’s decision, on 16 October 2018, to set up aCommittee to look into the subject of femicide,with the aim of investigating the real size of theproblem and the conditions and causes that leadto such crimes, monitoring implementation of theIstanbul Convention and identifying any inconsis-tencies or shortcomings in the existing legislation.In addition, July saw the steering committee setup by the Department of Equal Opportunities ap-prove the “National strategic plan to combat maleviolence against women”.

In terms of gender equality, the 2019 Budget Lawhas increased the mandatory parental leave to begranted to fathers by their employers within fivemonths of birth to five days. The leave does nothave to be taken all in one go and may be ex-tended to six days in exchange for one day of themother’s maternity leave. The rules governingfunding for policies designed to benefit familieshave been revised and further measures regardingthe work-life balance and family support havebeen introduced. Funding for 2019 amounts to


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€104 million, whilst the voucher helping to pay forstate or private nursery school fees has been in-creased to €1,500 a year for the three-year period2019-2021. Funding for family carers, totalling €20million, has also been increased by €5 million ayear in the same period.

The Budget Law has extended the Baby Bonus,payable for each child born (or adopted) until theage of one (or to the end of the first year afterjoining the family). In the case of a second child,the bonus is increased by 20%. Moreover, in orderto boost the birth rate, 50% of publicly ownedagricultural land and land that has been aban-doned and left fallow is to be handed over free ofcharge, for no less than twenty years, to familieswith three or more children, of which at least oneto have been born in 2019, 2020 or 2021, or tofamilies expecting at least a third child in the pe-riod 2019-2021. The same families are also to beoffered tax relief and subsidised loans tailored totheir needs.

While useful, such measures are not capable ofboosting the birth rate, which has fallen dramat-ically over many years (there were 458,151 birthsin 2017, 15,000 less than in 2016), or improvingthe work-life balance. Baby-sitting and kinder-garten vouchers have not been continued27 andextending mandatory paternity leave by one day,just for 2019, will not bring about the sort of cul-tural change needed if we are to succeed in re-distributing parental responsibilities and makingit easier for women to initially join and then re-join the workforce. 49,451 parents voluntarily re-signed in 2018, with mothers totalling 35,963. Themost common reason was the inability to combinework with bringing up children where there wasno support from family members, the impact ofthe cost of nursery provision or the failure to ob-tain a nursery school place.

With regard to the work-life balance, the EuropeanParliament has issued Directive 2019/1158/EU, de-signed to improve the work-life balance forfamilies, representing one of the main achieve-ments deriving from the European Pillar of So-cial Rights. Whilst awaiting application of theDirective in Italian law, the 2019 Budget Lawhas introduced greater flexibility regarding theperiod covered by maternity leave. It is nowpossible, subject to appropriate assessment andprovision of a medical certificate, to work untilthe ninth month of pregnancy, although removalof the obligation to provide pre-birth leave ap-

pears to have been introduced haphazardly,without looking at the overall picture. Thismeans that application of the new law shouldbe closely watched in order to avoid it becom-ing yet another source of difficulty for workingmothers.

On the subject of female employment, the “Mem-orandum of understanding for the developmentand growth of female entrepreneurship and self-employment”, signed on 4 June 2014, has beenfurther extended until 31 December 2019. Mean-while, with regard to pensions, Law Decree4/2019 has extended the possibility to take ad-vantage of the so-called opzione donna (“women’soption”) for workers who, by 31 December 2018,have been paying contributions for 35 years ormore and have reached the age of 58 or older (forfemale employees) and 59 (for self-employedwomen). Art. 3 of law 81/2017 relating to “smartworking” has been amended. This legislationobliges employers to give priority to applicationsto transfer to this form of employment to womenwho have used up their maternity leave and to theparents of severely disabled children who requirepermanent care.

In this regard, Directive 2/19, issued by the Min-istry for the Public Administration and the Under-secretary for equal opportunities on 26 June 2019,contains “Measures to foster equal opportunitiesand strengthen the role of equality committeeswithin public entities”. The Directive stipulates,among other things, that public administration en-tities must use non-discriminatory language in allwork-related documents (reports, circulars, de-crees, regulations, etc.). This includes, for exam-ple, nouns or collective nouns including people ofthe two genders (e.g., “people” rather than“men”).

Given that many of the above provisions are validonly until the current year, close attention needsto be paid to the budget for 2020, in the hopethat they will either be reconfirmed or madestructural.

Finally, Law 120 of 12 July 2011 (the Golfo-Mosca),regarding the participation of women on theboards of companies, is close to expiry and maywell not be applicable during the next round ofelections. This situation risks doing away with thewidely recognised benefits resulting from its ap-plication. In January 2019, a proposal to extendapplication of the legislation was presented in theChamber of Deputies but so far, although backed

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by members of all the various parties, a debateon the proposal has been scheduled but has yet totake place.

GOAL 6 - CLEAN WATER ANDSANITATIONEnsure availability and sustainablemanagement of water and sanitationfor allNo legislation having a major impact on the im-plementation of Goal 6 was passed during the lastyear, although the 2019 Budget Law does containcertain measures relating to the efficiency ofdrinking water distribution and Target 6.6 in the2030 Agenda. Following an examination of theBudget Law published in February 2019, ASviS wel-comed the attention given to the very seriousissue of water leaks, but judged the measuresadopted to be totally inadequate with respect towhat needs to be done, while also criticising thelack of funds allocated to pay for waste watertreatment infrastructure. On 6 March 2019, theEuropean Commission again took Italy to the Eu-ropean Court of Justice for its failure to ensurethe proper treatment of urban waste water28.

The Cabinet Office Decree of 30 May 2019, re-garding the “Identification of priority interven-tions and the criteria for using the guaranteefund for water infrastructure”, addresses theneed to upgrade the country’s infrastructure, es-tablishing regulations governing implementationof the provisions of art. 58 of Law 221/2015,which established the state guarantee fund. Thefund supports investment by providing guaranteesfor operators of the integrated water service orthe operators of major dams and the related ab-straction and withdrawal, in addition to smalldams. The Decree defines the role of the Au-torità di Regolazione per Energia Reti e Ambi-ente (the Regulatory Authority for Energy,Networks and the Environment, or ARERA) andthe Cassa per i Servizi Energetici ed Ambientali(the Fund for Energy and Environmental Services,or CSEA) that manages the fund, defining theorder of priority to be followed when using theallocated resources.

In the meantime, the process of approving draftlaw AC 52, “Provisions governing public and par-ticipatory governance of the integrated watercycle”, presented on 23 March 2018, is still ongo-ing. Alongside this process, draft law AC 773, pre-

sented on 22 June 2018 and containing “Principlesgoverning the protection, governance and publicmanagement of water resources”, has the sameobjectives, but differs with respect to the earlierdocument in relation to certain aspects of gover-nance. These draft laws largely contain the sameprovisions contained in earlier draft legislation al-ready presented and examined during the previ-ous XVII Legislature (AC 2212). Indeed, theprovisions of draft law AC 773 are almost identicalto those already approved by the Chamber ofDeputies29.

In this regard, it should be recalled that the res-olution passed by the General Assembly of theUnited Nations on 28 July 2010 (GA/10967), onwhich both texts are based, declares that “in ad-dition to being a basic human right, clean drink-ing water and sanitation are a question of humandignity, are essential to the full enjoyment oflife and all other human rights”, recommendingthat states take steps to guarantee “safe, clean,accessible and affordable drinking water” forall.

Approval of a law on this issue is key to achieve-ment of the various Targets included in Goal 6,with direct implications for aspects included inother 2030 Agenda Goals. However, this requiresan overall balance between guaranteeing rights,safeguarding environmental resources and com-peting uses of water, the economic aspects andinvestment in infrastructure, institutional capa-bilities, transparency and participation and soli-darity, including at international level.

Based on the articles in AC 52, the text regardsthe following 2030 Agenda Targets and Goals:

• Art. 1 - Facilitate public and participatory gov-ernance of the entire integrated water cycle,so as to ensure a sustainable and shared use,within the scope of overall policies designed toprotect and manage the Italian territory (seeCoherence with the overall objectives of the2030 Agenda);

• Articles 2-3 - Water as a basic universal humanright (targets 6.1 and 6.2), essential to the lifeof ecosystems and all living creatures (Goals14 and 15), definition of priority uses (Goals 2and 7), promotion of the use of tap water(Goals 11 and 12);

• Articles 4-5-8 - Governance of management ofthe resource (Targets 6.4, 6.5, 6.6 and Goal15);


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• Art. 6 - Water quality, overall impact (Target6.3 and Goals 3, 2 and 12);

• Articles 7-15 - Public nature of controls – Par-ticipatory democracy - Implementation of theAarhus Convention (Targets 6.b, 16.6-16.7-16.10 and 11.3);

• Articles 9-13 and 17 - Integrated water service,public governance and renationalisation, fund-ing (Targets 6.4, 6.5, 9.1 and 9.4 and Goal 16);

• Art. 14 - Tariffs and guarantee the minimumamount to meet essential needs of 50 litres perperson per day (Target 6.1 and Goal 1)30;

• Art. 16 - Establishment of the international sol-idarity fund (target 6.a and Goal 17).

In the meantime, the process of approving theproposed European Directive concerning thequality of water for human consumption (ap-proved by the European Parliament on 28 March2019) continues. COM (2017) 753 is intended torevisit the existing Directive 98/83/EC, with theaim of updating the legislation in order to im-prove the quality, safety and healthiness ofdrinking water in Member States, thereby pro-tecting the health of European citizens, while re-ducing the impact on the environment. TheDirective also makes a contribution to reducingthe use of plastic bottles purchased (with regardto Goals 12 and 14) by people who do not trusttap water, a share of the population that in Italyamounts to around 29%31. This also helps to ex-plain why our country heads the European rank-ings for the consumption of bottled water(approximately 190 litres per capita per annum,compared with the European average of around110 litres per capita per annum)32.

The Directive also has an impact on various as-pects of the draft laws AC 52 and AC 773 in rela-tion to the different Targets included in Goal 6,such as: 6.1 regarding the right to access waterfor human consumption - meeting the demandsof the “Right2water” campaign; 6.3 and 6.4 re-garding aspects relating to quality and safety; 6.bregarding aspects relating to participatory gover-nance, public information and access to justicein accordance with the Aarhus Convention. As aresult, Italian legislation should be brought intoline with the Directive about to be issued, bring-ing forward its transposition and building on theprogress made so far33.

GOAL 7 - CLEAN AND ACCESSIBLEENERGYEnsure access to affordable, reliable,sustainable and modern energy for all

GOAL 13 - CLIMATE ACTIONTake urgent action to combat climatechange and its impacts

The energy transition is the key to combating cli-mate change, meaning that it is no longer possibleto consider Goals 7 and 13 of the 2030 Agenda sep-arately. And it is equally impossible to understandrecent Italian legislation without making refer-ence to the global climate talks and the Europeanpolicies on energy and the climate heading to-wards 2030 and 2050.

On 6 October 2018, the IPCC published its “Spe-cial Report 15 (SR15)”, commissioned by theUnited Nations Framework Convention on Cli-mate Change (UNFCC) to assess the impact onthe climate of a 1.5°C increase in the Earth’saverage surface temperatures by the end of thecentury (2100), compared with the pre-indus-trial era (based on records for 1880), and thesteps required in order to achieve the neces-sary cuts to greenhouse gas emissions in orderto meet the target34 set in the Paris Agreement.The Report’s message is that it is possible tolimit temperature increases, but that it will re-quire unprecedented economic and socialchange.

On 25 October 2018, the European Parliament ap-proved a resolution35 that proposes to raise thetarget for emissions cuts to 55% by 2030 comparedwith 1990. This revised goal was championed bythe new Commission President, Ursula Von derLeyen, in her keynote address to the Parliament.As a result, Europe will head to the United NationsClimate Change Conference in September havingassumed a lead role in efforts to cut greenhousegas emissions.

In November 2018, the European Commissioncalled for a new strategy for a “climate-neutral”economy by 205036, in line with its renewed com-mitment to taking action. The European Councilreplied to this on 18 February 2019, reiteratingthe need to go further and faster at both Euro-pean and global level in order to make sufficientprogress to keep the increase in surface temper-atures to within 1.5°C37.

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On the legislative front, two important EuropeanDirectives on energy were adopted in 2018: thefirst has revisited the legislation on the energyperformance of buildings and energy efficiency38,setting specific targets for decarbonization of thebuilding industry by 2050 (with intermediate tar-gets for Member States to reach in 2030 and2040), and defining measures relating to electrictransport and home automation systems, withnew provisions regarding controls on equipment.The second Directive has updated the legislationpromoting the use of energy from renewablesources, raising the target share of primary energyconsumption to 32% by 2030, introducing newforms of support and promoting self-consumptionand energy communities, renewables in the trans-port sector and the sustainability of biofuels andbiomass fuels39.

In partial implementation of this Directive, andafter having introduced a number of key mea-sures in the 2019 Budget Law designed to encour-age the purchase of electric vehicles, on 9 July2019, the government adopted a renewables de-cree (FER 1) that has revised the incentives forrenewable electricity in Italy and rewards theself-consumption of energy, above all for the in-stallation of systems with a capacity of up to 100kW in buildings, and the removal of asbestos. Theaim of the decree is to achieve the installationof additional photovoltaic capacity of 8 GW. Asecond decree (FER 2) is expected to deal withrenewable energy from biomass and geothermalenergy.

In January 2019, the Italian government sent tothe European Commission a draft of its NationalIntegrated Energy and Climate Plan, a key steptowards meeting Target 13.2 of the 2030 Agenda,which requires climate change to be taken intoaccount in all national policymaking. Unlike ear-lier national energy strategies (the last was ap-proved in 2017), the Plan is obligatory for EUMember States, is subject to public consultationand to a Strategic Environmental Assessment(SEA), and must receive final approval by theend of 2019, once the Commission’s feedbackhas been received. The Plan submitted in Jan-uary 2019 by now contains objectives that areno longer valid and must be updated in line withthe above-mentioned EU requirements. For ex-ample, it proposes to achieve what is now an ob-solete target of a 33% reduction in greenhousegas emissions by non-Emissions Trading Scheme

sectors compared with 2005 and a 30% share forrenewables, below the European average, butalso a welcome 43% increase in primary energyefficiency.

The Plan expects carbon to be phased out by2025, although it would seem that the tradeunions have not been consulted on issues such asjob protection and retraining, and has set 2030as the intermediate date with respect to the tar-get for 2050, which in the text is referred to as“deep decarbonisation”, although the actual tar-get and the method of implementation are notdetermined.

Enel has announced40 that it is ready to play itspart in the energy transition in Italy and Europe:the company is on track to achieve the goal ofclosing the coal-fired power stations by 2025 but,in order to ensure that there is a back-up for thesystem at times of peak demand, it will likely benecessary to add a number of new plants to thesystem, using both renewable and open-cycle gasturbines. In this context, one of the tools to beused in electricity system planning is the CapacityMarket, which enables Terna (Italy’s national gridoperator) to procure all the capacity needed toensure electricity service continuity in an eco-nomically efficient and technologically neutralmanner. In this regard, in June 2019, the EuropeanCommission approved the Italian mechanism, con-sidering it to be in compliance with state aidrules. A major role will also be played in the en-ergy transition by digital smart grids, which areable to guarantee the sort of storage capacityneeded for further development of renewablesources.

The National Climate Change Adaptation Plan, re-quired in implementation of Target 13.1, is still onhold, following completion of the consultationprocess on 31 October 201741. The implementationguidance has yet to be produced and the neces-sary funds have yet to be transferred to local au-thorities, without whom the Plan would becompletely irrelevant. There is also no furthernews regarding an increase in Italy’s contributionin order to meet the goal of providing US$100 mil-lion a year in financing for the green Climate Fundby 2020.

While it does not contain new economic policiesaimed at cutting greenhouse gas emissions, andit has not introduced the expected legislation de-signed to launch the process of defining a strate-gic framework for responding to climate change,


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the 2019 Budget Law does contain key legislationdesigned to mitigate hydrogeological risks, whichare increasingly subject to the impact of climatechange. In particular, the Law has explicitlyadopted the concept of the ecosystemic re-silience of geographical areas (in line with Target13.1) and returns responsibility for hydrogeolog-ical risks to the Ministry for the Environment, al-locating it significant funds to finance therelated initiatives (€2.6 billion over a number ofyears).

Finally, while not constituting legislation, it is im-portant to note Parliamentary Motion 135, whichthe government asked the Senate to approve on 5June 201942. In this way, the request to declare aclimate emergency, in line with other countriesand local authorities in Italy and Europe, wasvoted down. On the other hand, the Motion ac-knowledged the fact that human activity is con-tributing to global warming and commits thegovernment to:

• taking all the steps necessary to decarbonisethe economy, guaranteeing the security of theenergy system;

• adopting all the measures required to promotethe transition from fossil to renewable fuels,mantaining grid parity, and from a linear to acircular economy;

• adopting initiatives designed to boost the dis-tributed self-production of energy from renew-able sources (as indicated in the NationalIntegrated Energy and Climate Plan);

• promoting infrastructure development policiesand green urban transport initiatives;

• taking all the steps necessary in order toachieve the targets for cuts in greenhouse gasemissions agreed at the international and Eu-ropean levels.

If actually implemented, Motion 135 sets out anacceptable government strategy for the energytransition and for combatting climate change.

GOAL 8 - DECENT WORK ANDECONOMIC GROWTHEncourage sustainable, inclusive andsustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decentwork for allUnlike most European countries, after a slightrecovery in the three-year period 2015-2017,

per capita GDP is still well below its pre-crisislevel. Istat’s 2019 SDG Report notes that, fol-lowing a slight rise in employment in the lastfour years, the unemployment rate declined to10.6% in 2018 (from 11.2% in 2017), though thisis still higher than pre-crisis levels and far abovethe European average. The improvement in em-ployment has not benefited the southern re-gions, with the employment remaining static atbelow 44% (43.5% in the first quarter of 2019).Confirmation of this unsatisfactory situations isprovided by the fact that, at 19.7%, non-partic-ipation in the Italian labour market is almosttwice as high as the EU average, while the shareof young people not in education, employmentor training (NEETs) remains very high, despitethe reduction seen in the last four years (27.1%in the 20-24 age group and 30.9% in the 25-29age group). The highest proportion, 40%, can befound among 18 to 29-year-olds in Campania,Calabria and Sicily.

In the light of these figures, as remarked in the2018 Report, the lack of a national youth employ-ment strategy that takes into account the inter-generational, geographical, educational andgender disparities present in our country is wor-rying. Last year, we emphasised the need tofocus resources and decision-making around theneeds of young people, proposing a “youth em-ployment pact”, in line with the ILO documententitled “Recovering from the crisis: A GlobalJobs Pact”, approved in 2009. We argued thatthis initiative should involve the government,economic and social partners and local authori-ties and result in a long-term plan for actions de-signed to support youth employment, coveringthe transition from school to employment, in-creasing funding for research, vocational trainingand other aspects.

On the contrary, the government has opted tomake changes to work experience schemes, re-ducing their impact and halting efforts to makeyoung people more employable when applyingfor jobs. The decision to cut both the hours in-volved and funding for work experienceschemes does not appear to have any reason-able justification, other than the desire to savemoney. Mandatory work experience schemeshave, overall proved successful, despite involv-ing over a million students when fully opera-tional, with all the problems that these numbersentail. The above changes shift Italy further

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away from best practices at the European leveland, as a result, slow the spread of vocationaltraining programmes in areas of the countrywith the greatest need to strengthen links be-tween schools and businesses (especially in thesouth).

Two major initiatives launched last year with adirect impact on the labour market are the in-troduction of a Citizens’ Basic Income (CBI) andthe pension reform dubbed “Quota 100”. Takentogether, these measures form part of the gov-ernment’s policies designed to boost genera-tional turnover in the labour market, benefitingyoung people, encouraging job creation and of-fering financial support for people on low in-comes. However, despite the evident need tostrengthen the employment policy, the CBI risksfailing to provide adequate support for the peo-ple most in need, discouraging job creation andproviding insufficient help for young people stillliving in the family home, as is the case withmost NEETs. Moreover, even if funding for jobcentres has been increased (their inadequacieswere demonstrated all too clearly during the im-plementation of the Garanzia Giovani (YouthGuarantee) scheme, set up to help young jobseekers find work), the legislative framework re-mains unclear for the role of “navigator”, a per-son with a key role to play in awarding the CBI,without possessing the necessary professionalexpertise.

On the other hand, the pension reform has givenrise to serious doubts about the effectiveness ofthe turnover between older people leaving workand young people entering the labour market.While the greater flexibility concerning retire-ment is a positive development, this will not nec-essarily lead to an increase in hiring, a rise in thenumber of hours worked or in increased salaries,partly owing to the growing tendency to automa-tization, taking advantage of technological inno-vations. In this way, many low-skill jobs done bypeople retiring under the “Quota 100” schememay well be lost. This would mean that Italy’s al-ready fragile pension system could face furtherproblems in the absence of an adequate growthof the productive workforce that can support itwith its contributions.

GOAL 9 - INDUSTRY, INNOVATION ANDINFRASTRUCTUREBuild resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainableindustrialisation and foster innovationIn spite of expectations of a renewed effort toprovide the country with new infrastructure,there has been a failure in recent years to link thevarious initiatives undertaken in order to provideItaly with a long-term vision for quality, reliable,innovative, sustainable and resilient infrastruc-ture. For example, the Public Procurement Codehas been revisited, greater attention is being paidto road safety, Investitalia was established andother initiatives have been taken, but a concertedeffort to draw up an industrial policy committedto achieving the SDGs in the 2030 Agenda contin-ues to be lacking.

The so-called Sblocca Cantieri Decree (Law 55 of14 June 2019) has introduced a number of impor-tant changes regarding public works, starting withreform of the Public Procurement Code. The leg-islation has simplified certain procedures in orderto speed up the delivery of public works and hasreduced the threshold for the contracting out ofworks. The changes are not expected to be par-ticularly effective, as they fail to provide incen-tives for innovation and sustainability in the longrun, creating new problems for commissioningbodies and companies as they adapt to the newframework and resulting in an uncertain period oftransition.

A new temporary investment vehicle called In-vestitalia has been created with the role of boost-ing the spending capacity of public bodies. If wellorganised and run, this new entity has the poten-tial to improve the management of resources byboosting and coordinating the planning and oper-ational capabilities of commissioning bodies.

In terms of water infrastructure, the first part ofthe national plan to mitigate the damage causedby droughts and promote the expansion and up-grade of the water sector has been approved. Theplan envisages a total of 57 projects at an overallcost of €260 million.

With regard to the planning for priority works, theresources (approximately €80 million) allocated tomunicipal authorities, metropolitan cities, provin-cial authorities and port authorities are to be usedto fund the design of priority infrastructure and


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settlements, project reviews of previously fi-nanced infrastructure, preparation of an UrbanPlan for Sustainable Mobility and a Strategic Planfor Metropolitan Areas, and the design of port in-frastructure and strategic plans, as defined in theMinisterial Decree of 10 May 2019.

With regard to digital networks and connections(our country is fifth to last among EU MemberStates in the European Commission’s Digital Econ-omy and Society Index), the fact that the devel-opment of a widespread public Wi-Fi network hasled to a range of initiatives that aim to stimulatedemand for digital services is to be welcomed.For example, as part of the “WiFi.Italia.it” pro-ject, the Ministry for Economic Development haslaunched the “Piazza Wi-Fi Italia” initiative,which has been allocated a further €45 million infunding (Interministerial Committee for EconomicPlanning resolution 61 of 25 October 2018). TheUltra-Broadband Development Plan for 2019 hasalso been presented, with the Ministry describinghow the project will move forward. The Plan fo-cuses on so-called “white areas” or areas of mar-ket failure, where the aim is to install a fibrenetwork.

Art. 8-ter (Distributed register-based technolo-gies and smart contracts) of the law convertingthe Simplifications Decree has assigned the Agen-zia per l’Italia Digitale (the Digital Italy Agency)responsibility for establishing the technical stan-dards to be followed during development of thissector. These technologies could, in the near fu-ture, have widespread applications in many fieldsand this also means that they need to be properlyand effectively regulated. It is thought that thiswill be an incentive for the introduction of newtechnologies into e-government processes, al-though it will be important to avoid focusing onlyon the design phase at the expense of the actualimplementation of projects. It is therefore nec-essary to be able to test, apply and take advan-tage of the related benefits as quickly aspossible.

The 2019 Budget Law has retained the 50% taxcredit on expenditure on research and develop-ment, in keeping with the past. One differenceis the inclusion among qualifying items of mate-rials and supplies used in the construction of pro-totypes or pilot plants, which were previouslyexcluded.

In terms of digitisation and the modernisation ofexisting infrastructure, the government is pro-

ceeding with its smart roads programme, withthe aim of creating road infrastructure equippedwith platforms that can observe, monitor andforecast traffic flows, ready to exploit the syn-ergies between digital infrastructure and theconnected vehicles of the future. Initial trials aretaking place in Turin and Modena. The collapseof the Morandi road bridge in Genoa highlightedthe real and pressing need to install monitoringsystems along the Italian road network capableof assessing the state of the infrastructure on acontinuous basis. Most of the country’s infras-tructure has an average age of over 50 years andit is therefore crucial to keep it under constantobservation.

Finally, with regard to non-financial statements,the 2019 Budget Law has widened the scope of thedisclosures to be provided, above all in relation torisks, with the obligation to report on how theyare managed and mitigated.

GOAL 10 - REDUCED INEQUALITIESReduce inequality within and amongcountriesNew legislation relating to Goal 10 includes a se-ries of measures that do not indicate the exis-tence of a cogent, organic plan to combatinequalities. The main measure targeting in-equalities in the 2019 Budget Law regards theCitizens’ Basic Income, but efforts to deal withpoverty appear to be connected solely with in-come from work, whilst the 2030 Agenda focusesnot only on the absence of jobs, but on differingcapabilities in terms of knowledge, training andopportunities.

Among the measures relating to access to essen-tial services and the quality of such services, the2019 Budget Law has increased annual funding forthe “National integrated education and trainingsystem” (from 0 to 6 years) by €10 million from2019. A grant of €400 million is available for mu-nicipal authorities to invest in the safety ofschools, roads, public buildings and other publiclyowned assets.

With regard to health, an expenditure of €150 mil-lion for 2019 and €100 million a year in 2020 and2021 is expected, to be used to modernise thetechnology infrastructure used in electronic book-ing systems, aiming to cut waiting times in hospi-tals and health centres. Funding for initiativesdesigned to help families, introduced by the Bud-

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get Law, aims to boost the birth rate, provide sup-port for mothers and fathers and to strengthenprotections for children and adolescents, withparticular regard to the socially and economicallydisadvantaged.

In terms of efforts to address educational poverty,the “Fund for initiatives to combat child educa-tional poverty” has been extended for the 2019-2021 period and new funding has been madeavailable. The tax credit for banking foundationswho contribute to this fund has also been re-tained, reducing the entity of the credit from 75%to 65% of the amounts contributed and loweringthe cap on expenditure from €100 million to €55million a year.

The voucher covering the payment of fees for at-tendance at state and private nursery schools hasbeen increased from €1,000 to €1,500 per year forthe 2019-2021 period43. The requirements to bemet in order to access the help have remained thesame as before, with the vouchers available torefugees and overseas citizens who have been inthe country for some time, provided that they areresidents.

There is no provision for specific measures relat-ing to the welfare benefits provided by compa-nies. The Budget Law only indicates that a partof the resources made available for initiativesdesigned to help families will be used to helpfund work-life balance initiatives and to encour-age companies to do more to help workers withfamilies.

Public and private sector employers who enterinto smart working agreements will be requiredto give priority to applications from workingmothers in the three years after the end of theirmaternity leave or to the mothers of disabledchildren.

From 2019, funding for policies designed to bene-fit young people has been increased by €30 mil-lion, with the aim of financing cultural andprofessional training courses and social inclusion.

Funding for measures regarding the financing offacilities and help for people with disabilities ismore substantial and structured. The 2019 Bud-get Law has strengthened existing provision andintroduced some new measures: tax deductionsfor guide dogs for the blind; a grant for the Ital-ian Federation for Overcoming Disability; grantsfor libraries for the blind or visually impaired;grants for the International Agency for the Pre-

vention of Blindness; funds for severely disabledpeople; the establishment of a fund for the in-clusion of the deaf and people with hearing im-pairments; an increase in funding for familycarers (€5 million a year between 2019 and2021); the establishment of a fund to improveaccessibility and mobility for disabled people;funding for disabled people’s right to work; payfor disabled people; funding for educational sup-port services for disabled or disadvantaged stu-dents, adding a further €25 million per year inthe period from 2019 to 2021 (increasing thetotal amount of funding for the three-year periodto €100 million); funding for initiatives benefit-ting disabled students in arts, music and danceacademies.

The combined provisions of the “Security Decree”and the Budget Law risk undoing everything thathas been achieved so far in dispersing migrant re-ception centres around the country and for theirintegration (Italian language courses, professionaltraining, voluntary work, etc.), and the loss ofjobs, above all higher skilled ones, held by staffinvolved in the reception and integration of mi-grants. The legislation also risks the concentra-tion of migrants in large centres only equipped toprovide basic assistance and board and lodging.The Ministry for Internal Affairs has in fact beenassigned responsibility for cutting the amount ofmoney spent on migrant reception centres (bear-ing in mind the decline in the number of mi-grants) and reducing the daily cost of lookingafter them.

With regard to municipal authorities’ access to na-tional funding for the reception of unaccompaniedmigrant minors, the provision introduced by thelaw converting Law Decree 113 of 2018 (article12, paragraphs 2, letter h-bis) on security and im-migration has been abolished. This provisiongranted a municipal authority access to the fund-ing, without the authority interested in taking inan unaccompanied minor incurring any costs orexpenses, where there was temporarily no placefor the minor within a reception centre or withinthe Protection System for Asylum Seekers andRefugees (SPRAR).

One of the most important tax measures con-tained in the 2019 Budget Law relating to wealthredistribution was extension of application of theflat tax to the self-employed. This means thatself-employed people with revenue of up to€65,000 have the option of applying the flat tax


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introduced by the 2015 Stability Law (a tax rateof 15% in place of personal income tax and anyadditional taxes payable). This favourable taxtreatment creates unfairness: many self-em-ployed people will thus pay less tax than an em-ployee at the same level of salary who has to payprogressive rates of income tax. Moreover, themeasure may benefit the wealthiest taxpayers(the qualifying threshold for application of theflat tax is based on income in the tax year priorto the one to which the tax return refers), makingit possible for these taxpayers to game the sys-tem. Moreover, from the point of view of eco-nomic efficiency, the new regime encouragesbusinesses to remain small and subject to loosercontrols by the tax authority.

GOAL 11 - SUSTAINABLE CITIES ANDCOMMUNITIESMake cities and human settlementsinclusive, safe, resilient andsustainableWith regard to housing and urban regenerationpolicies44, the 2019 Budget Law has reversed thefreeze placed on funding for the “Special subur-ban regeneration plan” by Law Decree 91 of 2018,following the agreement reached by the centralgovernment with regional, provincial and munici-pal authorities on 18 October 2018. The plan wasoriginally established by the 2016 Budget Law(€2.1 billion). The same Law Decree reducedfunding for investment by central and local gov-ernment entities in order to achieve the budgetcuts requested by the European Commission. Thiswas done against a backdrop of falling capitalspending (€33.8 billion in 2017, a drop of €20 bil-lion compared with 2009), with negative reper-cussions for the funding available to cities.

Law 58 of 28 June 2019, which converted the De-creto Crescita (“Growth Decree”) into law, con-tains a number of tax measures designed toencourage urban regeneration. These includethe removal of taxation on purchases of build-ings to be demolished or renovated, extensionof the “earthquake bonus” and the possibilityfor businesses to deduct the tax credit acquired(50% for energy efficiency initiatives) from thecost of works. Unfortunately, the legislationcompletely ignored two key recommendationscontained in the final report of the Chamber ofDeputies’ Parliamentary Committee of Enquiry

set up during the previous legislature to lookinto suburban areas, despite the recommenda-tions receiving unanimous approval from mem-bers on 14 December 2017. These related to theneed to draw up a “Multi-year strategy for Ital-ian cities (6 to 10 years)” as a follow up to pre-vious initiatives focusing on suburban areas(including the identification of target areas anda mechanism to provide continuous funding) andto develop a new “National public housing con-struction programme”.

The 2019 Budget Law contains a series of mea-sures providing incentives for electric transportand cycling (trials of electric bikes within cities,access for electric and hybrid vehicles to re-stricted traffic zones, financing for cycling high-ways, incentives for the purchase of electricvehicles and tax relief on investment in chargingpoint infrastructure, and incentive schemes to en-courage people to buy new cars). These are with-out doubt welcome, but do not represent anadequate response to the situation. It is thereforeno surprise that, in its opinion on the draft versionof Italy’s National Integrated Energy and ClimatePlan, the European Commission invited the Italiangovernment “to present concrete measures forthe decarbonisation of transport”.

In this regard, the Cabinet Office Decree approv-ing the National Sustainable Development Strat-egy, signed on 18 April 2019, has released thefunding of €3.7 billion for new buses allocated inthe 2017 Budget Law through to 2033, whilst thelaw introducing adjustments to the 2019 BudgetLaw has restored funding of €300 million for na-tional transport infrastructure that had been pre-viously put on hold.

While the draft law on restricting land use is stillbeing debated in the Senate (see pages 109-110),on 30 April 2019, the Apulia region approved leg-islation on this matter, adding to the legislationalready in force in nine other regions and au-tonomous provinces (Abruzzo, Calabria, Emilia-Ro-magna, Friuli-Venezia-Giulia, Lombardy, Tuscany,Umbria, Veneto and the Autonomous Province ofBolzano).

The 2019 Budget Law contains numerous regula-tions governing cultural institutions and activities,but provides little in the way of funding and willthus fail to enable Italian public spending on thearts to catch up with the rest of Europe. One no-table change is the introduction of a “landing fee”payable by tourists wishing to enter the city of

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Venice, which has replaced the city tax. This willbe applied from 1 January 2020 and can poten-tially be extended to other tourist cities.

Air pollution in major cities remains high, somuch so that Italy has been referred to the Eu-ropean Court of Justice for breaching the limitson the presence of particulate matter (PM10) inOctober 2018 and of nitrogen dioxide in March2019. In this regard, on 4 June 2019, a Memoran-dum of Understanding was signed by the govern-ment and regional authorities setting up an “Airquality improvement action plan”. The Plan de-scribes the initiatives that the various bodieshave committed to undertake, including the cre-ation of a Coordination Unit within the CabinetOffice.

Finally, with regard to public green space, the2019 Budget Law has extended the tax relief of36% on the cost of work on private gardens. Thisis a positive measure, but is not enough to encour-age the sort of increases in green space in citiestargeted in the “National strategy for urban greenspace” approved in May 2018.

GOAL 12 - RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTIONAND PRODUCTIONGuarantee sustainable models ofproduction and consumptionAt the national level, the 2019 Budget Law has in-troduced a tax credit for businesses that purchaserecycled products or compostable or recycledpackaging. Ministry for the Environment Decree 56of 21 March 2018 has also come into force, intro-ducing regulations governing implementation ofthe national voluntary scheme for companies toevaluate and disclose the environmental footprintof their products, called “Made Green in Italy”.

Alongside legislation, a number of responsible pro-duction initiatives have been undertaken: theseinclude the recent establishment of the ISI/TC 323Circular Economy committee, which aims to drawup a framework, requirements, guidelines andsupport mechanisms designed to encourage thedevelopment and implementation of a circulareconomy45.

In terms of responsible consumption, the follow-ing legislation has been introduced:

• EU Directive 2019/633 (approved in April 2019),addressing the issue of unfair trading practicesin the agri-food sector. The aim is to achieve a

level playing field for suppliers, including anyproducer of agricultural products or natural orlegal persons that sell agricultural or food prod-ucts, and customers, thereby providing a mini-mum level of protection within Member Statesin order to combat unfair trading practices;

• the Delegated Decision of the Commission(C/2019/3211 final), published on 3 May 2019,that has amended Directive 2008/98/EC of theEuropean Parliament and Council, relating tothe establishment of a common framework andof minimum standards to be applied in mea-suring levels of food waste.

In terms of Italian legislation, the 2019 BudgetLaw has reinforced controls designed to safeguardthe quality of food products and introduced regu-lations governing the direct sale of agriculturalproducts. In addition, art. 3-bis of Law 12/2019,on “Food labelling”, has amended the legislationregarding the place of origin or provenance offood products, making it mandatory to provide in-formation on the origin of such products.

The legislation implementing the EU’s MIFID Direc-tive (Legislative Decree 129 of 3 August 2017),governing the transparency of the cost of financialand insurance products and changes to the re-sponsibilities of producers and distributors. Fi-nally, the Autorità per l’Energia Elettrica, il Gase i Servizi Idrici (the Italian Regulatory Authorityfor Electricity, Gas and Water, or AEEGSI) has beenreplaced by the Autorità di Regolazione per En-ergia Reti e Ambiente (the Regulatory Authorityfor Energy, Networks and the Environment, orARERA), expanding its regulatory powers to in-clude the waste management sector (LegislativeDecree 1017 of 10 August 2018).

Finally, the following legislation relates to sustain-able finance:

• Legislative Decree 2018/147, implementingthe EU’s IORP II Directive (2016/2341) on theactivities and regulation of occupational pen-sion funds. This legislation requires the inte-gration of ESG criteria into corporategovernance systems in relation to both invest-ment policies and internal audits, based on along-term approach. The Directive has also in-troduced disclosure requirements: occupa-tional pension providers must now informcurrent and prospective scheme members onthe integration of SDG criteria into their finan-cial management and risk assessment.


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• Legislative Decree 2019/49, implementing theEU’s Shareholder Rights Directive (2017/828),regards the long-term commitment of share-holders. It encourages shareholders to take alonger-term view of their investments and re-quires greater transparency and disclosure onhow investee companies are monitored withrespect to ESG aspects. Shareholders are re-quired to vote on companies’ remunerationpolicies, which must be more closely linked tothe achievement of determinate long-termobjectives.

• IVASS Regulation 2018/38 on the governance ofinsurance undertakings, introduced on 3 July2019. This requires boards of directors to takeinto account environmental and social con-cerns in their decision-making.

GOAL 14 - LIFE BELOW WATERConserve and sustainably use theoceans, seas and marine resources forsustainable developmentAs indicated in European Commission Communica-tion COM (2018) 340 final46, plastic makes up 80-85% of total marine litter, based on beach counts.As a result, new steps aimed at cleaning up theseas and oceans include implementation of theEU’s Plastics Strategy47, which has been includedwithin the context of the circular economy (seeGoal 12). This strategy aims to prevent marinepollution, in line with the recommendations setout in the European Parliament’s report of 16 Jan-uary 2018, “International ocean governance: anagenda for the future of our oceans in the contextof the 2030 SDGs”48.

In implementation of the Plastics Strategy, EUDirective 2019/904 of the European Parliamentand Council was approved on 5 June 2019, withthe aim of reducing the impact of certain prod-ucts made of single-use plastic on the environ-ment49. Above all, art. 5 bans the sale of certainproducts made of single-use plastic, such as dis-posable plastic plates, cutlery and straws, from3 July 2021. Other measures are designed to en-courage the recycling of plastic, with the intro-duction of specific requirements relating toproduction, labelling that provides informationon how to correctly dispose of the product, thewider responsibilities of producers, the defini-tion of targets for recycling and building publicawareness.

EU Directive 2019/883 of the European Parliamentand Council, dated 17 April 201950, has also com-pleted its passage through Parliament. This re-gards port reception facilities for the delivery ofwaste from ships, amending Directive 2010/65/EUand repealing Directive 2000/59/EC. The aim ofthe Directive is to “protect the marine environ-ment against the negative effects from dischargesof waste from ships using ports located in theUnion, while ensuring the smooth operation ofmaritime traffic, by improving the availability anduse of adequate port reception facilities and thedelivery of waste to those facilities”.

The Directive governs arrangements for the deliv-ery of waste from ships in the ports of EU MemberStates and defines a cost recovery system (art. 8)that will help in achieving the aim, provided thatit does not provide an incentive for ships to dis-charge their waste at sea and that there are nocharges levied on the delivery of passively fishedwaste. The Directive must be complied with by 28June 2021.

The provisions of the Directive have been imple-mented in draft law AC 1939 presented by theMinister for the Environment on 26 June 2019 on“Encouraging the recovery marine waste and thecircular economy”. The legislation aims to encour-age the recovery of passively fished waste, pro-vide incentives for voluntary marine clean-upinitiatives, promote the circular economy by al-lowing passively fished waste, or waste collectedas a result of clean-up initiatives, to be no longerclassified as waste.

The draft law provides that passively fished wastecan be delivered to port reception facilities freeof charge and that the operating costs should becovered by a specific component to be added tothe waste disposal tax, assigning ARERA responsi-bility for drawing up the related regulations. TheMinistry of Agriculture, Food, Forestry and Tourismand the Ministry for the Environment, Land andSea Protection will be responsible for issuing a de-cree setting out rewards for the captains of shipsdelivering waste (such as points on their license).A further decree to be issued by the Ministry forthe Environment, Land and Sea Protection willcover the following aspects:

• the procedures for implementing marineclean-up initiatives;

• the criteria for encouraging the recycling ofplastic picked up at sea;

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• the procedures for issuing fishing companieswith an environmental certificate attesting totheir commitment to protecting the marineenvironment and the sustainability of theirfishing practices and for recognising these en-vironmental certificates for eco-labelling pur-poses (as per article 18, paragraph 2, letter dof Legislative Decree 4 of 9 January 2012).

These measures are in line with the objective ofachieving Good Environmental Status or GES51

for marine ecosystems by 2020, in accordancewith the European Union’s Marine StrategyFramework Directive 2008/56/EC, later imple-mented in Italy by Legislative Decree 190 of 13October 2010. In addition, the Cabinet OfficeDecree of 10 October 2017 has put in place mon-itoring programmes to measure progress towardsGES for waste in keeping with the above draftlaw AC 1939.

The proposed measures are welcome, but remainlimited and are a long way from enabling theachievement of GES for marine ecosystems by2020 in accordance with the EU’s and Italy’s Ma-rine Strategy. As a result, on 24 January 2019, theEuropean Commission reminded Italy of the dis-closure requirements for reporting on the environ-mental status of marine waters contained inDirective 2008/5652.

GOAL 15 - LIFE ON LANDProtect, restore and promotesustainable use of terrestrialecosystems, sustainably manageforests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity lossNo legislation having a major impact on the im-plementation of Goal 15 was passed during thelast year, aside from the measures looked at inASviS’s earlier examination of the Budget Law.The latter introduced a number of key measures:the refinancing of Italy’s sustainable phosphorousplatform, the launch of experiments and researchaiming to reduce the consumption of single-useplastic, the establishment by the Ministry of Agri-culture, Food, Forestry and Tourism of funding forItalian forestry, increased funding for mountainregions and the introduction of financial assis-tance for beekeepers in Italy. Despite the immi-nent deadline for achieving several of the Targetsof Goal 15 by 2020, in line with the other targets

of the Convention on Biological Diversity, effortsto achieve them have not been stepped up. Ac-cording to the European Commission, Italy isguilty of a number of infringements, included inthe package of infractions dated 24 January201953.

Sustainable land management is essential to theachievement of all the Targets of Goal 15, withconsequential impacts on the ability to implementthe 2030 Agenda as a whole. The links betweenGoals 2, 6 and 13 are just one example. In this re-gard, consultation is still taking place on a numberof proposals for legislation designed to halt orcontain land use presented at the beginning ofthis legislature. These include draft law AC 63 of23 March 2018, containing “Measures to halt landuse and to encourage the use of brownfield sites”,and draft law AS 164 of 27 March 2018, containing“Measures to halt land use, encourage the use ofbrownfield sites and protect landscapes”. Theseare closely related initiatives being explicitlysponsored by members of the Movimento 5 Stellein the Senate and in the Chamber of Deputies,who have adopted the citizens’ initiative drawnup and promoted by the national forum, “Let’ssave our countryside”.

As stated in art. 1 of the text, “as a non-renew-able, non-replaceable resource, land plays a keyrole in enabling the survival of living creaturesthroughout the planet, and is capable of providingan extensive range of benefits that mean we can-not delay actions designed to protect it from anyfurther transformations that would irreversiblycompromise its ability to support food productionand provide other ecosystem services”. The draftlaw would put a halt to the use of land from thedate of entry into force of the legislation, permit-ting exceptions only in the case of public worksplanned by government entities and subject to therelated construction permits named, issued ordrawn up at the date of entry into force of thelegislation.

The law also requires future housing and infras-tructure requirements to be met solely throughthe use of brownfield sites and the regenerationof existing property and infrastructure assets. Inthis way, instead of using more of the green belt,the legislation aims to encourage the regenera-tion of socially, economically and environmen-tally deprived urban areas where there is ashortage of adequate facilities and green space.For this purpose, the legislation requires munic-


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ipal authorities to conduct a survey of the exist-ing building stock in order to identify any emptyand unused properties. Finally, making referenceto the social purpose of private property as de-fined in article 42 of the Italian Constitution,with regard to the identification of assets con-sidered abandoned or unused and no longer hav-ing any social purpose, the draft law introducesa specific procedure to enable municipal author-ities, or groups of municipal authorities, to takesuch buildings under public ownership in orderto put them to use for the benefit of the widercommunity.

The proposals under discussion certainly mark aradical change of direction in terms of altering therelationship between human beings and nature,requiring policymakers to give priority to consid-erations regarding the finite nature of environ-mental resources represented by land, which hasan essential role to play in supporting ecosystemservices, when formulating policies designed tomeet social and economic needs. This also impliesthat collective interests and social utility shouldtake priority and be given precedence over pri-vate interests, as stated in article 41 of the coun-try’s Constitution.

Any aspects of the law that may appear to be ex-cessively rigid may be better assessed by consid-ering how the social, environmental and economicaspects of the legislation concur with the ap-proach adopted in the 2030 Agenda, establishingan order or priorities and assessing the effects interms of synergies and trade-offs. The urgencyand strategic importance of the draft legislation,in relation to the implementation all aspects ofthe 2030 Agenda in Italy, is proof of how the ap-proval of effective legislation governing land useis key to putting our country on a sustainable de-velopment path.

GOAL 16 - PEACE, JUSTICE ANDSTRONG INSTITUTIONSPromote peaceful and more inclusivesocieties for sustainable development;provide access to justice for all andcreate efficient, accountable andinclusive organisations at all levelsThe very recent law on the “Introduction of civiceducation courses in schools” (see the text boxon page 96), approved in August 2019, is of par-ticular significance in relation to Goal 16. Article

3 delegates the Ministry of Education, Universi-ties and Research to draw up guidelines for theteaching of civic education, bearing in mind theneed to include a number of key topics, such as:the Constitution; the way that Italian, Europeanand international institutions operate; educationin digital and environmental citizenship and sus-tainable development; education on legality andon the need to combat organised crime. The newcourses are thus required to cover various as-pects relating to Goal 16, with the aim of passingon to younger generations certain key valueslinked to legality, inclusion and respect, essentialin order to build peaceful, just, inclusive andsustainable societies.

On the subject of combating all forms of vio-lence and the related death rates (Target 16.1),lawmakers have recently approved Law 69 of 19July 2019 (the so-called Codice Rosso or “CodeRed” legislation), which has introduced addi-tional and greater protections for the victims ofdomestic and gender-based violence. The legis-lation lists a series of offences falling within thescope of domestic and gender-based violenceand has amended the code of criminal procedurein order to speed up the related proceedingsand, as a result, accelerate the adoption of mea-sures to protect the victims. The new law hasalso amended the criminal code, introducingstiffer penalties for certain offences, revisingcertain aggravating circumstances and addingnew categories of offence.

With regard to Target 16.5 (Substantially reducecorruption and bribery in all their forms), Law 3of 9 January 2019, contains “Measures to fightcrimes against the public administration and onthe matter of statutes of limitations and thetransparency of political parties and movements”.The legislation has introduced measures designedto combat crimes against the public administra-tion, made changes to statutes of limitations andintroduced regulations governing the transparencyof political parties and movements. Stiffer addi-tional penalties have been introduced for crimesagainst the public administration, adding to thelist of cases to which such additional penaltiesapply and considerably increasing the duration ofthe penalties (no longer from 1 to 5 years, butnow from 5 to 7 years) and expanding the situa-tions in which the penalties are permanent. Arti-cle 346-bis of the criminal code, dealing with“Influence peddling”, has also been amended to

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replace the term “financial benefit” resultingfrom the offer or bribe with the broader term of“other benefits”.

Law 55 of 14 June 2019, converting Law Decree32 of 18 April 2019 into law, has made significantchanges to article 36 of the Public ProcurementCode in relation to the procedure for awardingpublic contracts with a value below EU materialitythresholds. The legislation has simplified the pro-cedures and made it possible to directly awardcontracts worth less than €40,000. Previously, itwas necessary to apply paragraph 2.b of article 36of the Code to tenders worth between €40,000and €150,000, involving a negotiated procedurewith at least 10 bidders. In contrast, currently,and until 31 December 2019, it is possible to usethe simplified procedure restricted to just 3 bid-ders. In this regard, it is worth noting that thesimplified procedure must continue to respect theprinciples of free competition, non-discriminationand transparency, thus ensuring that the awardcomplies with the law.

Finally, in relation to Target 16.7 (Ensure respon-sive, inclusive, participatory and representativedecision-making at all levels), the 2019 BudgetLaw has set up the National Youth Council withfunding of €200,000 for 2019. The aim is to involveyoung people in the country’s social, economicand cultural development through a series of ini-tiatives and activities designed to promote dia-logue between government institutions and youthorganisations, overcoming obstacles to young peo-ple’s participation in representative and directdemocracy and promoting active citizenship.

GOAL 17 - PARTNERSHIPS FOR THEGOALSStrengthen the means ofimplementation and revitalise theglobal partnership for sustainabledevelopmentAfter six years of constant increases in OfficialDevelopment Assistance (ODA), spending on ODAin Italy fell sharply in 2018. Last year, Italy dis-bursed a total of €4.2 billion (preliminary OECDDAC figures), marking a reduction of 21.3% inreal terms compared with 2017. This represents0.24% of Gross National Income (GNI), comparedwith 0.3% in 2017, which is the percentage thatItaly had pledged to achieve by 2020 before theUN.

The Gentiloni Government had in fact allocated €5billion for ODA, meaning that, with respect to thisfigure, in 2018 there was a shortfall of €800,000 inthe funding given to the Ministry of Internal Affairsto pay for the reception of migrants. So far, it isnot clear why these funds, which were not usedfor their original purpose, have not been spent onother forms of cooperation.

OECD DAC figures also show that almost half ofODA was spent through the multilateral channel,whilst bilateral ODA focused primarily on Sub-Sa-haran Africa, the Middle East and North Africa, butnot necessarily on Italy’s 22 priority partner coun-tries. This shows a lack of coherence between thepriorities in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and In-ternational Cooperation’s Three-year Plan and theactual choices made in operational programmes.Moreover, Italy continues to struggle to meet itscommitment under the 2030 Agenda to invest agreater share of ODA in less developed countries(LDCs): comparing the bilateral funds disbursed toLDCs in 2018 with the matching figure for previousyears, we estimate (the actual figure has not yetbeen published by the OECD DAC) a decline of 22%in real terms in bilateral funds provided to LDCsby Italy in 2018 compared with the previousyear54.

OECD DAC figures also show that the share of ODAwhere the principal or significant objective is tosupport gender equality, the environment or adap-tation to climate change has risen between 2017and 2018. On the other hand, the 2019 BudgetLaw has introduced a tax on foreign currencymoney transfers to countries outside the EU,equal to 1.5% of the value of each transaction.

With regard to the future, while in September2018 it appeared that the government intendedto allocate a growing percentage of GNI to ODA55,the 2019 Budget Law has gone back on that com-mitment, with funds of €5.1 billion for 2019, €4.7billion in 2020 and €4.7 billion in 2021. Moreover,it is not clear why, if the “significant reduction inthe cost of the temporary reception of refugeesand asylum seekers” was apparent from last April,the Ministry of Internal Affairs has allocated fund-ing of no less than €1.7 billion for this purpose.

In addition to the quantitative data regardingODA, in assessing the situation regarding Goal 17(Target 17.14 “Enhance policy coherence for sus-tainable development”), it is clear that the mainissue regarding Italy’s development cooperationrelates to this aspect. This is reflected in the lack


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of coherence between cooperation and trade pol-icy, the internationalisation of businesses, and mi-grant and agricultural policies. Above all, thereare no mechanisms for promptly correcting thepolicies or laws considered to be out of line on thebasis of impact assessments. Law 125/2014 actu-ally fails to formally attribute this power either toParliament or to the Interministerial Committeefor Development Cooperation, merely providingfor a chain of responsibility for monitoring policycoherence, where the actual mechanisms are notfully operational.

Aside from the fact that the Interministerial Com-mittee for Development Cooperation has yet tomeet during this legislature, implementation ofthe Law remains incomplete five years after itsentry into force. The Italian Agency for Develop-ment Cooperation (AICS) has never been fully op-erational due to a shortage of staff and a lack ofclarity over the division of roles with the Ministryof Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.The Agency has been seriously short of staff eversince its creation in 2014 and the recruitment pro-cess initiated by the Ministry for the Public Admin-istration in order to resolve this problem is a longway from bearing fruit.

In the same way, while the institutionalisation ofdialogue with all the various actors involved in de-velopment cooperation via the National Councilfor Development Cooperation marked a majorstep forward, the effective importance of thecouncil has yet to become clear. Meetings havebeen occasional, formal and more a question ofroutine, providing little guidance and having noclear impact on policy coherence.

It is also necessary to amend art. 26 (develop-ment cooperation actors, including civil societyorganisations) and art. 28 (collective bargainingprocedure for workers in the development coop-eration sector, an article that has never been im-plemented) of Law 125 so as to reflect changesbrought about by later legislation (Law 106/2016and Law Decree 117/2017) on the social economy,the so-called “Third Sector Code”. Here again,the current legislature has so far failed to pro-duce the necessary circulars and resolutionsneeded to fully implement the reform, whilstthere is ongoing uncertainty due to the fact thatthe Consolidated Third Sector Act has yet to enterforce, with the resulting impact on taxation ofthe related organisations and on the process ofamending their bylaws.

In this way, the potential of sustainable develop-ment resulting from the subsidiarity between theState and civil society is not fully exploited, incontrast with Goal 17 (Target 17.17 “Encourageand promote effective public, public- private andcivil society partnerships”), which encourages theinclusive, shared governance of processes, basedon actual representational processes, whether in-stitutional or otherwise.

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We are little more than a year away from thedeadline set for reaching 21 of the 169 Targets in-cluded in the 2030 Agenda. How far does Italy stillhave to go to meet these objectives? And how bestcan we describe the Targets that have not beenprecisely defined in quantitative terms?

Much is being done at the international level tomeasure the progress made by the various coun-tries towards achieving the Targets for 2030, butnone of the related initiatives has focused onthe Targets to be reached by 2020, which are thefollowing:

• 2.5) By 2020, maintain the genetic diversityof seeds, cultivated plants and farmed anddomesticated animals and their related wildspecies, including through soundly managedand diversified seed and plant banks at thenational, regional and international levels,and promote access to and fair and equi-table sharing of benefits arising from the uti-lization of genetic resources and associatedtraditional knowledge, as internationallyagreed.

• 3.6) By 2020, halve the number of globaldeaths and injuries from road traffic accidents.

• 4.b) By 2020, substantially expand globally thenumber of scholarships available to developingcountries, in particular least developed coun-tries, small island developing States andAfrican countries, for enrolment in higher ed-ucation, including vocational training and in-formation and communications technology,technical, engineering and scientific pro-grammes, in developed countries and other de-veloping countries.

• 6.6) By 2020, protect and restore water-re-lated ecosystems, including mountains,forests, wetlands, rivers, aquifers and lakes.

• 8.6) By 2020, substantially reduce the propor-tion of youth not in employment, education ortraining.

• 8.b) By 2020, develop and operationalize aglobal strategy for youth employment and im-plement the Global Jobs Pact of the Interna-tional Labour Organization.

• 9.c) Significantly increase access to informa-tion and communications technology and strive

to provide universal and affordable access tothe Internet in least developed countries by2020.

• 11.b) By 2020, substantially increase thenumber of cities and human settlementsadopting and implementing integrated poli-cies and plans towards inclusion, resource ef-ficiency, mitigation and adaptation to climatechange, resilience to disasters, and developand implement, in line with the SendaiFramework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, holistic disaster risk management at alllevels.

• 12.4) By 2020, achieve the environmentallysound management of chemicals and allwastes throughout their life cycle, in accor-dance with agreed international frame-works, and significantly reduce their releaseto air, water and soil in order to minimizetheir adverse impacts on human health andthe environment.

• 13.a) Implement the commitment under-taken by developed-country parties to theUnited Nations Framework Convention onClimate Change to a goal of mobilizingjointly $100 billion annually by 2020 from allsources to address the needs of developingcountries in the context of meaningful miti-gation actions and transparency on imple-mentation and fully operationalize the GreenClimate Fund through its capitalization assoon as possible.

• 14.2) By 2020, sustainably manage and protectmarine and coastal ecosystems to avoid signif-icant adverse impacts, including by strength-ening their resilience, and take action for theirrestoration in order to achieve healthy andproductive oceans.

• 14.4) By 2020, effectively regulate harvest-ing and end overfishing, illegal, unreportedand unregulated fishing and destructive fish-ing practices and implement science-basedmanagement plans, in order to restore fishstocks in the shortest time feasible, at leastto levels that can produce maximum sustain-able yield as determined by their biologicalcharacteristics.

IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS

A race against time: the Targets to be achieved by 2020

• 14.5) By 2020, conserve at least 10 per cent ofcoastal and marine areas, consistent with na-tional and international law and based on thebest available scientific information.

• 14.6) By 2020, prohibit certain forms of fish-eries subsidies which contribute to overca-pacity and overfishing, eliminate subsidiesthat contribute to illegal, unreported and un-regulated fishing and refrain from introducingnew such subsidies, recognizing that appro-priate and effective special and differentialtreatment for developing and least devel-oped countries should be an integral part ofthe World Trade Organization fisheries subsi-dies negotiation.

• 15.1) By 2020, ensure the conservation,restoration and sustainable use of terrestrialand inland freshwater ecosystems and theirservices, in particular forests, wetlands, moun-tains and drylands, in line with obligationsunder international agreements.

• 15.2) By 2020, promote the implementation ofsustainable management of all types offorests, halt deforestation, restore degradedforests and substantially increase afforestationand reforestation globally.

• 15.5) Take urgent and significant action to re-duce the degradation of natural habitats, haltthe loss of biodiversity and, by 2020, protectand prevent the extinction of threatenedspecies.

• 15.8) By 2020, introduce measures to preventthe introduction and significantly reduce theimpact of invasive alien species on land andwater ecosystems and control or eradicate thepriority species.

• 15.9) By 2020, integrate ecosystem and biodi-versity values into national and local planning,development processes, poverty reductionstrategies and accounts.

• 17.11) Significantly increase the exports of de-veloping countries, in particular with a view todoubling the least developed countries’ shareof global exports by 2020.

• 17.18) By 2020, enhance capacity-building sup-port to developing countries, including forleast developed countries and small island de-veloping States, to increase significantly theavailability of high-quality, timely and reliabledata disaggregated by income, gender, age,

race, ethnicity, migratory status, disability, ge-ographic location and other characteristics rel-evant in national contexts.

The 2030 Agenda clearly identifies quantitative in-dicators for only three of the 21 Targets. In thefollowing charts, these objectives are shown witha red dot:

For the rest of the Targets, the 2030 Agenda doesnot provide specific quantitative objectives to beachieved. In reality, it should be up to each coun-try to define these objectives, but the nationalSustainable Development Strategy approved bythe government in December 2017 does not con-tain any quantitative indicators either for the 21Targets to be met by 2020 or for the others.

As a result, in order to come up with usable ob-jectives for Italy, for the eight Targets for whichit was possible to identify an indicator availableat the European level, we have chosen to base thequantitative objectives to be met by 2020 on themost recent indicators for the four best-perform-ing European countries most similar to Italy56,namely France (FR), Spain (ES), Germany (DE) andthe UK (UK). These objectives are shown with ared dot in the following charts.

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Target

3.6

14.5

17.11

Indicator

Deaths due toroad trafficaccidents

Marineprotected areas

Percentage ofimports fromdevelopingcountries

Target for2020

2.8 per100,000inhabitants

10%

10.2%

Figure forItaly(last year for whichdata is available)

5.4 (2017)

19% (2013)

5.2% (2018)

For five of the Targets, it was not possible to iden-tify an indicator at the European level, but onlyat the national level. It was not possible to estab-lish quantitative objectives for these Targets, al-though it was possible to analyse the indicator’sperformance over time.

For the remaining five Targets (2.5, 11.b, 14.2,14.6 and 15.9), it was not possible to identify anindicator at either the European or national levels.


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Target

8.6

8.b

9.c

13.a

14.4

Indicator

Percentage ofyoung people aged15 to 29 not inemployment,education ortraining (NEETs)

Unemploymentbenefits (% of GDP)

Households withinternet access (%)

Millions of USdollars contributedto the GreenClimate Fund

Overfished fishstocks (%)

Terrestrialprotected areas (%- NATURA 2000)

Forested areas (%)

Officialdevelopment aid tofund statisticalcapacity building($m)

Targetfor2020

7.9%(DE)

3% (FR)

95% (UK)

6,730(DE)

43%(north-easternAtlantic)

27% (ES)

39.2%(ES)

31.8 (UK)

Figure forItaly(last year forwhich data isavailable)

23.4% (2018)

1.7% (2015)

83% (2018)

633 (2017)

83% (2016)

19% (2018)

35.6% (2015)

0.3 milioni(2017)

15.1

15.2

17.18

Target

4.b

6.6

12.4

15.5

15.8

%change

-26%(2013-2017)

+5%(2013-2018)

+ 1.4percent-agepoints(2014-2016)

+ 2.5percent-agepoints(2010-2017)

+241%(1900-1909versus2010-2017)

Indicator

Official developmentaid to fundscholarships forstudents fromdeveloping countries(€m)

Wetlands ofinternationalimportance (hectares)

Percentage ofhazardous waste sentfor recovery out oftotal specialhazardous wasteproduced

Fragmentation ofnatural andagricultural land as apercentage of totalland surface area

Spread of alienanimal and plantspecies (number ofalien speciesintroduced perdecade)

Figure forItaly(last year forwhich data isavailable)

3.7 (2017)

80,836(2018)

29.1%(2016)

38.3%(2017)

92 (2010-2017)

2020 Targets with a quantitative objectivedefined in the 2030 Agenda

Target 3.6 - By 2020, halve the number of globaldeaths and injuries from road traffic accidents

Based on the latest ISTAT Report on road trafficaccidents in 2017, accidents resulting in injuriesto people were slightly down compared with 2016,but the number of deaths has begun to grow again(up 2.9%). Between 2010 and 2017, the averageannual reduction in road traffic accident victimswas 3% in the EU28 and 2.8% in Italy. In both cases,the performance is not sufficient to meet the Eu-ropean objective of halving the number of deathsas a result of road traffic accidents by 2020.

In order to meet the Target set, the number of vic-tims in the EU and Italy would have to fall at anannual rate of around 20% between 2018 and2020.

Target 14.5 - By 2020, conserve at least 10 per centof coastal and marine areas, consistent with na-tional and international law and based on the bestavailable scientific information

Italy’s VI official Report on the Convention on Bi-ological Diversity (CBD)57 shows that the propor-tion of Italian marine areas and coastlines thatwere protected in Italy in 2013 was 19.1%. ourcountry is thus well ahead of the 10% required byTarget 14.5 and Aichi Target 11, on which the for-mer was based.

The overall figure includes marine protected areasand “Nature 2000” areas, but does not take intoaccount the quality of the level of protection. Tomake the figures more comparable, the CBD Re-port ought to take into account “efficiently pro-tected areas” where there is a ban on extractiveuses (so-called “no-take areas”).

Target 17.11 - Significantly increase the exportsof developing countries, in particular with a viewto doubling the least developed countries’ shareof global exports by 2020

The figure for Italy is broadly stable between2009 and 2017, indicating a lack of commitmentto making the necessary progress and meaningthat our country is not on track to meet the re-lated Target58.

2020 Targets with a quantitative objectivedefined with reference to other Europeancountries

Target 8.6 - By 2020, substantially reduce the pro-portion of youth not in employment, education ortraining

The related indicator concerns the number ofpeople aged between 15 and 29 not in employ-ment, education or training (NEETs). Despite theslight improvement in recent years, the situationin Italy remains extremely concerning and it isunrealistic to expect a significant reduction in

ASviS Report 2019

116

Target 14.5

2013

Marine protected areas

Target 2020

0

5

10

15

20

25

19%

10%

Target 17.11

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2018

Percentage of imports from developing countries(as a % of total imports)

2017 2019 Target2020

0

2

4

6

8

10

1210,2

Target 3.6

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2018

Deaths due to road traffic accidents (per 100,000 inhabitants)

2017 2019 Target2020

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

2,8

this figure. Between 2013 and 2018, the percent-age fell from 26% to 23.4%, but Italy remainedthe lowest ranked EU country, well behindGreece (19.5%), Bulgaria (18.1%) and Spain(15.3%). In absolute terms, there are 2.1 millionNEETs, with southern Italy accounting for a dis-proportionate share, at over half of this number.If we also consider young adults aged between30 and 34, this figure rises to approximately 3.1million.

Target 8.b - By 2020, develop and operationalizea global strategy for youth employment and im-plement the Global Jobs Pact of the InternationalLabour Organization

The indicator relating to this Target is the propor-tion of GDP spent on employment programmes.Italy has not yet reached the targets set for 2020,reporting a figure of 1.7% for 2015 (the latest yearfor which figures are available). This is half a per-centage point higher than the figure for 2004.Italy lags well behind France (3%) and the averagefor the four countries referred to above (2.2%).

Moreover, the country does not have a youth em-ployment strategy, as proposed in the ASviS Reportfor 2018.

Target 9.c - Significantly increase access to in-formation and communications technology andstrive to provide universal and affordable accessto the Internet in least developed countries by2020

The indicator for Target 9.c, provided by Euro-stat, is the proportion of households with accessto fixed or mobile broadband, a figure that hasrisen sharply from 49% in 2010 to 83% in 2018.Should the trend of the last five years continueover the next two, Italy would be capable ofreaching the 2020 Target, outperforming the fig-ure of 95% recorded by the UK in 2018 and theaverage figure of 91% for the four countries usedas a benchmark.

Target 13.a - Implement the commitment under-taken by developed-country parties to the UnitedNations Framework Convention on ClimateChange to a goal of mobilizing jointly $100 billionannually by 2020 from all sources to address theneeds of developing countries in the context ofmeaningful mitigation actions and transparencyon implementation and fully operationalize theGreen Climate Fund through its capitalization assoon as possible

To measure the progress made towards Target13.a, we have used the indicator, provided by Eu-rostat, based on the contribution (in US dollars)towards achieving the goal of $100 billion for theGreen Climate Fund59. Italy contributed $143 mil-lion in 2014, $327 million in 2015, $243 millionin 2016 and $633 million in 2017 (making a total


117

Target 9.c

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2018

Proportion of households with access to fixed and/or mobile broadband (%)

2017

Targ

et UK

Euro

pean

aver

age

0102030405060708090

100

2019

9591

Target 8.6

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2018

Percentage of people aged between 15 and 29 who neither study or work (%)

2017

Targ

etG

erm

any

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Euro

pean

ave

rage

7,9

12,1

Target 8.b

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2018

Percentage of GDP spent on employment programmes (%)

2017

Targ

etFr

ance

Euro

pean

aver

age

0

0,5

1

1,5

2

2,5

3

3,53

2,2

of $1.3 billion). Despite the increase seen overthese three years, Italy will fail to meet itscommitments under the United Nations Frame-work Convention on Climate Change. One onlyhas to consider that Germany contributed $6.7billion in 2017 alone and that the average forthe four countries in the benchmark was around$3 billion.

Target 14.4 - By 2020, effectively regulate har-vesting and end overfishing, illegal, unreportedand unregulated fishing and destructive fishingpractices and implement science-based manage-ment plans, in order to restore fish stocks in theshortest time feasible, at least to levels that canproduce maximum sustainable yield as deter-mined by their biological characteristics

According to the data presented in ISPRA’s year-book, published in March 2019, most of the fishstocks surveyed are not sustainable. Between2007 and 2013, the percentage of overfishedstocks rose from 77.8% to 95%, before falling backto 78% in 2015 and then rising again to 83% in201660.If the Italian figure is compared with the objec-tive based on the north-eastern Atlantic, equalto 43%, it is clear that Italy is lagging a long waybehind at 83%. Not only is the figure for last yeara source of concern, but also is the fact that thetrend is heading in the wrong direction: the fig-ure for the Atlantic fell from 76% in 2007 to 43%in 2016, declining by over 30 percentage pointsin 10 years, whilst the figure for Italy recorded asignificant increase, equal to five percentagepoints.

Target 15.1 - By 2020, ensure the conservation,restoration and sustainable use of terrestrial andinland freshwater ecosystems and their services,in particular forests, wetlands, mountains anddrylands, in line with obligations under interna-tional agreements

Italy is a long way from reaching this Target,which has a key role to play in achieving the ob-jectives of the Convention on Biological Diver-sity and the Aichi Target adopted no less thanfive years before the 2030 Agenda. Achievementof these targets was meant to be part of the ef-forts to make biodiversity a mainstream consid-eration in government policymaking and ineconomic policies in all sectors and at all lev-els, beyond the percentage of areas that areprotected.

Based on the indicator for these areas61, whichshould be evaluated along with the other avail-able indicators, such as those relating to landuse, urban sprawl and those that monitor theimplementation of the EU’s Habitat and Birds Di-rectives, in 2017 terrestrial protected areas

ASviS Report 2019

118

Target 14.4

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2018

Proportion of fish stocks being overfished (%)

2017 2019 Targetnorth-

eastern Atlantic

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

43

Target 15.1

2018

Terrestrial protected areas (Nature 2000)as a percentage of Italy’s total land area (%)

European average

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

TargetSpain

19%

27%

16%

Target 13.a

2014 2015 2016 2018

Millions of US dollars contributed towards achieving the goal of $100 billion for the Green Climate Fund

2017 2019 TargetGermany

0

1.000

2.000

3.000

4.000

5.000

6.000

7.000

8.000

Europeanaverage

6730

3163

made up 19% of Italy’s total land area, comparedwith 27% in Spain. It was, however, higher thanthe average of 16% for the four countries in thebenchmark.

Target 15.2 - By 2020, promote the implementa-tion of sustainable management of all types offorests, halt deforestation, restore degradedforests and substantially increase afforestationand reforestation globally

In the case of forests, the indicator calculated byFAO shows that the surface area of the countrycovered by forest rose from 33.6% in 2009 to 35.6%in 2015. This marks positive progress and is higherthan the average for the four European countriesin the benchmark. However, it is not sufficient toguarantee the ability to sustainably manageforested areas or adequate measures to preventforest fires. Moreover, Italy will struggle to meetthe 2020 Target, represented by the figure of39.2% for Spain.

In Italy, by 31 December 2017, 745,559 hectaresof land were certified under the Programme forthe Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC)and 63,601 hectares were certified by the ForestStewardship Council (FSC). A look at the historicaldata shows that there was a fairly constant in-crease in PEFC-certified forests until 2015, follow-ing by a downturn in 2016 and 2017. Forestscertified by the FSC have registered an uneventrend, reaching a peak of almost 64,000 hectaresin 201762.

Given that the Target regards all types of forests,the analysis ought to take a closer look at forestsin urban areas, which are important if we are notto lose biodiversity, maintain the water cycle, andmitigate and adapt to climate change.

Target 17.18 - By 2020, enhance capacity-buildingsupport to developing countries, including forleast developed countries and small island devel-oping States, to increase significantly the avail-ability of high-quality, timely and reliable datadisaggregated by income, gender, age, race, eth-nicity, migratory status, disability, geographic lo-cation and other characteristics relevant innational contexts

The data examined comes from the OECD-DACCreditor Reporting System in relation to howmuch of official development aid is spent on sta-tistical capacity building. In Italy’s case, the fig-ure was highly volatile between 2009 and 2017,while remaining at very low levels. In many in-stances, Italian funding for statistical capacitybuilding is channelled through international in-stitutions and programmes, rather than beingused for projects managed directly by the Italianauthorities. In absolute terms, Italy spent $0.3million in 2017 on statistical capacity building indeveloping countries, compared with the sum of$31.9 million spent by the UK in the last year forwhich figures are available, and an average of$10 million registered by the four countries inthe benchmark.


119

Target 17.18

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2018

Millions of US dollars in official development aid used for statistical capacity building

2017

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

2009 2010

Targ

et UK

Euro

pean

aver

age

31,8

8,4

Target 15.2

2009

Forested areas as a percentage of total land area (%)

Europeanaverage

05

1015202530354045

2012 2015 TargetSpain

33,6% 32,3%35% 35,6%

39,2%

2020 Targets without a quantitativeobjective, for which it was possible toidentify an indicator at national level

Target 4.b - By 2020, substantially expand glob-ally the number of scholarships available to de-veloping countries, in particular leastdeveloped countries, small island developingStates and African countries, for enrolment inhigher education, including vocational trainingand information and communications technol-ogy, technical, engineering and scientific pro-grammes, in developed countries and otherdeveloping countries

According to figures from ISTAT, ODA to fundscholarships for students from developing coun-tries amounted to €7.4 million in 2015, €5.8 mil-lion in 2016 and €3.7 million in 2017, marking a50% reduction in this form of aid in just threeyears.

Target 6.6 - By 2020, protect and restore water-re-lated ecosystems, including mountains, forests,wetlands, rivers, aquifers and lakes

This Target should have already been largelyachieved in 2015, in accordance with the obliga-tions imposed by the Water Framework Directiveof 2000, the aim of which was to achieve a goodqualitative and quantitative status of all waterbodies. Moreover, the Directive envisaged the po-tential to set more ambitious goals for ecologicalstatus as defined in Annex V and to make effortsto “restore” aquatic ecosystems more effective.

In its Communication of 26 February 201963, theEuropean Commission recommended that Italycommit to making “improvements to aspects re-lating to the measurement and standardisation ofthe related criteria, the planning of initiatives,

the definition of financial instruments, measuresto combat the illegal extraction of groundwater,the inadequacy of measures regarding the qualityof waste water and drought management”.

To monitor this Target, ISPRA computes an indica-tor that measures the size of wetlands of interna-tional importance, which has increased from77,000 hectares in 2013 to 81,000 in 2018.

Target 12.4 - By 2020, achieve the environmen-tally sound management of chemicals and allwastes throughout their life cycle, in accordancewith agreed international frameworks, and sig-nificantly reduce their release to air, water andsoil in order to minimize their adverse impacts onhuman health and the environment

To measure the progress made towards Target12.4, ISPRA uses an indicator showing the “Per-centage of hazardous waste sent for recovery outof total special hazardous waste produced”, whichincreased from 27.7% in 2014 to 29.1% in 2015. Itshould be stressed that this improvement wasachieved within the context of a 10% rise in thetotal production of special hazardous waste.

ASviS Report 2019

120

Target 6.6

2013

Wetlands of international importance (in hectares)

2018

75.000

76.000

77.000

78.000

79.000

80.000

81.000

82.000

77.210

80.836

Target 12.4

2015

Percentage of hazardous waste sent for recovery out of total special hazardous waste produced

20162014

27

27,5

28

28,5

29

29,5

28,7%

29,1%

27,7%

Target 4.b

2015

Millions of euros of official development aid to fund scholarships for students from developing countries

2017

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

2013 2014 2016

7,4

3,7

5

3,8

5,8

Target 15.5 - Take urgent and significant actionto reduce the degradation of natural habitats,halt the loss of biodiversity and, by 2020, pro-tect and prevent the extinction of threatenedspecies

Preventing the extinction of threatened species isachieved by halting the degradation of naturalhabitats. For this reason, ISPRA uses an indicatorshowing the “Fragmentation of natural and agri-cultural land as a percentage of total land surfacearea”, which measures the process of reducingthe continuity of ecosystems, habitats and land-scape units following phenomena such as urbanexpansion and the development of infrastructurenetworks.

The indicator shows that, overall, around 38% ofItalian territory is fragmented, of which 12% isvery highly fragmented and 26% is highly frag-mented. The very lowest levels of fragmentationare concentrated in the Alps, while more than halfof the Apennine areas show average or high levelsof fragmentation. There are no areas where frag-mentation is very low in central Italy and a largepart of the country’s south. The regions with thehighest levels of fragmentation are Veneto,Emilia-Romagna and Lombardy64.

Target 15.8 - By 2020, introduce measures to pre-vent the introduction and significantly reduce theimpact of invasive alien species on land and waterecosystems and control or eradicate the priorityspecies

There is no available information to monitor or di-rectly assess the preventive measures adopted,the need for which has been made even more ur-gent by climate change. In terms of alien species,on the other hand, the indicator shows that the

number of such species in Italy is progressivelyand constantly on the rise. More than 3,300 exoticspecies have been introduced into our countrysince 1900, with 3,182 currently present. Ofthese, 1,600 are animal species and around 1,500are plant species (a quarter not present on a per-manent basis), in addition to fungi, bacteria andchromista. The average number of species intro-duced per year has risen exponentially over time,arriving at 13 species per year in the period from2010 to 201765, even if it is likely that the actualfigure is higher.

Targets for which it was not possible toidentify any indicator

Target 2.5 - By 2020, maintain the genetic diver-sity of seeds, cultivated plants and farmed anddomesticated animals and their related wildspecies, including through soundly managed anddiversified seed and plant banks at the national,regional and international levels, and promoteaccess to and fair and equitable sharing of bene-fits arising from the utilization of genetic re-sources and associated traditional knowledge, asinternationally agreed

The Target relates to the Nagoya Protocol on theAccess to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Eq-uitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Util-isation, signed by Italy in 2011 within the contextof the Convention on Biological Diversity. The pro-tocol came into effect in 2014, but Italy has stillnot ratified it or adopted the measures introducedat the EU level in Regulation 511/201466. As a re-


121

Target 15.8Number of alien animal and plant species introduced every

10 years

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

1900-1909

1910-1919

1920-1929

1930-1939

1940-1949

1950-1959

1960-1969

1970-1979

1980-1989

1990-1999

2000-2009

2010-2017

27

14 16

36

71

90 92

111

92

1120

38

Target 15.5

2015

Fragmentation of natural and agricultural land as a percentage of total land surface area

20172010

34,5

35

35,5

36

36,5

37

37,5

38

38,5

39

2011 2012 2013 2014 2016

37,6

38,3%

35,9%36,2%

36,6%36,9%

37,3%

38%

sult, the package of infractions published by theEuropean Commission on 24 January 201967 in-cludes a request for Italy to enact legislation des-ignating the authority responsible for implementingthe Regulation.

Target 11.b - By 2020, substantially increase thenumber of cities and human settlements adoptingand implementing integrated policies and planstowards inclusion, resource efficiency, mitigationand adaptation to climate change, resilience todisasters, and develop and implement, in linewith the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Re-duction 2015-2030, holistic disaster risk manage-ment at all levels

ASviS-Urban@it’s Urban Agenda for Sustainable De-velopment Report no. 1/2019, published on 22 July2019, reports on Target 11.b, examined in close re-lation to Goal 13, and it indicates that68 “Currently,4,204 municipal authorities have signed up to theCovenant of Mayors, a very high number, of which,766, have committed to presenting a Mayors Adaptplan. Of the 3,296 action plans presented, 440 arefrom municipal authorities also committed to adap-tation, though the nature of these plans has notbeen made clear”69.

The Italian situation is marked by a highly frag-mented policy approach to reducing exposure tothe risks associated with climate change and natu-ral disasters. To overcome this, it is necessary toensure “coordination between the various bodiesresponsible for preventing and mitigating the risksassociated with natural disasters: the cabinet Of-fice’s Casa Italia Department, responsible for pre-venting earthquake risk; the Department of CivilProtection, which is responsible for implementingthe Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction2015-2030; the Ministry for the Environment, whichis tasked with the prevention of hydrogeologicalrisk and approval of Italy’s National Climate ChangeAdaptation Plan; and the Ministry for Economic De-velopment, which is responsible for approval of thecountry’s National Integrated Energy and ClimatePlan70.

Target 14.2 - By 2020, sustainably manage andprotect marine and coastal ecosystems to avoidsignificant adverse impacts, including bystrengthening their resilience, and take action fortheir restoration in order to achieve healthy andproductive oceans

Existing legislation (see Framework Directive2008/56/EC regarding a strategy for the marineenvironment, as implemented by Legislative De-cree 190/2010), which requires the achieve-ment of Good Environmental Status (GES) for allmarine waters by 2020, is aligned with both thecontent of and the deadline for Target 14.2.Italy has, however, fallen behind with respectto the practical application, leading the Euro-pean Commission, following its latest assess-ment of progress in implementing the MarineStrategy71 (July 2018), to request Italy to “ad-dress the lack of data about the status of its ma-rine environments and better define the relatedmethods”72.

Target 14.6 - By 2020, prohibit certain forms offisheries subsidies which contribute to overcapac-ity and overfishing, eliminate subsidies that con-tribute to illegal, unreported and unregulatedfishing and refrain from introducing new suchsubsidies, recognizing that appropriate and effec-tive special and differential treatment for devel-oping and least developed countries should be anintegral part of the World Trade Organizationfisheries subsidies negotiation

The latest edition of the “Catalogue of environ-mental subsidies” (edition II relating to 2017,published in July 201873) classifies the followingas environmental subsidies that are harmful forfisheries:

• in terms of indirect subsidies, the reduction ofthe IRPEF and IRES income tax base for fishingcompanies, amounting to €7.5 million in 2017and estimated at €6.1 million in 2018;

• in terms of direct subsidies, the recent introduc-tion (not yet quantified in financial terms) ofdaily compensations payable to workers em-ployed by sea fishing businesses during periodswhen they are banned from fishing and the ex-tension of the guarantees for loans to fishing andfish farm businesses.

Target 15.9 - By 2020, integrate ecosystem andbiodiversity values into national and local plan-ning, development processes, poverty reductionstrategies and accounts

The Target requires the production of ex-ante andex-post assessments of territorial planning initia-tives and development strategies, which are to in-clude aspects of non-financial nature. The

ASviS Report 2019

122

measure applies at the national level and to re-gions, metropolitan cities, provinces and cities.

To achieve Target 15.9, it is necessary to adopt anew legislative instrument combining financialand territorial planning tools, strengthening thecontent of the Environmental Impact Assessmentsand Strategic Environmental Assessments requiredby Legislative Decree 152/2006. The legislative in-strument should then include guidelines relatingto the relevant methods, indicators, databasesand measurement and monitoring processes,thereby providing the various authorities withstandardised criteria and ensuring that data canbe shared and exchanged and that there is verti-cal and horizontal cooperation between the dif-ferent levels of government.


123

ASviS Report 2019

124

NOTES

1 Cabinet Office Decree of 16 March 2018, “Guidance on implementation of the United Nations 2030 Agenda and the NationalSustainable Development Strategy” (18A04116) (Official Gazette, General Series no.137 dated 15 June 2018), art. 4.

2 Committee members include experts in this area and the presidents of Istat, INPS and ISPRA.3 Implementation of the Strategy is the responsibility of the Cabinet Office, working in collaboration with the Ministry for

the Environment, with regard to internal matters, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with regard to external matters, and theMinistry of the Economy and Finance in order to coordinate implementation of the Strategy with official economic planningdocuments, above all the Documento di Economia e Finanza (Economic and Financial Document or DEF), and coordinatethe forms needed in order to define the related objectives.

4 The indicators regard economic wellbeing (measured on the basis of adjusted average per capita income, the related incomeinequality and the absolute poverty index); health (measured on the basis of healthy life expectancy at birth and over-weight); employment and the work-life balance (the rate of non-participation in the labour market, broken down by gender;the ratio between the employment rates for women (aged between 25 and 49) with children of pre-school age and for thosewithout children); education and training (early leavers from education and training); security (predatory crime and civiljustice efficiency); the environment (CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions and illegal building).

5 COP 26 will be held in the UK, while Italy will host the preparatory events, including a “Youth Event”.6 See: https://asvis.it/la-legge-di-bilancio-2019-e-lo-sviluppo-sostenibile/7 See: https://asvis.it/corso-e-learning-l-agenda-2030-e-gli-obiettivi-di-sviluppo-sostenibile/8 See: https://asvis.it/pubblicazioni/823-4409/acceleriamo-la-transizione-verso-la-sostenibilita-le-imprese-per-lagenda- 20309 The “Milan Pact” (A commitment to foster, in line with the 2030 Agenda, the development of innovative business mod-

els, partnerships with all stakeholders and the use of ethical and responsible finance in order to help to achieve thesustainable development goals) was signed by a series of organisations during the Festival of 2017, as follows: the Al-leanza delle Cooperative Italiane, Confagricoltura, Confartigianato Imprese, CIA-Agricoltori Italiani, ConfederazioneNazionale dell’Artigianato e della Piccola e Media Impresa (CNA), Confcommercio, Confindustria, Federazione BancheAssicurazioni e Finanza (FEBAF), Unioncamere and Utilitalia. Since 2017, the signatories have carried out various ac-tivities, initiatives and projects designed to help the individual organisations and their members make the most of theSDGs.

10 Businesses that do not adopt specific policies in one or more of the areas referred to in the Directive must explain the rea-sons for this decision, in accordance with the comply or explain principle.

11 https://festivalsvilupposostenibile.it/2019/home/310-2366/ecco-il-programma-della-terza-edizione-del-festival-dello-svi-luppo-sostenibile

12 https://festivalsvilupposostenibile.it/2019/evento-21-maggio/13 https://festivalsvilupposostenibile.it/2019/archivio-news/507-2499/concerto-per-uneuropa-sostenibile-allapertura-del-fe-

stival-con-il-complesso-darchi-della-european-union-youth-orchestra14 https://festivalsvilupposostenibile.it/2019/evento-28-maggio/15 https://festivalsvilupposostenibile.it/2019/evento-6-giugno/16 https://festivalsvilupposostenibile.it/2019/gli-eventi-nazionali/.17 https://festivalsvilupposostenibile.it/2019/citta-e-asvis-per-l-agenda-2030/18 https://festivalsvilupposostenibile.it/2019.19 Festival Nazionale dell’economia Civile, Festival della Generatività, Festival della Partecipazione, Adapt International Con-

ference, Festival della Soft Economy, Mappa celeste - Forum per il Futuro del Paese and Le giornate di Bertinoro per l’e-conomia civile.

20 See: https://asvis.it/home/46-4023/lasvis-tra-i-finalisti-dellsdg-action-awards-il-premio-assegnato-dallonu21 Further details of the methodological aspects and on the selection of the elementary indicators used is provided at

https://asvis.it/dati/.22 https://www.urbanit.it/asvis-e-urbanit-presentano-il-primo-report-di-aggiornamento-dellagenda-urbana-per-lo-sviluppo-

sostenibile/.23 ASviS Report for 2018, pages 110-113, https://asvis.it/public/asvis/files/ASviS_REPORT_2018_Ristampa.pdf.24 For a closer look at the Food Sustainability Index: http://foodsustainability.eiu.com25 The expression “Italian sounding” refers to imitations of a product /origin/brand by referencing the presumptive Italian

origin of products that are not in reality what they pretend to be (http://www.federalimentare.it/ new2016/AreeOpera-tive/Promozione_Internazionalizzazione/ItalianSounding.pdf).

26 This situation of deep divides between regions is the background to the debate over greater regional independence, whichin the case of education should, in the light of the new art. 116 of the Constitution, result in an asymmetrical federalsystem. There is no certainty that greater independence would reduce the gaps: it is in fact the regions that achieve thebest results under a centralised regime (Lombardy, Veneto and Emilia-Romagna) that are shouting the loudest about wantingmore control.


125

27 The baby-sitting and nursery vouchers were not continued in 2019. Introduced on a trial basis in the three-year period 2013-2015, and then extended, they allowed working mothers to “at the end of their maternity leave and within the next 11months, as an alternative to parental leave, apply for vouchers to help pay for baby-sitting services or the fees charged bystate nursery providers or by approved private providers, for up to maximum of six months”. See:https://www.inps.it/nuovoportaleinps/default.aspx?itemdir=50575.

28 http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-19-1475_it.htm29 See Chamber of Deputies’ evaluation form 54 of 24 October 2018: https://documenti.camera.it/Leg18/Dossier/

Pdf/AM0032.Pdf30 With regard to tariffs and guarantees of the minimum amount to meet essential needs of 50 litres per person per day, mea-

sures have already been taken in the Cabinet Office Decree of 13 October 2016 regarding “Social tariffs for the integratedwater service” and the Cabinet Office Decree of 29 August 2016 regarding “Measures on reducing bad payers among inte-grated water service customers.”

31 https://www4.istat.it/it/archivio/21038432 https://www.statista.com/statistics/455422/bottled-water-consumption-in-europe-per-capita/33 The technical regulations for this Goal have also defined different standards, at both European and international level,

that cover matters ranging from waste water and sewerage networks (UNI EN 12255-1), to the use of rainwater (UNI EN16941-1), effective irrigation, measurement of the water footprint and the services involved in the distribution of drinkingwater (UNI 9182).

34 SR15 states that “Climate-related risks to health, livelihoods, food and water supply, human security and economic growthare projected to increase with global warming of 1.5°C and increase further with 2°C. Limiting the risks from global warmingof 1.5°C in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication implies system transitions that can be enabledby an increase of adaptation and mitigation investments, policy instruments, the acceleration of technological innovationand behaviour changes. Sustainable development supports, and often enables, the fundamental societal and systems tran-sitions and transformations that help limit global warming to 1.5°C.”.

35 http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+TA+P8-TA-2018-0430+0+DOC+XML+V0//IT36 http://ec.europa.eu/transparency/regdoc/rep/1/2018/IT/COM-2018-773-F1-IT-MAIN-PART-1.PDF37 http://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-6153-2019-INIT/it/pdf38 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/IT/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32018L0844&from=en39 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32018L2001&from=EN40 Corriere della Sera of 8 July 2019, interview with Stefano Agnoli at pages 8 and 9.41 www.minambiente.it/notizie/piano-nazionale-di-adattamento-ai-cambiamenti-climatici-prolungato-fino-al-31-ottobre-il42 http://www.senato.it/japp/bgt/showdoc/frame.jsp?tipodoc=Sindisp&leg=18&id=111272743 The so-called “nursery school voucher”, a scheme introduced in 2016 and later expanded on in the 2019 Budget Law for

the three-year period 2019-2021, provides for an increase in the grant to help pay fees for attendance at state and privatenursery schools or for home care (in cases of serious medical conditions) for children under the age of three from €1,000to €1,500.

44 Use is made of the sub-goals for Goal 11 contained in ASviS-Urban@it’s Urban Agenda for Sustainable Development Reportdated 14 march 2018 and Report no. 1/2019 of 22 July 2019. Sub-target 11.5 relating to the victims of natural disasters isconsidered in relation to Goal 13 Climate action, whilst the part of sub-goal 11.6 relating to waste is covered in Goal 12Responsible consumption and production.

45 The technical documents include the “Guidelines on the management and development of responsible innovation processes”,UNI/PdR 27:2017; “Social responsibility in the construction sector – Guidelines for application of the UNI ISO 26000 socialresponsibility model”, UNI/PdR 49:2018; “Social responsibility in micro and small enterprises (MSEs) and craft enterprises- Guidelines for application of the UNI ISO 26000 social responsibility model”, UNI/PdR 51:2018.; UNI ISO 20121 “Sustainableevent management systems” and la UNI ISO 20400 “Sustainable procurement”.

46 https://ec.europa.eu/transparency/regdoc/rep/1/2018/IT/COM-2018-340-F1-IT-MAIN-PART-1.PDF47 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/IT/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52018DC0028&from=IT48 The text invites Member States and local and regional authorities to support innovative technological and financial initiatives

to respond to pollution of the oceans and seas, in order to promote effective recovery systems for waste caused by marinetransport, above all plastic litter, in port cities and in ports, so as to raise awareness in the marine transport sector of theconsequences of disposing of plastic litter at sea.

49 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/IT/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32019L0904&from=EN50 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/IT/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32019L0883&from=IT51 The GES is defined by 11 descriptors, including 10 that specifically refer to marine litter.52 http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-19-462_it.htm53 http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-19-462_it.htm54 “Italian Development Cooperation: a missed opportunity”, OpenPolis and Oxfam Italia, 2019.

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55 “Though the result achieved in 2017 should be considered positive, it remains a long way short of the target of 0.7% of GNIset in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to making progresstowards this objective by allocating funding for the three-year period 2019-2021 based on the following intermediate spend-ing targets: 0.33% of GNI in 2019, 0.36% in 2020 and 0.40% in 2021”.

56 The countries most similar to Italy were identified as follows: (1) the choice of a set of available variables at Europeanlevel – Population density, Population, Income distribution, GDP per capita, Artificial land cover, Tertiary educational at-tainment) and the creation of a dataset with all European countries; (2) implementation of an algorithm for k-means clus-tering in the matrix (3) the identification of the groups and countries included in the group to which Italy belongs. Giventhat the disaggregated figure for Target 14.4 for each nation is not available at European level, the objective chosen wasbased on the north-eastern Atlantic.

57 https://chm.cbd.int/pdf/documents/nationalReport6/245699/1.58 The figure examined is based on the current price of imports. Eurostat’s choice of this indicator reflects the need to analyse

the trend in EU countries towards achievement of the Target, which however does not fully match the definition used inthe 2030 Agenda. For example, Eurostat’s indicator does not take into account the trend in south-north trade, which couldbe a good driver of sustainable development in developing countries.

59 See https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sdg_13_50/default/table?lang=en.60 Istat https://www.istat.it/it/archivio/229565, see page 234. The indicator computed by ISPRA shows progressive growth,

between 2007 and 2011, in the number of stocks assessed (up from 9 to 34), though the number has fallen back in recentyears to approximately 30.

61 To date, Italy is behind schedule, also in terms of measures for the protected areas themselves. On 24 January 2019, theEuropean Commission sent Italy a letter of formal notice because “463 Sites of Community importance for which the deadlinehas expired have not been designated as Special Areas of Conservation yet. Furthermore, Italy has generally and persistentlyfailed to set site-specific detailed conservation objectives and to establish the necessary conservation measures which cor-respond to the ecological requirements of the natural habitat types, in all the 19 regions and 2 autonomous provinces”.http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-19-462_it.htm.

62 Yearbook of environmental data for 2018, ISPRA: https://annuario.isprambiente.it/.63 Com (2019) 95 final https://ec.europa.eu/transparency/regdoc/rep/1/2019/IT/COM-2019-95-F1-IT-MAIN-PART-1.PDF64 Yearbook of environmental data for 2018, ISPRA: https://annuario.isprambiente.it/.65 Yearbook of environmental data for 2018, ISPRA: https://annuario.isprambiente.it/.66 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/IT/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32014R0511&from=EN67 http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-19-462_it.htm68 Source: Urban Agenda for Sustainable Development Report no. 1/2019.69 https://www.urbanit.it/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Agenda_Urbana_2019.pdf, p. 48.70 Urban Agenda for Sustainable Development Report no. 1/2019, page 48.71 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/IT/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52018DC0562&from=EN72 On 24 January 2019, the European Commission urged Italy to meet its obligation to report on the ecological status of marine

water, the deadline for which was 15 October 2018. http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-19-462_it.htm.73 https://www.minambiente.it/sites/default/files/archivio/allegati/sviluppo_sostenibile/csa_ii_edizione_2017_luglio_2018.pdf.

ASviS’s recommendations4.

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4.1 Recent policy innovations atthe European and Italian levelsThe European and Italian policy frameworks haveseen very significant changes in recent months.As mentioned in Chapter 2, since her keynote ad-dress to the European Parliament, President-elect of the European Commission Ursula von derLeyen, has placed sustainable development atthe heart of her agenda for the next five years.In recent weeks, those announcements havebeen followed by the definition of the structureof the new Commission, the identification of thecandidates for the roles of Vice-President andCommissioner, and the specification of the man-date entrusted to the Commissioners. In all thesesteps, the 2030 Agenda has played a key role,marking a sharp contrast with the previous Com-mission. In particular:

• the mandates given to the two ExecutiveVice-Presidents, Frans Timmermans and Mar-grethe Vestager, to create, respectively, aEuropean Green Deal and a technologicalleap towards a digital Europe, as well as thedefinition of new portfolios that are muchcloser to the spirit and the letter of the 2030Agenda (for example, the Commissioner forEquality), are very positive and significantsigns. In addition, the drafting of the Euro-pean Green Deal and the new draft law tomake the European Union carbon-neutral by2050 must be prepared within 100 days ofthe inauguration, set to take place on 1November 2019;

• the letters of appointment of the various mem-bers of the Commission state that each one,within the scope of his or her powers, has thetask of achieving the Sustainable DevelopmentGoals of the 2030 Agenda, while the Commis-sion as a whole will ensure that all the Goalsare attained;

• in the letter of appointment of Paolo Gen-tiloni, the former Prime Minister of Italy, whois responsible for economic affairs, he was ex-plicitly asked to review the functioning of theEuropean Semester, and to make the 2030

Agenda the centrepiece of the process of co-ordinating national and European economic,social and environmental policies.

All of these actions are in line with the recom-mendations that ASviS has publicly made over theyears, in particular at the opening event of the2019 edition of the Sustainable Development Fes-tival, dedicated to European issues. In practice,the new Commission has adopted the first of thethree scenarios proposed in the Reflection Paperpublished in January 2019, partly in response tothe requests received over the previous yearfrom the European Council, the European Parlia-ment and civil society, which were described inChapter 2.

Obviously, beyond our satisfaction with this ar-rangement (as was officially expressed by ASviS),the possibility of the European Union making areal leap forward towards sustainable develop-ment will depend on the concrete actions takenin the near future (in some cases, the proposalsmust be made by the end of this year), and on theresponse that the governments of Member Statesand the European Parliament will make to theCommission’s proposals. It should be pointed outthat, in an international context in which somelarge countries are backtracking on the commit-ments given in 2015, including those aimed attackling the climate crisis, the European Unionseems willing to play a leading role in the imple-mentation of the 2030 Agenda.

A similar change, for the time being in terms ofannouncements, has taken place in Italy with thelaunch of the new government. In the policiespresented to Parliament by Prime MinisterGiuseppe Conte, as well as in the agenda agreedby the political parties supporting him, the gov-ernment undertakes an explicit commitment toput Italy on a path towards sustainable develop-ment, precisely referring to the 2030 Agenda.Moreover, some of the agenda points include spe-cific proposals ASviS has been making since its in-ception. For example:

• the inclusion of the principle of sustainable de-velopment in the Constitution;

4. ASviS’s recommendations

• a commitment to meet the challenge of a newperiod of development that will have the 2030Agenda for Sustainable Development as itsstrong point;

• the creation of a Green New Deal, entailing aradical cultural shift, that will direct the entireproduction system towards a circular economy;

• the introduction of an Urban Agenda for thesustainable development of cities.

While the text box on page 130 provides anoverview of the state of implementation of the in-stitutional recommendations put forward by ASviSahead of the 2018 parliamentary elections, thedetailed analysis of the links between policy com-mitments and the individual SDGs (published on-line on the ASviS website) shows that they aresubstantially aligned. Obviously, as in the case ofEurope, the concrete actions undertaken will de-termine whether, in practice, Italy has finallytaken a firm position. As the three political partiesthat support the government have signed up tothe “guidelines” proposed by the Alliance, it willbe possible to step up the pressure on the currentgovernment to respect the commitments made (inthe first Conte government, the League did notsign up to ASviS’s recommendations)1.

As in previous editions, this Report sets out rec-ommendations for actions to be taken in the nearfuture, divided into two areas:

• cross-cutting and systemic actions;

• specific actions to move forward on the imple-mentation of the 2030 Agenda.

This year, the Report has analysed in greater de-tail the 21 Targets the Italy is set to reach by 2020,which is next year. In Chapter 3 it was emphasisedthat the Targets for 2020 have been specified tovarying degrees and, given the absence of a gov-ernment document setting out the various quan-titative objectives, it has only been possible toreadily quantify them in a few cases.

Italy appears able to reach the broadband Target,has already reached the targets for terrestrialprotected areas and forested areas, and has ex-ceeded the Target relating to the extent of marineprotected areas, although comprehensive infor-mation is lacking on the qualitative status of allthe protected areas. On the contrary, given thecurrent trends, Italy will not achieve the Targetsrelating to:

• the rate of reduction in the number of deathsfrom road traffic accidents (a 50% cut between

2010 and 2017), which has even started risingagain in recent years;

• the share of imports from developing countries(10%, compared to the current figure of 5%);

• a “substantial” reduction in the number ofyoung people not in education, employment ortraining (NEETs) (currently 23%), which hasfallen by less than one percentage point peryear over the last five years, and the lack of ayouth employment strategy;

• the financial commitment, which is currentlyvery limited, to the International ClimateChange Fund and scholarship programmes forstudents from developing countries (halved inthree years);

• a reduction in the proportion of fish stocksthat are overfished (83% in 2016) and the elim-ination of fishing subsidies that generate thisphenomenon;

• improvement of the management of water-re-lated ecosystems;

• the recovery of special waste, the share ofwhich is rising too slowly (38% in 2017);

• combating degradation of terrestrial ecosys-tems due to land consumption, and high andgrowing land fragmentation, especially innorthern Italy;

• the containment of alien species within ecosys-tems, whose number has increased consider-ably in recent years;

• the effective integration of assessment of theimpact of economic and social measures onnatural capital.

In section 4.3, dedicated to the specific policiesfor each Goal, recommendations (highlighted inred and bold type) are made regarding variousTargets “soon to expire”, but it would be advis-able for the government to urgently considerwhat needs to be done to reach the Targetsthat, if action is not taken, Italy will fail tomeet.

Finally, it should be noted that there is no ade-quate and reliable information regarding:

• the genetic diversity of seeds, cultivatedplants, etc. covered by the Nagoya Protocol,signed in 2011, but not ratified by Italy;

• the number of municipal authorities thathave plans for climate change mitigation andadaptation, disaster resilience and disastermanagement;


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RECOMMENDATIONS MADE BY ASviS TO POLITICAL PARTIES DURING THE2018 GENERAL ELECTIONS

1. Include the principle of sustainable developmentin the Constitution

2. Draft an effective national sustainabledevelopment strategy, to be implemented withclose coordination by the Cabinet Office

3. Promote the establishment of a cross-party groupfor sustainable development within the futureParliament

4. Respect the Paris Accords for combating climatechange, and ratify the international conventionsand protocols already signed by Italy on otherissues regarding sustainable development as soonas possible

5. Convert the Interministerial Committee forEconomic Planning into an InterministerialCommittee for Sustainable Development, inorder to direct public investment for this purpose

6. Draft a national strategy to implement an UrbanAgenda for sustainable development, andrelaunch the Interministerial Committee forUrban Policies

7. Establish a permanent body within the CabinetOffice to consult with civil society on genderequality policies

8. Involve the central and local government in thecoordination of sustainable development actionswithin the sphere of responsibility of the state,the regions and cities

9. Boost official development assistance (ODA) toachieve the goal of 0.7% of Gross NationalIncome by 2025, in line with Italy’s commitmentsto the United Nations

10. Ensure that the European Union puts itscommitment to implementing the 2030 Agenda atthe heart of its new medium-term strategy

• Commitment given by the second Contegovernment

• The “Wellness Italy” steering committee set upby the first Conte government

• Established in the Chamber of Deputies, but notin the Senate

• National Integrated Energy and Climate Planprepared, to be finalised by December 2019

• During discussion of the 2018 and 2019 BudgetLaws, Parliament rejected the tabledamendments

• Committment given by the second Contegovernment

• Not established, but the second Contegovernment has a minister responsible for equalopportunities

• Calls for tender issued by the Ministry for theEnvironment, Land and Sea Protection toencourage regions, autonomous provinces andmetropolitan cities to prepare their ownsustainable development strategies

• No commitments up to 2025, and reduction inODA in 2018

• European institutions have put the 2030 Agendaat the heart of their strategies for the comingyears

Recommendations Current state

• the management of marine and coastalecosystems.

Also, regarding these aspects, the governmentcould launch important initiatives, perhaps by

asking the National Office of Statistics and thebodies in charge to bridge the informationgaps.

4.2 Cross-cutting and systemicactionsThe European “shift” towards the 2030 Agenda re-quires Italy to radically rethink the way in whichsectoral policies are coordinated. On paper, the“Wellness Italy” steering committee set up withinthe Cabinet Office may be a good starting point,but it must be strengthened and enabled to inter-vene where political decisions are made, with theright timing. In order to ensure that national poli-cies are geared towards sustainable development,we recommend that the Prime Minister send in-dividual ministers a policy document that ex-plicitly mentions their responsibilities inachieving the SDGs and the related Targets, withspecial attention paid to those with a 2020 dead-line. The 2020 Budget Law should contain specificactions regarding these Targets, especially thosethat current trends indicate will be very difficultto achieve. Moreover, in terms of the aspects re-lating to policy coherence, we recommend:

• To promptly clarify the steering committee’stasks and operating procedures, given the el-ement of contradiction between the 2018 Di-rective and the Decree that established it;

• To define Italy’s position, and therefore theorganisational structure, with respect to theorientation of the European Semester to-wards the 2030 Agenda. So far, the Ministryof the Economy and Finance has played a co-ordinating role, together with the Cabinet Of-fice, in the preparation of the Economic andFinancial Planning Document and in the dia-logue with the Commission’s departments, inline with the strong role played by the Eco-nomic and Financial Affairs Council in manag-ing the Semester. In this perspective, theNational Reform Plan (NRP) should explicitlyprovide linkage between the actions containedin it and the Goals and Targets in the 2030Agenda, which is already the case for the ac-tions taken by regional authorities, regardingthe part for which they are responsible;

• To ensure that individual ministries’ work onEuropean dossiers takes account of the 2030Agenda, which will now also be the case forthe Commission. This requires urgent provisionof information and training regarding the con-tents of the 2030 Agenda to all persons repre-senting Italy at European institutions;

• To proceed, with the next Budget Law, with

the conversion of the Interministerial Com-mittee for Economic Planning into an Inter-ministerial Committee for SustainableDevelopment, so as to direct public invest-ment decisions towards the pursuit of theGoals of the 2030 Agenda;

• To initiate dialogue with regional authorities,autonomous provinces and municipal author-ities within the consultation framework forcentral and local government authorities, inorder to coordinate the actions that the vari-ous institutions are responsible for in imple-menting the 2030 Agenda, partly in view of thepreparation of regional and urban sustainabledevelopment strategies;

• To include in the explanatory report of allthe draft laws initiated by the governmentan ex-ante (and qualitative) assessment ofthe expected impact on the 17 SDGs and theindividual Targets, starting from the upcoming2020 Budget Law. The steering committeecould be responsible for this assessment, partlyto ensure application of a standardised assess-ment method.

In order to strengthen dialogue with civil societyon policies for sustainable development, we hopethat the Prime Minister will open a roundtablewith business associations, as requested at the2019 Sustainable Development Festival, and thatthe Ministry for the Environment, Land and SeaProtection will rapidly proceed with the officialestablishment of the Forum provided for in theNational Sustainable Development Strategy.Moreover, the Strategy presented in 2017 was in-complete, as it lacked quantitative targets, andthe 2018 Directive provided for its biennial re-view. Consequently, the government shouldcommit to reviewing and detailing the previousStrategy with quantified targets by December2019, partly in light of the new policy guidelinesadopted.

This update would justify the request to the UNto submit an updated version of the VoluntaryNational Review to the 2020 HLPF, as has al-ready been done by other countries. Moreover, inline with the provisions of the 2018 Directive, inFebruary 2020 the government should submit a re-port on the state of implementation of the Na-tional Strategy, partly in view of the preparationof the next Economic and Financial Planning Doc-ument. At the same time, in the report providedfor by the regulations (also to be prepared by


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OPERATING MECHANISMS IN A FULLY INTEGRATED SYSTEMFigure 6 is a flowchart, derived from international studies on sustainable development, in which themain links between the functioning of the economy, society, the environment and institutions are shown.This framework starts by considering the four forms of capital (natural, economic, social and human),the use of which gives rise to all the activities aimed at enhancing the well-being of society, regardingtangible components (i.e. the goods and services produced and subsequently consumed or invested),and also intangible components.

The flowchart shows how the production processes that use the various forms of capital determineGross Domestic Product (GDP), a part of which, based on political decisions and those made by economicoperators, is consumed, thereby generating wellbeing, while another part is reinvested in order to re-plenish the capital used in the production process. Indeed, even the way in which production processesare organised has a direct effect on wellbeing (for example, the organisational models adopted by com-panies, the distribution of time between work and other activities, etc.).

On the other hand, depending on the model of production and consumption adopted, different amountsof “waste” are generated, both physical (litter, pollutants, etc.) and human (the unemployed, the poor,etc.), to use the language of Pope Francis’s encyclical Laudato si’. Obviously, waste generation has anegative effect on the level of wellbeing of individuals and society as a whole. Finally, production, con-sumption and wealth distribution models, together with the amount of physical and human waste gen-erated, have an impact on the so-called “ecosystem services”, namely those that generate benefitsnecessary for life, and on “social system services”, namely those that generate benefits necessary foreconomic and social life, such as trust among people, economic operators and institutions. Both ecosys-tem services and social system services, in turn, have an important effect on people’s wellbeing, whichinfluences human and social capital, in line with what occurs through investment in physical and naturalcapital.

By including the Sustainable Development Goals in this flowchart, it is possible to appreciate the rolethey play in improving the functioning of the system, and in increasing or decreasing the wellbeing ofsociety in the short and long term.

Figure 6 - Flowchart of an integrated economic, social and environmental system, and the role ofthe SDGs

February of each year), the executive should ex-tend coverage of the Fair and Sustainable Wellbe-ing indicators used to assess the 2020 Budget Lawand specify the expected effects of the policiesset out in April’s Economic and Financial PlanningDocument.

The announcement of the intention to develop aNational Urban Agenda for sustainable develop-ment, an urban version of the National Strategy,must be followed by concrete actions, first andforemost the drawing up of a Cabinet Office De-cree re-establishing the Interministerial Com-mittee for Urban Policies (CIPU), provided forsince 2012, thereby making it an effective deci-sion-making forum, following the example of theInterministerial Committee for European Affairs(CIAE).

In particular, this body should contribute to thecoordination of urban strategies that metropolitancities will prepare in response to the recent publicnotice issued by the Ministry for the Environment,Land and Sea Protection, which notifies nationaland regional governments of priorities and con-crete actions aimed at accelerating the transfor-mation of local socio-economic systems to putthem on the path towards sustainable develop-ment.

In line with these policy commitments, we call onthe government and political parties to initiatediscussions as soon as possible on the inclusionof the principle of sustainable development inthe Constitution, starting from the text alreadysubmitted to Parliament. Given the announce-ment of a measure regarding other aspects of theConstitution, this recommendation could berapidly processed, partly because most of the po-litical parties have in any case signed up to thecommitment to move in that direction.

Also, with a view to accelerating progress alongthe path towards the Goals and Targets, especiallythose with 2020 deadlines, we invite the govern-ment to consider the possibility of preparing anannual law on sustainable development, similarto the process that already takes place with re-gard to European and competition issues. Thiswould be a vehicle designed to introduce purelyregulatory changes (that is, without financial con-sequences), but with a systemic perspective thatgoes beyond the practice of using “interim laws”in order to include measures relating to differentissues. Such a law, to be approved by June eachyear, could apply measures aimed at implement-

ing the policies set out in April’s Economic and Fi-nancial Planning Document, perhaps in responseto comments made during the previous cycle ofthe European Semester.

In order to encourage public authorities and theprivate sector to draw up strategies and actionsin line with the 2030 Agenda, we recommend that:

• ministries should be mobilised to orient mea-sures towards the implementation of the Na-tional Strategy and the achievement of theSDGs. In particular, as required by the 2018 Di-rective, by September of each year ministriesshould carry out an analysis to determine theconsistency of the actions planned for the nextthree years with the content of the NationalStrategy and the outcomes of the annual mon-itoring of its implementation, and orient theplanned measures to the achievement of theSDGs as much as possible;

• the content of Legislative Decree 254/2016,which makes non-financial reporting manda-tory for just over 200 very large companies,should be reviewed. Today, three years afterpublication of the Decree, the business com-munity has also fully realised that: a) non-fi-nancial reporting is a vital tool for enablingindividual companies to access the most dy-namic form of finance, namely that responsi-ble and sustainable in nature; and (b) thatadoption of sustainability-oriented manage-ment practices allows for significant cost re-ductions and productivity gains. Therefore, itis time to immediately make non-financial re-porting mandatory for all large companies, andgradually (as in Spain) also for medium-sizedcompanies;

• preparations should be made to rapidly im-plementing the European directives relatingto sustainable finance, which will have amajor impact on the functioning of the marketand could open up new options for savers, aswell as new opportunities for financial institu-tions, as pointed out by the Governor of theBank of Italy, Ignazio Visco, in his speech at the2019 Sustainable Development Festival.

In view of these and other legislative changes, wecall on the government to draw up and imple-ment a comprehensive public information andcommunication plan regarding the issue of sus-tainable development, in line with the initiativesundertaken when the euro was introduced. As thetransition to sustainable development implies sig-


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nificant changes in consumption and productionhabits, as well as in savings and investment - in aword in the country’s “culture” - the initiativemust reach all sectors of the population, espe-cially adults and the elderly, who are far lessaware of these issues than young people.

Reinstatement, after six years’ absence, of a Min-ister for Equal Opportunities in the governmentmarks an important step forward compared to therecent past, but the continuity of gender equalitypolicies must be ensured, and best use made ofthe experiences gained by the associations thatengage with this issue on a daily basis. Therefore,we repeat our call for the creation of a high-level gender policies committee within the Cab-inet Office, which would involve civil society andexperts on this issue. This body should: (a) helpto design public policies relating to gender equal-ity; (b) guarantee assessment of the gender im-pact of the various implementing laws anddecrees, including financial and social securitylaws; c) promote studies, analyses and research,and disseminate the efforts undertaken by otheractors in Italy, in Europe and at the internationallevel regarding gender equality and the empow-erment of women; and d) formulate proposals andrecommendations to improve the situation ofwomen in Italy. In addition, we reiterate the needto promote gender budgeting in order to assessthe impact of public finance decisions on men andwomen.

We call on the government to consider the oppor-tunity that may emerge with the reprogrammingof the European Structural and InvestmentFunds for 2014-2020. As in the past, Italy is ap-proaching the end of the seven-year period andruns the risk of not spending all the funds allo-cated to it. If this risk were to arise, it would beimportant (and relatively easy, given the Europeanorientation towards implementing a Green Deal)to concentrate these funds on strategic projectsfor the transition to the circular economy and sus-tainable development, thereby making it fasterand more economically advantageous. In this re-gard, it should also be recalled that Law 221/2015(the “Environmental Annex”) provides for thegradual dismantling of environmentally harmfulsubsidies - which the official Catalogue publishedby the Ministry for the Environment, Land and SeaProtection estimates amount to €19 billion peryear - and their conversion into support schemesfor the transition to sustainable development.

Finally, it is important to urgently draw up a na-tional plan in line with the new Common Agri-cultural Policy (CAP), which contains economic,social and environmental initiatives, and intro-duces management by objectives and measure-ment of performance via specific indicators, manyof which are linked to the 2030 Agenda. The Planmust bring about a paradigm shift regarding agri-culture and land management, as well as forestsand ecosystem services in rural and peri-urbanareas, in line with the SDGs. Indeed, sustainabilityneeds to be combined with competitiveness,through innovation, local connections and the or-ganisation of local production chains and systems.

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4.3 Polices to accelerate thetransition towards sustainabledevelopment

The climate crisis and energyIn recent weeks, the UN General Assembly hasbeen held to examine the state of progress to-wards the 2030 Agenda, together with a climatesummit to raise all countries’ ambitions as muchas possible ahead of the entry into force of theParis Agreement in 2020. At the same time, theEuropean Commission’s new approach and thechange of government in Italy have put combat-ing climate change, the green economy, the cir-cular economy and the environment at thecentre of the new political agenda. Therefore,the conditions appear to be met for adopting im-portant measures which, in accordance with therecommendations of the IPCC Special ReportSR15, can help to keep the global average in-crease in the temperature of the Earth’s surfacewithin 1.5°C of pre-industrial levels.

If one of the pillars of the “ecological transition”is to take into account the rights of future gen-erations, to whom we must deliver a planet thatallows them to enjoy - to the same extent andwithout degradation - the natural resources andecosystem services the current generation isbenefitting from, the transition must also be fairfrom an intragenerational point of view, so thatno one is left behind, and the impacts are fairlydistributed, with greater protection given to themost exposed sectors of the population and in-dividuals. Therefore, governance of the transi-tion process must define the timing and methodsvia three criteria:

• democratic participation, namely the full en-gagement of citizens, central institutions,companies, local authorities, workers, tradeunions, employers’ organisations, financial in-stitutions, research centres, universities, civilsociety associations and communities;

• collective bargaining that recognises the cen-tral role of employment in the transition, to beagreed between the government and the socialpartners, income support measures, profes-sional retraining, the creation of new areas ofemployment, and support for older workers asthey approach retirement;

• precise, transparent and reliable planning ofthe decarbonisation of all sectors and eco-

nomic activities, taking full advantage of cir-cular economy opportunities.

First of all, we recommend that the govern-ment support the proposed “declaration of anenvironmental and climate emergency”, whichhas already been approved in recent months bysome regions and by several cities, but was re-jected by the previous Parliamentary majority.Secondly, the government should recognise thekey role of investment in lifting Italy out of eco-nomic stagnation by focusing on sustainable de-velopment and decarbonisation; the new Ministerfor the Economy and Finance has already ex-pressed a liking for this recommendation. There-fore, Italy must also vote in favour of the newEIB financing programme, which excludes anynew financing for fossil fuel projects from2020, and will ensure that expenditure on re-ducing emissions, adapting to climate changeand ensuring that local areas are not affectedby hydrogeological instability, are excludedfrom the constraints of the Stability andGrowth Pact.

The ecological transition marks a change of pacethat requires adequate public and private in-vestment in decarbonisation, technological in-novation, renewable energy infrastructure,energy efficiency and implementation of thesmart electricity grid, urban renewal, sustain-able mobility, prevention and protection of landfrom degradation, and climate change adapta-tion plans. Obviously, investment and innovationrequire capital, knowledge and expertise, sotraining, research and development are needed.These “Cinderellas” of Italian policy must be-come a central part of the government’s strate-gies, in order to provide a training offering thatguarantees current and future workers the skills,abilities and awareness required to help speedup the transition and carry out fully sustainableeconomic activities.

Clear structural measures are needed to guidebusinesses as they switch towards the transition,by encouraging the necessary investment to bringprocesses, products and services into line with theobjectives of the green economy. This switchshould be cross-cutting and concern the economicsystem as a whole, which is largely made up ofsmall and medium-sized enterprises.

For a just and sustainable transition, financialand fiscal instruments need to be adjusted.Consequently, in accordance with Article 15


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of Law 23/2014, an ecological tax reform isunavoidable. This must be able to transfer tax-ation from income to resource use, and to di-rect the market and private investment towardssustainable production and consumption. Theelimination of environmentally harmful subsi-dies is urgently needed, through the introduc-tion of carbon pricing instruments, such as acarbon tax, in order to set a precise and faircost for greenhouse gas emissions. In addition,a rigorous review of the distribution of ETS2 auc-tion revenues (€1.4 billion in 2018) needs to becarried out. These revenues should be used tosupport decarbonisation targets by establishinga fund for retraining workers and developingemployment in areas affected by the closure ofcoal-fired power stations, and by the energytransition in general.

A substantial revision of the National IntegratedEnergy and Climate Plan is urgently needed, inorder to target a reduction in greenhouse gasemissions of 55% by 2030, and to integrate thePlan into the new European strategy to achievenet zero emissions by 2050. Planning of mitigationmeasures must be integrated with the NationalClimate Change Adaptation Plan, whose participa-tory instruments should be used in full. This Plan,which was presented in 2017, urgently needs tobe approved and supported by a regulatory instru-ment that prescribes its implementation in all na-tional, regional, local and sectoral territorialstrategies and plans. Infrastructure works subjectto Environmental Impact Assessments and Strate-gic Environmental Assessments should also be cli-mate-proofed, in accordance with Climate Plansand the 2030 Agenda.

In order to achieve decarbonisation, it is vitalto create a national smart grid with renewableenergy storage capacity. Energy efficiency mustbe further promoted and incentivised, in orderto avoid rebound effects and reduce demand forfossil fuels. We hope that EU Directive 2019/944regarding reform of the electricity market willbe rapidly implemented in order to empower andinvolve citizens, so that they can play an activerole in the energy transition by adjusting theirconsumption according to energy availability,thus contributing to the flexibility of the system,and also by introducing cost flexibility measures.Prosumers and energy communities must be en-couraged by taking advantage of the diversifica-tion of market actors and focusing on distributed

generation and small-scale plants for self-con-sumption. At the same time, measures should betaken to protect vulnerable consumers and tocombat energy poverty, by adopting automaticmechanisms for the provision of bonuses (elec-tricity and gas) to all eligible beneficiaries (cur-rently provided to around 30% of potentialbeneficiaries), via synergies that can be acti-vated across public databases.

The 2025 deadline to phase coal out of powergeneration must be met. Democratic participa-tion and bargaining must be activated immedi-ately to ensure an alternative and sustainableproduction outlook for the local areas, communi-ties and workers involved in the transition pro-cess, by guaranteeing training, retraining,redeployment and quality of work for directly em-ployed and ancillary workers. The new govern-ment’s policy requires that no new concessions begranted for the extraction of hydrocarbons. Thisis not merely a symbolic issue, with obvious eco-nomic, social and environmental repercussions,regarding which the positions expressed by ASviSmembers do not concur.

Bioenergy, sustainable woodland and forestmanagement, and a robust green infrastruc-ture in urban areas must be exploited for en-vironmental, climate and health purposes. Alarge part of Italian territory has available low-enthalpy geothermal energy in the subsoil, in-cluding at shallow depths. Therefore, it isnecessary to develop research and developmentinto technologies and equipment that encouragethe use of this free and constantly available re-newable energy, including in the constructionsector.

The construction sector can help to combat cli-mate change, through the renovation of publicand private residential and non-residentialbuildings, as well as via urban renewal pro-cesses based on the principles of the Living Labs,which the EU SET-Plan deems to be laboratoriesfor decarbonisation and fair energy transition inthe construction sector, including for the anti-seis-mic safety and adaptation measures recom-mended by the National Climate ChangeAdaptation Plan for areas at risk of flooding, andurban areas most prone to heatwaves.

Efforts to decarbonise the transport sector,which is currently characterised by the exten-sive use of liquid and gaseous fossil fuels, shouldbe strengthened. The shared guidelines for sus-

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tainable transport provide for three areas of ac-tion: avoiding unnecessary traffic, shifting trans-port to sustainable options and improvingefficiency. Especially in urban environments andas part of the implementation of the new UrbanPlans for Sustainable Mobility, the so-called“soft mobility” pedestrian and cycling options,should be incorporated with a commitment toreducing private mobility in favour of publictransport and shared mobility. Electrification ofthe transport sector is evolving rapidly, and isable to use vehicle batteries for smart digitalnetwork storage. Reducing the number of cars incirculation and parking spaces facilitates mea-sures to adapt to climate change in urban areasby enabling the de-sealing of paved areas andrestoration of the soil’s ecosystem functions,thus improving the absorption of excess water inthe event of heavy rainfall.

Poverty and inequalityStark inequalities, between people and regions,and a sense of social injustice mark this period,in Italy as in the rest of Europe. These regardmany aspects of human life: the economy and em-ployment; and social issues, regarding access toand the quality of basic services and common as-sets (the environment, the landscape, natural re-sources and knowledge). Regional and genderdisparities are still very wide, and are also ex-pressed via marked inequalities in the recognitionof values, roles and aspirations, which gives riseto the growth of dangerous barriers. At the sametime, the concentration of private wealth is in-creasing in Italy. In 1995, the richest 10% of theItalian population (around 5 million adults) heldjust under half of the country’s net wealth. In2016, this share exceeded 60%. Between 2010 and2016, the 5,000 richest people in Italy (0.01% ofthe population) saw their share of national privatewealth grow from 2% to 7%.

Article 3 of the Italian Constitution states that:“It is the duty of the Republic to remove theseobstacles of an economic or social nature thatconstrain the freedom and equality of citizens,thereby impeding the full development of thehuman person”. Yet, Italy ranks among the coun-tries where levels of education and economicconditions, measured in terms of income andwealth, largely persist from one generation tothe next, with people’s financial outcomes highly

dependent on their family of origin and their ini-tial circumstances.

The government has taken an important step to-wards combating poverty with the introductionof the Citizens’ Basic Income (CBI), although, asalready mentioned in the previous chapter, thereare many doubts about its effectiveness as a toolfor eradicating poverty. For this very reason, itis essential that the effects of this measure arecontinuously monitored, so as to be able toidentify areas that require additional strength-ening, with a view to making it a truly universaltool that covers the entire population in absolutepoverty.

Provision of the benefits should be accompa-nied by an adequate offering designed to pre-pare people to enter the labour market, withtargeted education and training pathways thattrigger a virtuous cycle that reduces the high un-employment rate, as well the percentage of theso-called working poor (employed people who arebelow the poverty line). Special attention shouldalso be paid to minors, for whom measures tocounter economic and educational poverty, aswell as social inclusion measures, should bestrengthened.

A robust policy to support and empower families- especially young and large families, which aremore exposed to the risk of social exclusion -should also be implemented. This could be com-bined with measures to support the birth rate,parenting and work-life balance, thereby also pre-venting younger people from moving abroad toseek better job opportunities. These measures areever more urgently needed to counter Italy’s de-mographic decline, which threatens to have seri-ous repercussions on our welfare system. Thesepolicies should support families before and afterchildbirth, accompanying infants through earlychildhood, and then during education, ensuringaccess to the right to study and educational ser-vices at all levels, from kindergarten to post-grad-uate schools.

As social mobility across generations is a vital el-ement for the development and equality of a so-ciety, a comprehensive tax reform needs to bedrafted, that will rebalance the tax burdenamong the various social strata and strengthenthe current progressive nature of the tax sys-tem as a whole (as set out in Article 53 of theConstitution), taking into account the redistribu-tive effects of the current system of exemptions,


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family tax allowances, deductions and specialregimes. More effective action is also needed toidentify hidden wealth, avoiding all forms of taxamnesty, as well as a gradual reduction in thefavourable tax regime applied to financial in-come and wealth transfers (inheritance and do-nations), while assessing the appropriateness ofgradually rebalancing the taxation of income andwealth3.

The relationship between employment and en-terprise plays a decisive role in determining thedistribution of wealth, pay gaps and living con-ditions. From a long-term perspective, policiesshould also be encouraged within companiesthat facilitate the promotion of people withentrepreneurial skills to management posi-tions, as well as encouraging greater involve-ment of workers in strategic decisions, bypromoting trials of Labour and CitizenshipCouncils in order to reunify the labour supplychain and combine the interests of companiesand those of their local communities. Publicsupport measures for workers or managerswishing to take over a company in crisis, dealwith the generational turnover of a family busi-ness or relaunch a business that has fallen intothe hands of organised crime (often by forminga cooperative), should be evaluated andstrengthened.

As detailed better below, technological changeshould be geared towards environmental justiceand social justice objectives, partly by leverag-ing the public enterprises system and the missionof universities to use knowledge to contribute to-wards social development, and also by includingsocial and environmental clauses among the re-quirements for public funding of private researchand public procurement for the acquisition ofgoods and services.

Regarding access to basic services, it is vital toconsolidate national responsibility for achievingessential levels of provision, starting with edu-cation and healthcare, where the influence offamily and local conditions on the ability to ac-cess quality services is still very strong. At thesame time, in vulnerable areas of the countryand in the peripheries, it is necessary to designand implement development policies for placesthat draw guidelines and methodological lessonsfrom the National Strategy for Internal Areas;policies which, through strong public participa-tion, combine improvement of essential services

with the promotion of opportunities and sustain-able use of new technologies. In this context,community cooperatives can be a tool for offeringlocal services and social and cultural participa-tion to address the important issue of welfare atlocal level.

It is important to gear environmental sustainabil-ity measures towards the most vulnerable sectorsof the population living in disadvantaged and pol-luted areas, including through pricing schemesfor essential services (energy, water, etc.) thattake into account the social conditions of users,and a reworking of the “ecobonus” for energy ef-ficiency and anti-seismic measures in order to fa-cilitate access for families in need. Strong actionis needed to promote the renewal of housingstock and public spaces, as well as thestrengthening of access rights for all sectionsof society.

Last but not least, substantial investment isneeded in the public administration, which is in-creasingly understaffed (at central and local lev-els), taking advantage of the historic opportunityto upskill around half a million civil servants, byinvesting in continuous training and the organisa-tion of public authorities, with incentive mecha-nisms based on skills and professionalism, and inthe transparency of administrative procedures, inorder to promote discretionary decisions that aremonitored by citizens.

With regard to combating gender inequality andthe empowerment of women, Italy has a systemof good laws, but in recent years the implemen-tation instruments have been radically disem-powered. For example, some of the equalitybodies provided for by Legislative Decree198/2006 and subsequent amendments havebeen abolished, and those that still exist areoften unable to perform the functions and tasksentrusted to them due to lack of funds andhuman resources.

The second Conte government finally has a Min-ister for Equal Opportunities, which is a neces-sary prerequisite but insufficient to direct allgovernment policy towards gender equality in acomprehensive manner, along the lines of the2030 Agenda. In order to be effective, the workof the new Minister should start by monitoringthe legislation that cannot be applied due to alack of implementing decrees, and by assessingthe impact of the laws that are already inforce.

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The draft laws under examination by the Cham-ber of Deputies’ Employment Committee, relat-ing to efforts to overcome the gender pay gapand promote women’s access to employment,must be approved as soon as possible. The mea-sures are also aimed at rewarding companies thatare effective in tackling the pay gap and/or facil-itating a work-life balance. The proposal to ex-tend to a larger number of companies theobligation (provided for in the Equal OpportunitiesCode for public and private companies employingmore than 100 employees) to prepare a report, atleast every two years, on the situation regardingstaff and on the remuneration actually paid, isalso important.

In order to provide concrete support to women’sleadership, the extension of the provisions ofLaw 120/2011 (the Golfo-Mosca law) regardingthe presence of women on the boards of direc-tors should be approved by the end of the year,in order to consolidate the results achieved so farand strengthen a virtuous culture that is not yetfully established.

As far as violence against women is concerned,there is an urgent need to strengthen the pro-vision of shelters, and to ensure that job trainingis provided for users of the shelters’ services. Un-fortunately, no information is yet available aboutthe state of progress of the National Anti-violencePlan 2017-2020, on which a report was expectedto be published by 30 June.

As “economic violence” is often used to isolatewomen, forcing them to give up their indepen-dence, specific projects need to be launched inthe digital economy sector that offer concreteopportunities to women who wish to assert andachieve their independence, or use tools such asteleworking, which helps to balance work andcare activities.

Circular economy, innovation andemployment

There is increasingly widespread recognition ofthe fact that the ecological transition and decar-bonisation can only be achieved if there is a shiftfrom a linear to a circular economy. The availablestatistics and studies point to significant benefits,in terms of productivity, for individual businessesas a result of the transition to the circular econ-omy. Despite this, the viewpoints and approachesof large, medium-sized and small enterprises, in-

novative and traditional businesses and of com-panies operating as part of a global value chainand those focused solely on their home marketcontinue to differ greatly.

To speed up the transition to a circular econ-omy, by altering companies’ models of produc-tion, it is necessary to promote:

• the design of circular products that are easy todisassemble and recycle and, more generally,the design of products with a reduced environ-mental impact;

• the effective launch of a market for secondaryraw materials and renewable materials, andthe adoption of advanced approaches to cutwaste and use materials with high percentagesof recycled products;

• the visibility of existing platforms for the ex-change of good practices, such as Italy’s Circu-lar Economy Platform, and use of ISPRA’scatalogue of EMAS/Ecolabel incentives, illus-trating the national and regional legislation en-couraging businesses to voluntarily registerwith EMAS and the EU’s Ecolabel initiative;

• the establishment of local and/or supply chainpartnerships and private-public and public-pri-vate partnerships;

• initiatives that aim to reuse products, includ-ing trading platforms;

• the development of a circular economy-basedculture through corporate training initiatives,with the aim of fostering the development andacquisition of specialist expertise.

These actions must be accompanied by the intro-duction of tax breaks to drive the transition to thecircular economy by, for example, reducing VATon ecodesign products, with tax deductions vary-ing on the basis of the type of initiative and of thenumber of companies involved in trading the prod-ucts. Similar deductions might be offered to thesuppliers of goods and services within circulareconomy projects. It should also be possible to in-troduce a tax on consumption that varies depend-ing on the social and environmental impact ofproduction, along the lines of a “green and socialconsumption tax”, to be introduced as a replace-ment for other taxes.

It is crucial to encourage businesses to mea-sure and disclose the social and environmentalimpact of their products, promoting the dissem-ination of methods for measuring circularity,drawing up a set of indicators to be used by the


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various industrial sectors, widening the scope ofapplication of non-financial reporting require-ments and encouraging the preparation of inte-grated reports. At the same time, the legislationregarding the promotion of and support for inno-vative start-ups could also oriented towards thecircular economy.

It is necessary to step up implementation ofGreen Public Procurement, which the new PublicProcurement Code has made obligatory for publicentities, through revision of the Minimum Envi-ronmental Criteria (MEC), the dissemination andcirculation of good practices and the introduc-tion of checks on effective implementation.

With regard to responsible consumption, on theother hand, further efforts must be made to re-duce food waste through new circular economysolutions for tackling overproduction within thefood supply chain. In addition, public informationcampaigns, such as “Trialogo” (created by ASviS’sGoal 12 working group), should be run in order toeducate people about informed consumption, pro-viding them with information on the degree towhich the brand they are about to choose or ha-bitually choose is committed to sustainable devel-opment. The campaigns could focus on how to cutplastic use, how to read product labels and on thefight against food waste. Related to this, supportshould be provided for the Saturdays for Futureinitiative (saturdaysforfuture.it) launched byASviS and NeXt in the wake of the “Fridays for Fu-ture” youth movement, with a view to encourag-ing families to change their shopping habits andfocus more on environmental and social sustain-ability.

Major investment in the circular economy can alsohave a beneficial impact on job creation. Partlyin view of recent employment data, we wish toreiterate our appeal, already expressed in pastASviS Reports, for urgent action to reduce thewide geographical, gender and age disparities giv-ing rise to the high numbers of young NEETs, youthunderemployment and job insecurity previouslyreferred to in this Report.

Unfortunately, ASviS’s call for the definition of a“youth employment pact”, in line with the ILOdocument entitled “Recovering from the crisis: AGlobal Jobs Pact”, approved in 2009, was ignoredby the government. There is, therefore, no seri-ous, concrete, shared and comprehensive strategyfor dealing with this difficult situation, which ishaving a negative impact on both the economy

and on many of the SDGs. It is now indispensableto create a cross-cutting, Interministerial taskforce to devise a national youth employmentplan in as short a time as possible, given thatthe deadline for achieving Target 8.b in the2030 Agenda (“By 2020, develop and opera-tionalize a global strategy for youth employ-ment and implement the Global Jobs Pact ofthe International Labour Organization”) is2020.

The measures to adopt in order to support youthemployment must include actions designed to im-prove the transition from school to employ-ment, increased vocational training andguidance provided to support employment andself-employment, investment in job creationschemes and support services for new house-holds. It is also important to boost the resourcesallocated to research and development, the lackof which is holding back the development of theentire country and many regions, leading to agrowing brain drain towards countries that offerbetter conditions for research.

In order to foster employment and boost con-sumption, a reform of employment taxes to ben-efit workers and their employers may offersupport over the short to medium term, butwould probably not be sufficient without an in-dustrial strategy and against the backdrop of agradually worsening global economic outlook. Inthis regard, it is clear that certain initiativeswould be best managed at European level, withthe introduction of a European unemploymentbenefit (an idea that the new European Commis-sion intends to work on) and with the rapid im-plementation of the second package ofmeasures for fair working conditions, providedfor in the European Pillar of Social Rights ap-proved in Gothenburg.

The creation of new job opportunities inevitablydepends on the economic system’s ability to in-novate and be competitive. Digital innovation isthe main driver of innovation and it is here thatpolicymakers must help the country to make thenecessary leap forward. If the establishment of aminister without portfolio with responsibility forinnovation marks an opportunity not to bewasted, there remains much to do in order to en-sure that all areas of public policy are focused onthis aspect.

In particular, digital infrastructure initiatives,and above all those relating to the PA digitale

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(the “Digital Public Administration”), must belong-term in nature and not tied to individualbudget laws, as this makes it easier to presentsuch projects to our European partners as struc-tural investments. Investment is needed in so-called “grey areas” in the ultrafast broadbandnetwork and in completion of the planned digiti-sation of the public administration, which wouldresult in cost savings for both the public and pri-vate sectors.

A well-planned combination of the various tech-nologies, including the Internet of Things (IoT),Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Data Ana-lytics, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Blockchain,are well within our country’s reach. These tech-nologies could be harnessed in order to drivethe digital transformation of our productive sys-tem and the modernisation of our infrastruc-ture, thanks to predictive maintenance. Wemust therefore beef up the programme of sup-port for emerging 5G technologies recently ap-proved by the Ministry for EconomicDevelopment in its Decree of 26 March 2019.However, this means we need to take a systemicview via an organic approach to policy develop-ment, leading to the creation of a “law for dig-ital development” that would organise thevarious initiatives involved and provide a coher-ent framework for the institutions responsiblefor overseeing the related investment.

Finally, Law 145/2018 has retained the 50% taxcredit on expenditure on research and develop-ment, in keeping with the past. One difference isthe inclusion among qualifying items of materialsand supplies used in the construction of proto-types or pilot plants, which were previously ex-cluded. In this sense, it is very important tosucceed in linking innovation and the digitaltransformation of businesses, utilising and bettercoordinating the various existing tools for this pur-pose (Industry 4.0 tax breaks, digitisation vouch-ers, innovation advice, start-up initiatives,patents boxes, etc.).

We need to invest not only in physical capital,but above all in human capital, particularly inthe development of digital skills, somethingthat is currently missing from the existing ap-proach (Industry 4.0, the three-year plan drawnup by the Agenzia per l’Italia Digitale (the Digi-tal Italy Agency) and the Ultrafast BroadbandStrategy) and that represents one of the coun-try’s greatest structural weaknesses, as pointed

out in the European Commission’s “Digital Econ-omy and Society Index”. A number of key issuesneed to be addressed in this regard: efforts toresolve the problem of digital exclusion (peoplewho risk being unable to exercise their rights ascitizens); retraining of the workforces and man-agements of SMEs (who risk being cut out of themarket); a programme to boost research bystrengthening competence centres; new pro-grammes designed to attract researchers fromoverseas and increased participation in Europeanprojects.

One of the economic sectors most exposed to in-novation is the agri-food industry, above all fromthe point of view of sustainability and food safetyand in keeping with the changing needs of con-sumers, who are increasingly sensitive to these is-sues. Innovation through the adoption of modelsof production based on circular economy princi-ples could provide an effective response in termsof health and the opening up of new markets. Tothis end, we should be aiming to adopt an inte-grated plan of action designed to: improve theknowledge of circular economy principles amongagricultural firms; devise an incentive scheme tosupport the shift towards a new paradigm in theagri-food sector; spread the use of best practicesas part of the move towards Agriculture 4.0; takeadvantage of the environment in order to applythe diversity principle.

Given the importance that the young are givingto issues surrounding sustainability, we need tohelp them gain access to land, whether publicland or land that has been abandoned, locatedin both metropolitan and rural areas and aboveall at inland locations. To do this, it is necessaryto promote measures designed to review and re-organise the way that municipal land is man-aged, with the aim of delivering integratedsocio-economic development projects that willbenefit agriculture, the environment and land-scapes. The mapping of agricultural land that isin use or has been abandoned can provide uswith a series of technical and legislative tools(for example, the “Land Bank”) that can enableus to allocate unused land or land that risksbeing abandoned, whilst also broadening and re-organising the offering of agricultural productsand leisure/tourist/educational services in ac-cordance with environmental restrictions.

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strengthen its efforts at international level toboost the competitiveness of “sustainable” prod-ucts, building consumers’ perception of the envi-ronmental and social values with which they areassociated. It is also in Italy’s interest to reinforcethe international networks that facilitate thegathering, promotion and exchange of good prac-tices and innovative solutions that support sus-tainable food systems (such as, for example, theMilan Urban Food Policy Pact).

Similarly, we need to encourage universities toenter into partnerships with local businesses topromote sustainability in the food supply chainand help to create new jobs. To make it easier toform such partnerships, they need to be givengrowing priority when taking decisions about thefunding provided under the National SustainableDevelopment Strategy 2017-2030, regional opera-tional programmes, rural development pro-grammes, projects of major national interest andthe Social Impact Finance research network sup-ported by the Ministry of Education, Universitiesand Research.

Human capital, health and education

With regard to Goal 3 of the 2030 Agenda (Goodhealth and wellbeing for all), despite the positiveperformance of many indicators, a number of crit-ical areas require attention in relation to: eco-nomic sustainability in light of the limitedresources available to the national health service;social sustainability in terms of the growing pres-ence of the old and sick; the increase in out-of-pocket expenses and growing waiting lists fordiagnostic tests and specialist treatment; gaps inthe application of the principle of social equity,above all in terms of access to services and thedistribution of service provision around Italy; fail-ings, and in some cases the deterioration, in cer-tain lifestyles that have an impact on health; thelack of integration between health and social careservices.

As an addition to the “Sustainable HealthcareGuidelines” presented in the 2018 Report, wewish to make a number of further recommen-dations:

• the introduction of an “Equity Audit” to pro-vide an advance method for monitoring levelsof equity in terms of health and health serviceprovision in the various parts of the countryand in the different organisations, considering

that their relations with each other are key towellbeing and good health;

• interministerial coordination across the varioussectors at local level with regard to “health inall policymaking”, focusing on the factors in-volved in delivering health and wellbeing andthose that, in contrast, lead to ill-health anddisease in other areas of life, with a view todevising an appropriate policy response;

• the identification of good practices in terms ofequity and “health in all policymaking” and thepromotion of initiatives designed to dissemi-nate such practices;

• the monitoring of new legislation, above allbudget laws, with regard to the goal of “fairand sustainable health”;

• the promotion of links between regions andlocal areas so as to share positive experiences.

In addition to the aforementioned five points,we also recommend stepping up the initiativestaken by national and regional institutions,acting across the various sectors, in order toreduce premature deaths from chronic non-communicable diseases, including cardiovas-cular and lung diseases, stroke, cancer anddiabetes, which accounted for 91% of deaths inItaly, and which in most cases the WHO believesare associated with environmental factors (ex-posure to pollutants or hazardous chemical sub-stances, where the risk is extremely highamong population groups living in situations ofsocio-economic deprivation). International, Eu-ropean and national statistics reveal, moreover,the high health-related and social costs ofthese diseases and call for a major commitmentto putting in place prevention strategies focus-ing on the natural and built environment,places of work, urban planning and housingpolicies, to be adopted alongside healthcareinitiatives.

The “Working Group for efforts to prevent andcombat overweight and obesity”, set up by theDecree issued by the Ministry of Health’s Direc-torate General for Disease Prevention on 18 Jan-uary 2019, should be strengthened. Obesity isa significant risk factor for chronic disease and,if present in childhood, can lead to the earlyonset of conditions normally associated withadults. To date, no country has been successfulin its battle against the “obesity epidemic” and,even if there are certain encouraging signs, the

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occurrence of obesity continues to reflect majorinequalities.

Greater attention should be paid to gendermedicine4, with the need to develop and imple-ment the measures in the “Plan for the applica-tion and dissemination of gender medicine”approved on 13 June 2019. The Plan proposes,for the first time, that medicine should be gen-der-based across all areas of application at na-tional level, both during the conduct of clinicaltrials for drugs and throughout the clinical anddiagnostic process. We know that biological andsocial factors create differences between menand women in terms of the risks to their health,their state of health and access to health provi-sion. On the other hand, gender health is not justa question of adopting a diversified approach toclinical procedures or to treatment, but has amajor, wide-ranging impact on how organisa-tions, and above all health service managers,act. This is because it implies and presumes thatdecision-makers will adopt a different approachto strategic and operational planning. At thesame time, it is increasingly evident that a gen-der-based approach to diagnosis and treatmentis appropriate, efficacious, cost-effective, ethi-cal and fair.

A specific problem regards food poverty, requir-ing a response based around redistribution initia-tives, lower prices through commercial innovationstrategies, and food information and education toconvince people to look for better value foods. Itis, therefore, necessary to find the best way ofimplementing the Citizens’ Basic Income, improvethe performance of the food poverty support sys-tems (food banks, soup kitchens, etc.), create di-rect links between producers and consumers(short supply chains) and continue to invest infood and nutrition awareness and informationcampaigns.

It would be advisable to conduct a review ofhow the mass catering system operates, makingchanges to the specifications provided in calls fortenders and to control systems. Green Public Pro-curement for mass catering in both the public sec-tor (schools, hospitals, military barracks, etc.)and private sector could prove to be a highly ef-fective way to improve the diets of a large shareof the population, increasing awareness amongyoungsters of the connection between food,health and sustainability. This form of procure-ment would also trigger the process of shifting to

more sustainable local agri-food production sys-tems and bring agricultural production closer toits downstream markets, benefitting both the en-vironment and society.

Ultimate responsibility for ensuring a positive re-lationship between diet and health lies with con-sumers and the choices they make: for thisreason, it is necessary to strengthen checks onthe reliability of the information provided viathe various information channels. The introduc-tion of traceability, including details of ecologicaland water footprints, is essential to avoiding theimportation of risky products.

With regard to sustainable development trainingand education, ASviS has for some time now es-tablished five priority areas for Italy:

a) quality of learning, with specific attention paidto educating young people in work-related andlife skills;

b) reduction of early school leaving, including viaconcentration of resources on the areas andsituations most at risk;

c) giving priority to inclusion, by consolidatingthe Italian tradition of schools that are wel-coming and open to everyone;

d) lifelong learning, partly in response to a demo-graphic change that has seen the Italian popu-lation increasingly concentrated in the adultand mature age groups;

e) dissemination of education for sustainabilityand global citizenship, based on the belief thatthis is an essential condition for the achieve-ment of all the various Goals set out in the2030 Agenda.

Given that progress in the educational field is theresult of an accumulation of necessarily slow pro-cesses, these five priorities should be regardedwithin a 10-year timeframe and, as such, are reaf-firmed here.

In greater detail, with regard to point a), wewould like to see initiatives promoting innova-tion in education, helping schools and universitiesto develop alternatives to the traditional “talk-and-chalk” forms of teaching. During the inquirycarried out by the Chamber of Deputies’ VII Com-mittee, ASviS welcomed the initiative and high-lighted the fact that, although educationalinnovation is not an explicit Target in the 2030Agenda, it has a key role to play in achieving theSDGs. Innovation in education, starting from theenvironment in which learning takes place, means


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making it more dynamic and inclusive by replacingtraditional teacher-led forms of learning with ac-tive learning.

Getting children to participate in school life,from the earliest years, and attention to rela-tionships have a central role to play learning.Given that educational innovation linked to theuse of digital technologies is seen as one of theways to transform the way people are trained, itis important to specify that the digitalisation ofschools relates to both the organisation of spacesand the relationship between physical and virtualenvironments, and the methods that integratethe use of digital technologies, the considerationof new forms of learning, the dissemination ofcomputational thinking, the promotion of digitalskills among teachers and students, the develop-ment of soft skills that enable the ethical andemotive aspects of using digital technologies tobe addressed.

The weakening of work experience schemesand three-year training programmes for newsecondary school teachers should be chal-lenged. The desire to reverse the changes intro-duced by the “Good School” reform has restoredthe status quo in Italian schools, without propos-ing solutions to the challenges that await it. Ital-ian universities should also provide morevocational courses, something that is almost ab-sent in Italy, unlike the rest of Europe. This couldprepare students less interested in theoreticalstudies for the world of work.

With regard to point b), the renewed increase inearly school leavers primarily requires furtherstudy in order to understand how and why stu-dents are abandoning education. The largest in-crease is among girls, a worrying new trend thatneeds looking into in order to identify appropriatesolutions.

In relation to the inclusion of disabled pupils,the amendments to Legislative Decree 66 of2017 have just come into force. The changes aredesigned to involve all teachers in the relatedplanning, based on the principle of shared re-sponsibility for education. The exact shape ofthe reform remains incomplete, as details ofthe related support and assistance, to bedrawn up by the Ministry of Education, Univer-sities and Research, are missing. This supportand assistance should include training for teach-ers and the creation of local groups to promoteinclusion, made up of experts who will be ex-

pected to support schools in the preparation ofinclusion programmes for students.

There are almost no measures to promote life-long learning or adult education. In this regard,it would be interesting to know what form at-tempts to reintroduce people in receipt of the Cit-izens’ Basic Income into the labour market aretaking and what obstacles they have met.

On the subject of educating people in sustainabledevelopment, it should be noted that, followinglate publication of the civic education reform inthe Official Gazette, the reform will not comeinto effect immediately, with implementationdelayed until the following school year. This agreat pity, as the reform makes explicit refer-ence to the 2030 Agenda, becoming, togetherwith the Italian Constitution, the essential basisfor programmes that will involve students fromthe first year of primary school through to theirfifth year of high school, for at least 33 hours ayear.

Finally, we feel it necessary, with regard tocivic education, to highlight the need to provideadequate, ongoing support so that learningabout sustainability and global citizenship, andabout gender equality and human rights be-comes a formal and integral part of national ed-ucation policy, playing a widely accepted rolein curricula, teacher training and the assess-ment of students. This support should above alltake the form of continuous training for teach-ers, not only in the topics covered by the 2030Agenda, but also in appropriate methods for im-parting knowledge about sustainable develop-ment and global citizenship and in the need forcoherence between the didactic approach andlearning environments.

Natural capital and the quality of theenvironment

The integrity of the biosphere is crucial to allaspects of the Earth’s natural systems, as itperforms a critical role in determining theoverall health of the planet, regulating its flowsof energy and matter and the responses togradual or abrupt changes affecting its dynam-ics. The state of health of the Earth’s biodiver-sity is thus key to ensuring the resilience ofecological systems and safeguarding prospectsfor the future wellbeing and development ofhuman societies.

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Humanity is facing a huge challenge for 2020, theyear in which a number of key Targets of the 2030Agenda have to be met and in which the UnitedNations Decade on Biodiversity (2010-2020),agreed during the UN Convention of Biological Di-versity, comes to a close. The voluntary commit-ments (nationally Determined Contributions, orNDCs) given by all countries in order to implementthe Paris Agreement of 2015 will also expire nextyear. 2020 thus represents a unique opportunityto bring together concrete operational propos-als in order to devise a new strategy for the pe-riod 2020-2030, with the aim of halting the lossof the world’s biodiversity. It is therefore impor-tant that, as the world mobilises, Italy play a lead-ing role in rising to the challenge, particularlygiven that our country is home to an extraordinarywealth of biodiversity within the European andMediterranean context. Key events in this regardwill be the UN General Assembly of 2020 and theBiodiversity Summit to be hosted by the UN Sec-retary General.

Since the 1950s, Italy and the rest of the worldhave witnessed a decline in natural resourcesthat is unprecedented in human history. Basedon current trends, we shall unable to achieve anumber of the Targets included in Goals 6, 14and 15 in either 20205 or 2030, irrevocably com-promising efforts to implement the 2030Agenda.

Against this backdrop, action should be taken inresponse to the recommendations contained inthe various annual reports on the state of natu-ral capital introduced by Law 221/2015. It is alsoessential that Target 15.9, which calls on the au-thorities to “integrate ecosystem and biodiver-sity values into national and local planning,development processes, poverty reductionstrategies and accounts”, should be acted on atall levels of government.

In order to equip ourselves with suitable toolsfor conducting ex-ante and ex-post assess-ments, for reporting and monitoring the impactof all the various environmental policies, it isnecessary to define criteria for the incorpora-tion of physical and economic impacts on natu-ral capital and ecosystem services within theprocedures for monitoring and assessing invest-ments and policies, and to ensure, within thecontext of the National Sustainable Develop-ment Strategy, adequate quantification of theenvironmental objectives relating to natural

capital and ecosystem services and the mostsuitable indicators to monitor them.

If we are to fully exploit partnerships betweenuniversities and specialist research centres, thefollowing actions are needed: a) the public sec-tor’s responsibilities for the management ofnatural capital and ecosystem services shouldbe strengthened; b) guidelines for the preven-tive quantification of the impacts and expecteddamage caused by planned actions to naturalcapital and ecosystem services, as well as thebenefits deriving from restoration, managementand environmental enhancement initiatives,should be issued. The above approach wouldalso enable implementation of the Aarhus Con-vention on access to information, making avail-able data and instruments that would permitthe active participation of citizens and civil so-ciety in decision-making, and access to environ-mental justice.

The tax system must be redesigned to gradu-ally reduce the pressure of economic activitieson natural capital and ecosystem services,based on a reform of environmental taxation thatshifts the market towards sustainable productionand consumption. Public procurement practicesshould also adopt the same approach. As notedearlier, environmentally damaging incentivesmust be totally eliminated by 2025. The possibil-ity of proposing that the EU allow exemptions tothe Stability Pact, in order to finance therestoration and protection of ecosystems, shouldalso be considered.

There is an urgent need to approve national leg-islation aimed at reducing land use and landdegradation to zero, as proposed in draft law AC63, containing “Measures to halt land use andto encourage the use of brownfield sites”. Thiswould strengthen the consistency and effective-ness of efforts to achieve the Targets of Goal 15and the 2030 Agenda in all its complexity. Weneed to define a specific plan for “land degrada-tion neutrality”, in application of the Conventionto Combat Desertification (see Target 15.3) and insynergy with various other Agenda 2030 Goals, inparticular Goals 2 and 13.

When taking local planning decisions and assess-ing plans, programmes and projects, options thatare “in harmony with nature” (nature-based andgreen infrastructure solutions, which are widelyaccepted components of European legislation)should be favoured over traditional infrastructure


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options (grey infrastructure), while work on theconsolidation of the system of national and re-gional protected areas and the Natura 2000Network on land and at sea should be contin-ued, enhancing their role in protecting areasfrom land consumption and fragmentation ofecosystems, with the development of connec-tions via ecological network and green infras-tructure systems.

Similar coordination should be carried out in thevarious regions, including with regard to climatechange adaptation planning, and actions aimedat preventing hydro-geological, drought and firerisks in order to protect forests. In addition, in-novative water management policies should besupported, including through the use of increas-ingly detailed data processing systems. In order tostem network leaks and inadequate purification,it is essential to carry out extraordinary interven-tions, ensuring the local coordination of catch-ment area authorities, regional authorities andwater concession areas and defining industrialplans that oblige service operators to guaranteeadequate standards and make investments linkedto profits.

With the involvement of regional and local author-ities, the commitment to achieving European andnational targets regarding the recovery andrestoration of degraded ecosystems must bestrengthened, alongside efforts to improve eco-logical connectivity and reduce the artificialisa-tion and waterproofing of the soil, with particularreference to river systems and wetlands.

In this regard, the approval of legislation im-plementing the outcome of the 2011 referen-dum, on the public ownership of water as acommon good and an inalienable right, is amatter of urgency. The proposed draft law AC52 (“Provisions governing public and participa-tory governance of the integrated water cycle”)would overcome any related issues and bringlegislation more into line with all the otherSDGs. This would strengthen recognition of thehuman right to water, with a minimum subsis-tence level provided free of charge to everyoneand not subject to market forces. At the sametime, we should provide for activation of an In-ternational Solidarity Fund for international co-operation projects aimed at ensuring access towater in the poorest countries, promoting thecommitment of local authorities and forms ofparticipation to protect this resource (as ex-

pressed in the proposed “City Charter for theRight to Water”). This would make use of theprogress made so far in the sector and enableus to better define the governance tools neededto achieve the ambitious Targets that make upGoal 6.

In terms of marine ecosystems, the governmentshould implement the existing measures andthe new ones provided for in the European Ma-rine Strategy Framework Directive, ensuringthat the human and material resources committedfor this purpose are adequate and commensuratewith the environmental, economic and social in-terest that the marine environment has for Italy,in line with what is also envisaged in the Targetsof Goal 14. The monitoring programme providedfor by the Directive must be updated and imple-mented, so as to ensure that it is truly capableof measuring progress towards environmentaltargets.

Draft law AC 1939 on “Encouraging the recov-ery marine waste and the circular economy”(the so-called “Save our Seas” legislation) mustbe approved without delay. This should be ac-companied by even stronger measures designedto bring forward the implementation of theEU’s Plastics Strategy and Directive 2019/904of the Parliament and Council of 5 June 2019on the “reduction of the impact of certain plas-tic products on the environment”, given grow-ing concerns over the impact that the releaseof plastics, microplastics and nanoplastics intothe environment has on human health andecosystems.

Again, in relation to the EU, it will be necessaryto propose the inclusion of social and environ-mental provisions in free trade deals that arealigned with international goals regarding biodi-versity, the protection of ecosystems and the2030 Agenda.

Finally, Italy has yet to ratify: a) the OffshoreProtocol regarding the protection of theMediterranean Sea against pollution resultingfrom exploration and exploitation of the conti-nental shelf, the seabed and its subsoil, adoptedin 1994 within the framework of the BarcelonaConvention; and b) the Nagoya Protocol (signedon 23 June 2011) on access to genetic resourcesand the fair and equitable sharing of the bene-fits arising from their utilisation (as referred toin Targets 2.5 and 15.6 in the 2030 Agenda).

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Cities, infrastructure and social capitalThe government has announced its intention todraw up an “Urban Agenda for Sustainable De-velopment”, responding to the recommendationput forward in previous years by ASviS andUrban@it. Obviously, many of the initiatives de-scribed in this chapter also apply at urban level.For example:

• health and wellbeing: strategies intended toreduce health inequalities around the countryshould be implemented locally by rigorouslyapplying essential standards of care and deliv-ery and provide incentives for local road safetyprogrammes;

• quality education: universities and researchcentres should become the key drivers for thedevelopment of urban areas, by increasing in-vestment in campuses and universities inte-grated in urban environments, with servicesfor students, teachers and researchers,thereby reducing the gap between southernItaly and the central and northern regions;

• gender equality: support for municipal author-ities in developing children’s services;

• clean water and sanitation: draft legislationunder discussion by the Chamber of Deputieson “Provisions governing public and participa-tory governance of the integrated watercycle”, should be approved and the “Charterfor the Right to Water” extended to all cities.Cities and should be encouraged to run localcampaigns and initiatives designed to reducethe use of plastic bottles and single-use plas-tic, in implementation of EU Directive2019/904 and the “Strategy on Plastic in theCircular Economy”, adopted by the EuropeanCommission in 2018;

• job creation: areas within cities dedicated tothe creative and knowledge economy shouldbe created, partly by using rundown industrialsites;

• digital transition: adopt smart city projectsin implementation of the Digital GrowthStrategy 2014-2020 and to deliver ultrafastbroadband;

• housing policy: follow up on the recommen-dations of the Chamber of Deputies’ Parlia-mentary Committee of Inquiry, unanimouslyapproved in December 2017, which call for aplan for suburban regeneration and for initia-tives designed to meet the housing needs of

the least well-off in society over the mediumterm (6 to 10 years), with forms of continuousfunding and the identification of priority areasfor action, such as redevelopment initiativesfor suburban areas;

• urban mobility: in keeping with the Ministryof Infrastructure and Transport’s Guidelinesfor Urban Plans for Sustainable Mobility, mo-bility strategies targeting reductions in envi-ronmental impacts and the decarbonisationof transport should aim to combine the de-velopment of transport systems with thespread of sustainable mobility, to developcollective mobility projects and walking andcycling, and to encourage the progressivespread of car-sharing initiatives, the replace-ment of older vehicles with low-emission ve-hicles, the rationalisation of urban logisticsand the dissemination of a transport safetyculture. The National Plan for SustainableMobility should be effectively adopted, and adeadline set for the end of sales of vehicleswith internal combustion engines, to be in-cluded in the National Integrated Energy andClimate Plan, as has been done in France, theUK and Sweden;

• land use: legislation should be approved thatlimits the use of land and, in the meantime, anaction plan should be agreed on by central gov-ernment and regional and municipal authori-ties to identify targets for reducing land useand monitoring its implementation;

• waste recycling: a national circular economyaction plan should be adopted in order to pre-vent the production of waste, strengtheningthe measures already provided for in the na-tional waste prevention plan, and revisitingthe current pricing system for waste collectionso as to encourage virtuous behaviours. In ad-dition, in accordance with the EU’s “pay as youthrow” principle, it is necessary to support theconduct of pilot projects to trial usage-pricingmodels that take into account the type ofwaste collected, thereby rewarding the use ofrecyclable materials as a way of making oureconomies increasingly circular and promotingvirtual models of consumption.

Implementation of the Urban Agenda requiresmajor investment in infrastructure throughoutthe country. As stated in previous Reports, Italyhas lacked a central framework for infrastructureinvestment capable of communicating a long-term


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vision for the country’s sustainable development.Even today, the list of “strategic projects” con-sists solely of transport-related initiatives, as im-portant as these may be (motorways, undergroundrailways, etc.), whilst there is no trace, just tocite two examples, of the 5G network or of theinfrastructure needed to enable the transition toa circular economy.

With regard to the motorway network and freighttransport, there are many needs and significantinvestment is required, in addition to immediateimprovement in the monitoring of the state of ex-isting infrastructure. It is important to continuethe development of rail freight transport, whereItaly can also make significant progress in reduc-ing harmful greenhouse emissions. Adoption of thefirst phase of the national plan for investment inthe water sector was an extremely positive step,but there is still a need for an overall frameworkand a long-term approach to the planning of waterinfrastructure.

Sustainable finance can play a key part in im-proving infrastructure. In recent years, the Eu-ropean Commission has played an increasinglyactive role in development the market for sustain-able finance. In the Action Plan published in March2018 and during the work of the Technical ExpertGroup on Sustainable Finance, attention was fo-cused primarily on environmental aspects and, inparticular, on efforts to adapt to and mitigate cli-mate change. It is now essential to also focus onsocial issues to, for example, close the gap in so-cial infrastructure highlighted by the High-levelTask Force on Investing in Social Infrastructure inEurope”.

Green bonds are making growing inroads into theItalian market. According to the Climate BondsInitiative, at the end of 2018 the Italian marketranked sixth in Europe for green bond issues,with a total value of just under $10 billion inissue. In addition to non-financial companies -mainly in the utilities sector - and institutionalinvestors, a number of public bodies, such asthe Ministry of the Economy and Finance andregional authorities, could become major is-suers, in view of the role in investing in thecountry’s protection, wellbeing and develop-ment. For example, the proceeds from the issueof a sovereign or regional green bond could beused to fund reforestation or forest maintenancefollowing extreme weather events, with the dualaim of restoring damaged areas and helping to

boost local businesses and communities. In thisconnection, it may be possible to introduced taxbreaks to put private green bonds on a par withgovernment securities.

Numerous market surveys have shown that retailinvestors give importance to issues relating tosustainability and declare that they would bewilling to invest in SRI (social and responsible in-vestment) products. However, only a small num-ber believe that they know enough about thesector and have received commercial offeringsof such products. It is, therefore, important toboost information and training in sustainablefinance. A key issue is the adequate training offinancial, insurance and pensions advisors, aswell as private bankers and family officers, sothat they can provide appropriate assistance tocustomers. In this regard, it could be useful tointroduce the study of ESG (Environment, Socialand Governance) into accreditation courses. Inaddition, the offering of SRI products needs tobe increased in order to satisfy unmet demandfrom retail investors.

Alongside investment in physical capital, Italyneeds similar investment in social capital, whichhas deteriorated significantly in recent years. Toensure that institutions are effective, strong andtransparent, as provided for in the 2030 Agenda,it is firstly necessary to combat corruption,which blocks the country’s socio-economic de-velopment, and strengthen the rule of law. Wethus recommend widespread efforts to raiseawareness of the importance of legality and,therefore, of the need to combat violence, bully-ing, discrimination, corruption and criminality,starting from schools and engaging with civil soci-ety organisations who work in this area.

Radical reform of Italy’s legal system is vital,from both an operational and an administrativeviewpoint. Aside from specific actions, there ismuch still to do with regard to the duration ofproceedings, with the aim of improving the sys-tem’s efficiency and making civil, criminal andtax justice more efficient, partly by drasticallyreducing the time it takes for cases to beheard. To this end, we recommend greater andmore widespread use of digital hearings in civilcases.

Law 55 of 14 June 2019, converting Law Decree32 of 18 April 2019 (the so-called SbloccaCantieri Decree) into law, has made significantchanges to article 36 of the Public Procurement

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Code in relation to the procedure for awardingpublic contracts with a value below EU materi-ality thresholds. In this regard, we recommendwidening and reinforcing the use of legalityratings, partially revising how they work, to asto give them an important role in preventing theoccurrence and spread of corruption, includingamong private individuals, during the award ofcontracts for public works and infrastructureprojects.

In line with the UN Report on “Promotion andprotection of the right to freedom of opinion andexpression” and with Legislative Decree101/2018, which has transposed the GeneralData Protection Regulation (GDPR) into Italianlaw, we recommend the strengthening of dataprotection legislation in order to apply regula-tory criteria and effective methods for safe-guarding the privacy of individuals and, moregenerally, for promoting social equity. This is inresponse to the increasingly invasive use of dataand the handling of sensitive data for both com-mercial and political purposes.

The national strategy for exploiting confiscatedassets for public and social benefit should beimplemented rapidly through the cohesion poli-cies approved by the Interministerial Committeefor Economic Planning on 25 October 2018 andpublished in the Official gazette on 6 March2019.

After that failure of several draft laws to makeit through to approval, we recommend theadoption of strict, all-encompassing rules andregulations governing the lobbying of lawmakersand of regulations regarding potential conflictsof interest.

As part of the rigorous implementation of Law 199of 29 October 2016 (the fight against the illegalrecruitment of agricultural workers for very lowwages), we recommend, following recent in-stances of modern slavery, that the workers con-cerned should receive the same forms ofprotection and compensation due to the victimsof organised crime.

International cooperation

International cooperation is a way for Italy toproject its commitment to all the 2030 AgendaGoals abroad. Its effectiveness thus depends onthe adoption of a coherent approach to sustain-ability policies both domestically and abroad,

something that our country currently lacks, evenif existing legislation assigns responsibility for co-ordinating and controlling the coherence of indi-vidual initiatives.

In the case of international cooperation, Law125/2014 hands responsibility for ensuring theplanning and coordination of all the related ac-tivities to the Interministerial Committee forDevelopment Cooperation, as well as tasking itwith ensuring that all national development co-operation policies follow a consistent approach.Committee meetings have so far been infre-quent (less than once a year) and have failed toproduce anything tangible. The same can besaid for the National Council for DevelopmentCooperation, which is meant to bring togetherall the actors involved in cooperation to expresstheir views on the coherence of policy deci-sions, on strategy, guidelines, planning, types ofintervention, their effectiveness and the re-lated assessment.

The “Three-year Development Cooperation PolicyPlanning and Guidance Document”, provided forin the Law, structures the planning process inkeeping with the 2030 Agenda, but the Documenthas not been updated since February 2018, de-spite the fact that the revised version should beapproved by the Cabinet, once the views of therelevant Parliamentary committees have beentaken into account, by 31 March of each year6. Itshould also be borne in mind that funding for in-ternational cooperation is allocated to variousministries, including the Ministry for the Economyand Finance, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, theMinistry of Foreign Affairs and International Coop-eration and the Ministry for Economic Develop-ment: as a result, coordination and planningacross the ministries is essential if the funds areto be used to best effect.

The first recommendation is, therefore, to ur-gently revise the Three-year Document andconvene meetings of the Interministerial Com-mittee for Development Cooperation and theNational Council for Development Cooperation,putting them in the condition to carry out theirresponsibility on a regular basis.

Another essential aspect is the need tostrengthen partnerships. The first Conte gov-ernment certainly did very little to establish aclimate of collaboration with the various part-ners for sustainable development (the third sec-tor, NGOs, businesses, social partners) and


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subsidiarity was adjudged to be in contrast withthe state’s prerogatives and the powers to be ex-ercised by government. The above Law 125/2014and Law 106/2016 on the third sector make itpossible partnerships a fully functioning reality,but there has been no effort to exploit their po-tential or enable them even to operate as theycould.

International trade and cross-border supply chainshave a wide-ranging impact on sustainable devel-opment. Models of trade that are unable of fairlydistributing the value created by internationaltrade to producers and workers risk exacerbatingthe gaps between rich and poor in the countriesof origin. As a result, it is necessary to encourageand regulate fair trade, a subject on which vari-ous draft laws were presented in 2018. These havebeen combined in one piece of legislation beingexamined by the Senate’s X Committee. The textpresented is in certain aspects already out of datewith respect to the sector’s current situation atthe national and international levels. The text,therefore, needs updating so that current goodpractices can be extended to and adopted fortrade in general, also be engaging with importersand exporters.

Last April, the EU Directive addressing the issueof unfair trading practices between agriculturaland food businesses was adopted. The Directiveaims to protect farmers, agricultural organisationsand other weaker members of the food supplychain from the power of buyers. It has banned 16unfair trading practices and aims to standardiselegislation among Member States, without pre-venting each country from adopting improved orstricter regulations. Member States must intro-duce legislation in compliance with the Directiveby 1 May 2021 and apply it by 1 November of thatyear. The challenge for Italy is to rapidly intro-duce the necessary legislation, adopting the nec-essary control and complaints systems.

With regard to farmer-friendly legislation, it is im-portant that the measures introduced effectivelyprovide help for the weaker members of thechain, eliminating the informal barriers that areso important for small businesses. Finally, it is es-sential that protection from unfair trading prac-tices is extended, as it has been for farmers andfarm workers outside of the EU. In this way, it willbe possible to guarantee that human rights areuniversally respected throughout the food supplychain and that there are no “grey areas”, where

production is not sustainable and there are noprotections, and where unfair trading practicesare applied to the detriment of non-EU producers,as well as those within the EU.

The International Trade Centre recently con-ducted a study of the European market for sus-tainable products, focusing on Italy. The study,which concentrated on the retail sector, foundthat there was a growing willingness among mar-ket operators to adopt a sustainable approach todoing business. It is, therefore, important to reg-ularly gather data on the volume of fair tradeconducted as a proportion of imports from de-veloping countries.

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NOTES

1 The first decision taken by the Minister for the Economy and Finance, Roberto Gualtieri, was significant in this regard. Heannounced that Italy would join the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action (which brings together 40 countries),in contrast with the previous government’s position.

2 The European scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading.3 In March 2019, the Inequalities and Diversity Forum presented a plan in “15 Proposals for Social Justice”, to address the

root causes of income and wealth inequalities: https://www.forumdisuguaglianzediversita.org/proposte-per-la-giustizia-sociale/

4 Gender medicine is intended to reduce inequalities and make fairness a reality, by starting from an assessment of needs,rather than from an appraisal of the available resources.

5 Derived from the Aichi targets in the Convention on Biological Diversity.6 The Document, including a report on the activities carried out during the previous year, must include details of the strategic

vision, the objectives and the criteria followed, the choice of priority geographical areas and individual countries, and thedifferent sectors on which development cooperation is to focus. In addition, it must set out political and strategic guidelines

Appendix: Goals and Targets5.

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Goal 1: NO POVERTYEnd poverty in all its formseverywhere

Targets

1.1 By 2030, eradicate extreme poverty for all peo-ple everywhere, currently measured as peopleliving on less than $1.25 a day

1.2 By 2030, reduce at least by half the proportionof men, women and children of all ages livingin poverty in all its dimensions according to na-tional definitions

1.3 Implement nationally appropriate social protec-tion systems and measures for all, includingfloors, and by 2030 achieve substantial cover-age of the poor and the vulnerable

1.4 By 2030, ensure that all men and women, in par-ticular the poor and the vulnerable, have equalrights to economic resources, as well as accessto basic services, ownership and control overland and other forms of property, inheritance,natural resources, appropriate new technologyand financial services, including microfinance

1.5 By 2030, build the resilience ofthe poor and those in vulnerablesituations and reduce their expo-sure and vulnerability to climate-re-lated extreme events and other economic,social and environmental shocks and disasters

1.a Ensure significant mobilization of resourcesfrom a variety of sources, including through en-hanced development cooperation, in order toprovide adequate and predictable means for de-veloping countries, in particular least devel-oped countries, to implement programmes andpolicies to end poverty in all its dimensions

1.b Create sound policy frameworks at the national,regional and international levels, based on pro-poor and gender-sensitive development strate-gies, to support accelerated investment inpoverty eradication actions

Goal 2: ZERO HUNGER End hunger, achieve food securityand improved nutrition and promotesustainable agriculture

Targets

2.1 By 2030, end hunger and ensure access by allpeople, in particular the poor and people in vul-nerable situations, including infants, to safe,nutritious and sufficient food all year round

2.2 By 2030, end all forms of malnutrition, includingachieving, by 2025, the internationally agreedtargets on stunting and wasting in childrenunder 5 years of age, and address the nutri-tional needs of adolescent girls, pregnant andlactating women and older persons

2.3 By 2030, double the agricultural productivityand incomes of small-scale food producers, inparticular women, indigenous peoples, familyfarmers, pastoralists and fishers, includingthrough secure and equal access to land, other

productive resources and inputs,knowledge, financial services,markets and opportunities for valueaddition and non-farm employment

2.4 By 2030, ensure sustainable food productionsystems and implement resilient agriculturalpractices that increase productivity and produc-tion, that help maintain ecosystems, thatstrengthen capacity for adaptation to climatechange, extreme weather, drought, floodingand other disasters and that progressively im-prove land and soil quality

2.5 By 2020, maintain the genetic diversity ofseeds, cultivated plants and farmed and domes-ticated animals and their related wild species,including through soundly managed and diversi-fied seed and plant banks at the national, re-gional and international levels, and promoteaccess to and fair and equitable sharing of ben-efits arising from the utilization of genetic re-sources and associated traditional knowledge,as internationally agreed

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2.a Increase investment, including through enhancedinternational cooperation, in rural infrastruc-ture, agricultural research and extension ser-vices, technology development and plant andlivestock gene banks in order to enhance agricul-tural productive capacity in developing coun-tries, in particular least developed countries

2.b Correct and prevent trade restrictions and dis-tortions in world agricultural markets, includingthrough the parallel elimination of all forms ofagricultural export subsidies and all export

measures with equivalent effect, in accordancewith the mandate of the Doha DevelopmentRound

2.c Adopt measures to ensure the proper function-ing of food commodity markets and their deriva-tives and facilitate timely access to marketinformation, including on food reserves, in orderto help limit extreme food price volatility

Goal 3: GOOD HEALTH ANDWELLBEING Ensure healthy lives and promotewellbeing for all at all ages

Targets

3.1 By 2030, reduce the global maternal mortalityratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births

3.2 By 2030, end preventable deaths of newbornsand children under 5 years of age, with all coun-tries aiming to reduce neonatal mortality to atleast as low as 12 per 1,000 live births andunder-5 mortality to at least as low as 25 per1,000 live births

3.3 By 2030, end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculo-sis, malaria and neglected tropical diseases andcombat hepatitis, water-borne diseases andother communicable diseases

3.4 By 2030, reduce by one third premature mortal-ity from non-communicable diseases throughprevention and treatment and promote mentalhealth and well-being

3.5 Strengthen the prevention and treatment ofsubstance abuse, including narcotic drug abuseand harmful use of alcohol

3.6 By 2020, halve the number of global deaths andinjuries from road traffic accidents

3.7 By 2030, ensure universal access to sexual andreproductive health-care services, including forfamily planning, information and education,and the integration of reproductive health intonational strategies and programmes

3.8 Achieve universal health cover-age, including financial risk pro-tection, access to quality essentialhealth-care services and access tosafe, effective, quality and affordable essentialmedicines and vaccines for all

3.9 By 2030, substantially reduce the number ofdeaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicalsand air, water and soil pollution and contami-nation

3.a Strengthen the implementation of the WorldHealth Organization Framework Convention onTobacco Control in all countries, as appropriate

3.b Support the research and development of vac-cines and medicines for the communicable andnon-communicable diseases that primarily af-fect developing countries, provide access to af-fordable essential medicines and vaccines, inaccordance with the Doha Declaration on theTRIPS Agreement and Public Health, which af-firms the right of developing countries to use tothe full the provisions in the Agreement onTrade-Related Aspects of Intellectual PropertyRights regarding flexibilities to protect publichealth, and, in particular, provide access tomedicines for all

3.c Substantially increase health financing and therecruitment, development, training and reten-tion of the health workforce in developing coun-tries, especially in least developed countriesand small island developing States

3.d Strengthen the capacity of all countries, in par-ticular developing countries, for early warning,risk reduction and management of national andglobal health risks

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Goal 4: QUALITY EDUCATION Ensure inclusive and equitablequality education and promotelifelong learning opportunitiesfor all

Targets

4.1 By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys completefree, equitable and quality primary and sec-ondary education leading to relevant and effec-tive learning outcomes

4.2 By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys have ac-cess to quality early childhood development,care and pre-primary education so that they areready for primary education

4.3 By 2030, ensure equal access for all womenand men to affordable and quality technical,vocational and tertiary education, includinguniversity

4.4 By 2030, substantially increase the number ofyouth and adults who have relevant skills, in-cluding technical and vocational skills, for em-ployment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship

4.5 By 2030, eliminate gender disparities in educa-tion and ensure equal access to all levels of ed-ucation and vocational training for thevulnerable, including persons with disabilities,indigenous peoples and children in vulnerablesituations

4.6 By 2030, ensure that all youth and a substantialproportion of adults, both men and women,achieve literacy and numeracy

4.7 By 2030, ensure that all learnersacquire the knowledge and skillsneeded to promote sustainable de-velopment, including, among others,through education for sustainable developmentand sustainable lifestyles, human rights, genderequality, promotion of a culture of peace andnon-violence, global citizenship and apprecia-tion of cultural diversity and of culture’s con-tribution to sustainable development

4.a Build and upgrade education facilities that arechild, disability and gender sensitive and pro-vide safe, non-violent, inclusive and effectivelearning environments for all

4.b By 2020, substantially expand globally the num-ber of scholarships available to developingcountries, in particular least developed coun-tries, small island developing States and Africancountries, for enrolment in higher education,including vocational training and informationand communications technology, technical, en-gineering and scientific programmes, in devel-oped countries and other developing countries

4.c By 2030, substantially increase the supply ofqualified teachers, including through interna-tional cooperation for teacher training in devel-oping countries, especially least developedcountries and small island developing States

Goal 5: GENDER EQUALITY Achieve gender equality andempower all women and girls

Targets

5.1 End all forms of discrimination against allwomen and girls everywhere

5.2 Eliminate all forms of violence against allwomen and girls in the public and privatespheres, including trafficking and sexual andother types of exploitation

5.3 Eliminate all harmful practices,such as child, early and forced mar-riage and female genital mutilation

5.4 Recognize and value unpaid care and do-mestic work through the provision of public ser-vices, infrastructure and social protectionpolicies and the promotion of shared responsi-bility within the household and the family asnationally appropriate

5.5 Ensure women’s full and effective participationand equal opportunities for leadership at all lev-els of decision-making in political, economicand public life


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5.6 Ensure universal access to sexual and reproduc-tive health and reproductive rights as agreed inaccordance with the Programme of Action of theInternational Conference on Population and De-velopment and the Beijing Platform for Actionand the outcome documents of their reviewconferences

5.a Undertake reforms to give women equal rightsto economic resources, as well as access toownership and control over land and otherforms of property, financial services, inheri-tance and natural resources, in accordance withnational laws

5.b Enhance the use of enabling technology, in par-ticular information and communications tech-nology, to promote the empowerment ofwomen

5.c Adopt and strengthen sound policies and en-forceable legislation for the promotion of gen-der equality and the empowerment of allwomen and girls at all levels

Goal 6: CLEAN WATER ANDSANITATION Ensure availability and sustainablemanagement of water and sanitationfor all

Targets

6.1 By 2030, achieve universal and equitable ac-cess to safe and affordable drinking water forall

6.2 By 2030, achieve access to adequate and equi-table sanitation and hygiene for all and endopen defecation, paying special attention to theneeds of women and girls and those in vulnera-ble situations

6.3 By 2030, improve water quality by reducing pol-lution, eliminating dumping and minimizing re-lease of hazardous chemicals and materials,halving the proportion of untreated wastewaterand substantially increasing recycling and safereuse globally

6.4 By 2030, substantially increase water-use effi-ciency across all sectors and ensure sustain-able withdrawals and supply of freshwater toaddress water scarcity and substantially re-duce the number of people suffering fromwater scarcity

6.5 By 2030, implement integrated water resourcesmanagement at all levels, including throughtransboundary cooperation as appropriate

6.6 By 2020, protect and restorewater-related ecosystems, in-cluding mountains, forests, wet-lands, rivers, aquifers and lakes

6.a By 2030, expand international cooperationand capacity-building support to developingcountries in water- and sanitation-related ac-tivities and programmes, including water har-vesting, desalination, water efficiency,wastewater treatment, recycling and reusetechnologies

6.b Support and strengthen the participation oflocal communities in improving water and sani-tation management

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Goal 7: AFFORDABLE AND CLEANENERGY Ensure access to affordable, reliable,sustainable and modern energy forall

Targets

7.1 By 2030, ensure universal access to affordable,reliable and modern energy services

7.2 By 2030, increase substantially the share of re-newable energy in the global energy mix

7.3 By 2030, double the global rate of improvementin energy efficiency

7.a By 2030, enhance internationalcooperation to facilitate accessto clean energy research and tech-nology, including renewable energy,energy efficiency and advanced and cleanerfossil-fuel technology, and promote investmentin energy infrastructure and clean energy tech-nology

7.b By 2030, expand infrastructure and upgradetechnology for supplying modern and sustain-able energy services for all in developing coun-tries, in particular least developed countries,small island developing States and landlockeddeveloping countries, in accordance with theirrespective programmes of support

Goal 8: DECENT WORK ANDECONOMIC GROWTH Promote sustained, inclusive andsustainable economic growth, fulland productive employment anddecent work for all

Targets

8.1 Sustain per capita economic growth in accor-dance with national circumstances and, in par-ticular, at least 7 per cent gross domesticproduct growth per annum in the least devel-oped countries

8.2 Achieve higher levels of economic productiv-ity through diversification, technological up-grading and innovation, including through afocus on high-value added and labour-inten-sive sectors

8.3 Promote development-oriented policies thatsupport productive activities, decent job cre-ation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innova-tion, and encourage the formalization andgrowth of micro-, small- and medium-sized en-terprises, including through access to financialservices

8.4 Improve progressively, through 2030, global re-source efficiency in consumption and produc-tion and endeavour to decouple economic

growth from environmentaldegradation, in accordance withthe 10-year Framework of Pro-grammes on Sustainable Consumptionand Production, with developed countries tak-ing the lead

8.5 By 2030, achieve full and productive employ-ment and decent work for all women and men,including for young people and persons withdisabilities, and equal pay for work of equalvalue

8.6 By 2020, substantially reduce the proportionof youth not in employment, education ortraining

8.7 Take immediate and effective measures toeradicate forced labour, end modern slaveryand human trafficking and secure the prohibi-tion and elimination of the worst forms of childlabour, including recruitment and use of childsoldiers, and by 2025 end child labour in all itsforms

8.8 Protect labour rights and promote safe andsecure working environments for all workers,including migrant workers, in particularwomen migrants, and those in precarious em-ployment

8.9 By 2030, devise and implement policies to pro-mote sustainable tourism that creates jobs andpromotes local culture and products


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Goal 9: INDUSTRY, INNOVATION ANDINFRASTRUCTURE Build resilient infrastructure,promote inclusive and sustainableindustrialisation and fosterinnovation

Targets

9.1 Develop quality, reliable, sustainable and re-silient infrastructure, including regional andtrans-border infrastructure, to support eco-nomic development and human well-being, witha focus on affordable and equitable access forall

9.2 Promote inclusive and sustainable industrial-ization and, by 2030, significantly raise in-dustry’s share of employment and grossdomestic product, in line with national cir-cumstances, and double its share in least de-veloped countries

9.3 Increase the access of small-scale industrial andother enterprises, in particular in developingcountries, to financial services, including af-fordable credit, and their integration into valuechains and markets

9.4 By 2030, upgrade infrastructure and retrofit in-dustries to make them sustainable, with in-creased resource-use efficiency and greateradoption of clean and environmentally soundtechnologies and industrial processes, with allcountries taking action in accordance with theirrespective capabilities

9.5 Enhance scientific research, up-grade the technological capabili-ties of industrial sectors in allcountries, in particular developingcountries, including, by 2030, encouraging in-novation and substantially increasing the num-ber of research and development workers per 1million people and public and private researchand development spending

9.a Facilitate sustainable and resilient infrastruc-ture development in developing countriesthrough enhanced financial, technologicaland technical support to African countries,least developed countries, landlocked devel-oping countries and small island developingStates

9.b Support domestic technology development, re-search and innovation in developing countries,including by ensuring a conducive policy envi-ronment for, inter alia, industrial diversificationand value addition to commodities

9.c Significantly increase access to information andcommunications technology and strive to pro-vide universal and affordable access to the In-ternet in least developed countries by 2020

8.10 Strengthen the capacity of domestic financialinstitutions to encourage and expand access tobanking, insurance and financial services forall

8.a Increase Aid for Trade support for developingcountries, in particular least developed coun-tries, including through the Enhanced Inte-grated Framework for Trade-related TechnicalAssistance to Least Developed Countries

8.b By 2020, develop and operationalize a globalstrategy for youth employment and implementthe Global Jobs Pact of the International LabourOrganization

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Goal 10: REDUCED INEQUALITIESReduce inequality within and amongcountries

Targets

10.1 By 2030, progressively achieve and sustain in-come growth of the bottom 40 per cent of thepopulation at a rate higher than the nationalaverage

10.2 By 2030, empower and promote the social,economic and political inclusion of all, irre-spective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnic-ity, origin, religion or economic or otherstatus

10.3 Ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequali-ties of outcome, including by eliminating dis-criminatory laws, policies and practices andpromoting appropriate legislation, policies andaction in this regard

10.4 Adopt policies, especially fiscal, wage and so-cial protection policies, and progressivelyachieve greater equality

10.5 Improve the regulation and monitoring ofglobal financial markets and institutions andstrengthen the implementation of such regu-lations

10.6 Ensure enhanced representa-tion and voice for developingcountries in decision-making inglobal international economic and fi-nancial institutions in order to deliver more ef-fective, credible, accountable and legitimateinstitutions

10.7 Facilitate orderly, safe, regular and responsiblemigration and mobility of people, includingthrough the implementation of planned andwell-managed migration policies

10.a Implement the principle of special and differ-ential treatment for developing countries, inparticular least developed countries, in ac-cordance with World Trade Organizationagreements

10.b Encourage official development assistanceand financial flows, including foreign directinvestment, to States where the need is great-est, in particular least developed countries,African countries, small island developingStates and landlocked developing countries,in accordance with their national plans andprogrammes

10.c By 2030, reduce to less than 3 per cent thetransaction costs of migrant remittances andeliminate remittance corridors with costshigher than 5 per cent

Goal 11: SUSTAINABLE CITIES ANDCOMMUNITIES Make cities and human settlementsinclusive, safe, resilient andsustainable

Targets

11.1 By 2030, ensure access for all to adequate, safeand affordable housing and basic services andupgrade slums

11.2 By 2030, provide access to safe, affordable, ac-cessible and sustainable transport systems forall, improving road safety, notably by expand-ing public transport, with special attention tothe needs of those in vulnerable situations,women, children, persons with disabilities andolder persons

11.3 By 2030, enhance inclusive andsustainable urbanization and ca-pacity for participatory, inte-grated and sustainable humansettlement planning and management in allcountries

11.4 Strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard theworld’s cultural and natural heritage

11.5 By 2030, significantly reduce the number ofdeaths and the number of people affected andsubstantially decrease the direct economiclosses relative to global gross domestic productcaused by disasters, including water-relateddisasters, with a focus on protecting the poorand people in vulnerable situations

11.6 By 2030, reduce the adverse per capita envi-ronmental impact of cities, including by payingspecial attention to air quality and municipaland other waste management


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Goal 12: RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTIONAND PRODUCTION Ensure sustainable consumption andproduction patterns

Targets

12.1 Implement the 10-year Framework of Pro-grammes on Sustainable Consumption and Pro-duction Patterns, all countries taking action,with developed countries taking the lead, tak-ing into account the development and capabil-ities of developing countries

12.2 By 2030, achieve the sustainable managementand efficient use of natural resources

12.3 By 2030, halve per capita global food waste atthe retail and consumer levels and reduce foodlosses along production and supply chains, in-cluding post-harvest losses

12.4 By 2020, achieve the environmentally soundmanagement of chemicals and all wastesthroughout their life cycle, in accordance withagreed international frameworks, and signifi-cantly reduce their release to air, water andsoil in order to minimize their adverse impactson human health and the environment

12.5 By 2030, substantially reduce waste generationthrough prevention, reduction, recycling andreuse

12.6 Encourage companies, especially large andtransnational companies, to adopt sustainablepractices and to integrate sustainability infor-mation into their reporting cycle

12.7 Promote public procurementpractices that are sustainable, inaccordance with national policiesand priorities

12.8 By 2030, ensure that people everywhere havethe relevant information and awareness forsustainable development and lifestyles in har-mony with nature

12.a Support developing countries to strengthentheir scientific and technological capacity tomove towards more sustainable patterns ofconsumption and production

12.b Develop and implement tools to monitor sus-tainable development impacts for sustainabletourism that creates jobs and promotes localculture and products

12.c Rationalize inefficient fossil-fuel subsidies thatencourage wasteful consumption by removingmarket distortions, in accordance with na-tional circumstances, including by restructur-ing taxation and phasing out those harmfulsubsidies, where they exist, to reflect theirenvironmental impacts, taking fully into ac-count the specific needs and conditions of de-veloping countries and minimizing the possibleadverse impacts on their development in amanner that protects the poor and the af-fected communities

11.7 By 2030, provide universal access to safe, in-clusive and accessible, green and publicspaces, in particular for women and children,older persons and persons with disabilities

11.a Support positive economic, social and environ-mental links between urban, peri-urban andrural areas by strengthening national and re-gional development planning

11.b By 2020, substantially increase the number ofcities and human settlements adopting and im-plementing integrated policies and plans to-wards inclusion, resource efficiency, mitigation

and adaptation to climate change, resilienceto disasters, and develop and implement, inline with the Sendai Framework for DisasterRisk Reduction 2015-2030, holistic disaster riskmanagement at all levels

11.c Support least developed countries, includingthrough financial and technical assistance, inbuilding sustainable and resilient buildings uti-lizing local materials

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Goal 13: CLIMATE ACTION Take urgent action to combatclimate change and its impacts

Targets

13.1 Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity toclimate-related hazards and natural disastersin all countries

13.2 Integrate climate change measures into na-tional policies, strategies and planning

13.3 Improve education, awareness-raising andhuman and institutional capacity on climatechange mitigation, adaptation, impact reduc-tion and early warning

13.a Implement the commitment undertaken by de-veloped-country parties to the United NationsFramework Convention on Climate Change* toa goal of mobilizing jointly $100 billion annu-ally by 2020 from all sources to address the

needs of developing countriesin the context of meaningfulmitigation actions and trans-parency on implementation and fullyoperationalize the Green Climate Fund throughits capitalization as soon as possible

13.b Promote mechanisms for raising capacity foreffective climate change-related planning andmanagement in least developed countries andsmall island developing States, including focus-ing on women, youth and local and marginal-ized communities

* Acknowledging that the United Nations Framework Con-vention on Climate Change is the primary international, in-tergovernmental forum for negotiating the global responseto climate change

Goal 14: LIFE BELOW WATER Conserve and sustainably use theoceans, seas and marine resourcesfor sustainable development

Targets

14.1 By 2025, prevent and significantly reduce ma-rine pollution of all kinds, in particular fromland-based activities, including marine debrisand nutrient pollution

14.2 By 2020, sustainably manage and protect ma-rine and coastal ecosystems to avoid significantadverse impacts, including by strengtheningtheir resilience, and take action for theirrestoration in order to achieve healthy and pro-ductive oceans

14.3 Minimize and address the impacts of oceanacidification, including through enhanced sci-entific cooperation at all levels

14.4 By 2020, effectively regulate harvesting andend overfishing, illegal, unreported and un-regulated fishing and destructive fishingpractices and implement science-based man-agement plans, in order to restore fish stocks

in the shortest time feasible,at least to levels that can pro-duce maximum sustainable yieldas determined by their biologicalcharacteristics

14.5 By 2020, conserve at least 10 per cent ofcoastal and marine areas, consistent with na-tional and international law and based on thebest available scientific information

14.6 By 2020, prohibit certain forms of fisheriessubsidies which contribute to overcapacityand overfishing, eliminate subsidies that con-tribute to illegal, unreported and unregu-lated fishing and refrain from introducingnew such subsidies, recognizing that appro-priate and effective special and differentialtreatment for developing and least devel-oped countries should be an integral part ofthe World Trade Organization fisheries subsi-dies negotiation

14.7 By 2030, increase the economic benefits tosmall island developing States and least devel-oped countries from the sustainable use of ma-rine resources, including through sustainablemanagement of fisheries, aquaculture andtourism


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14.a Increase scientific knowledge, develop re-search capacity and transfer marine technol-ogy, taking into account the IntergovernmentalOceanographic Commission Criteria and Guide-lines on the Transfer of Marine Technology, inorder to improve ocean health and to enhancethe contribution of marine biodiversity to thedevelopment of developing countries, in par-ticular small island developing States and leastdeveloped countries

14.b Provide access for small-scale artisanal fishersto marine resources and markets

14.c Enhance the conservation and sustainable useof oceans and their resources by implementinginternational law as reflected in the United Na-tions Convention on the Law of the Sea, whichprovides the legal framework for the conserva-tion and sustainable use of oceans and their re-sources, as recalled in paragraph 158 of “Thefuture we want”

Goal 15: LIFE ON LANDProtect, restore and promotesustainable use of terrestrialecosystems, sustainably manageforests, combat desertification, andhalt and reverse land degradationand halt biodiversity loss

Targets

15.1 By 2020, ensure the conservation, restorationand sustainable use of terrestrial and inlandfreshwater ecosystems and their services, inparticular forests, wetlands, mountains anddrylands, in line with obligations under inter-national agreements

15.2 By 2020, promote the implementation of sus-tainable management of all types of forests,halt deforestation, restore degraded forestsand substantially increase afforestation and re-forestation globally

15.3 By 2030, combat desertification, restore de-graded land and soil, including land affectedby desertification, drought and floods, andstrive to achieve a land degradation-neutralworld

15.4 By 2030, ensure the conservation of mountainecosystems, including their biodiversity, in orderto enhance their capacity to provide benefitsthat are essential for sustainable development

15.5 Take urgent and significant action to reducethe degradation of natural habitats, halt theloss of biodiversity and, by 2020, protect andprevent the extinction of threatened species

15.6 Promote fair and equitablesharing of the benefits arisingfrom the utilization of genetic re-sources and promote appropriate ac-cess to such resources, as internationallyagreed

15.7 Take urgent action to end poaching and traf-ficking of protected species of flora and faunaand address both demand and supply of illegalwildlife products

15.8 By 2020, introduce measures to prevent the in-troduction and significantly reduce the impactof invasive alien species on land and waterecosystems and control or eradicate the prior-ity species

15.9 By 2020, integrate ecosystem and biodiversityvalues into national and local planning, devel-opment processes, poverty reduction strategiesand accounts

15.a Mobilize and significantly increase financial re-sources from all sources to conserve and sus-tainably use biodiversity and ecosystems

15.b Mobilize significant resources from all sourcesand at all levels to finance sustainable forestmanagement and provide adequate incentivesto developing countries to advance such man-agement, including for conservation and refor-estation

15.c Enhance global support for efforts to combatpoaching and trafficking of protected species,including by increasing the capacity of localcommunities to pursue sustainable livelihoodopportunities

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Goal 16: PEACE, JUSTICE ANDSTRONG INSTITUTIONS Promote peaceful and inclusivesocieties for sustainabledevelopment, provide access tojustice for all and build effective,accountable and inclusiveinstitutions at all levels

Targets

16.1 Significantly reduce all forms of violence andrelated death rates everywhere

16.2 End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and allforms of violence against and torture ofchildren

16.3 Promote the rule of law at the national and in-ternational levels and ensure equal access tojustice for all

16.4 By 2030, significantly reduce illicit financialand arms flows, strengthen the recovery andreturn of stolen assets and combat all formsof organized crime

16.5 Substantially reduce corruption and bribery inall their forms

16.6 Develop effective, accountableand transparent institutions atall levels

16.7 Ensure responsive, inclusive, partici-patory and representative decision-making atall levels

16.8 Broaden and strengthen the participation ofdeveloping countries in the institutions ofglobal governance

16.9 By 2030, provide legal identity for all, includ-ing birth registration

16.10 Ensure public access to information and pro-tect fundamental freedoms, in accordancewith national legislation and internationalagreements

16.a Strengthen relevant national institutions, in-cluding through international cooperation, forbuilding capacity at all levels, in particular indeveloping countries, to prevent violence andcombat terrorism and crime

16.b Promote and enforce non-discriminatory lawsand policies for sustainable development

Goal 17: PARTNERSHIP FORTHE GOALS Strengthen the means ofimplementation and revitalize theglobal partnership for sustainabledevelopment

Targets

Finance17.1 Strengthen domestic resource mobilization,

including through international support to de-veloping countries, to improve domestic ca-pacity for tax and other revenue collection

17.2 Developed countries to implement fullytheir official development assistance com-mitments, including the commitment bymany developed countries to achieve thetarget of 0.7 per cent of ODA/GNI to devel-

oping countries and 0.15 to0.20 per cent of ODA/GNI toleast developed countries; ODAproviders are encouraged to con-sider setting a target to provide at least0.20 per cent of ODA/GNI to least developedcountries

17.3 Mobilize additional financial resources for de-veloping countries from multiple sources

17.4 Assist developing countries in attaining long-term debt sustainability through coordinatedpolicies aimed at fostering debt financing,debt relief and debt restructuring, as appro-priate, and address the external debt ofhighly indebted poor countries to reduce debtdistress

17.5 Adopt and implement investment promotionregimes for least developed countries


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Technology17.6 Enhance North-South, South-South and trian-

gular regional and international cooperationon and access to science, technology and in-novation and enhance knowledge-sharing onmutually agreed terms, including through im-proved coordination among existing mecha-nisms, in particular at the United Nationslevel, and through a global technology facili-tation mechanism

17.7 Promote the development, transfer, dissem-ination and diffusion of environmentallysound technologies to developing countrieson favourable terms, including on conces-sional and preferential terms, as mutuallyagree

17.8 Fully operationalize the technology bank andscience, technology and innovation capacity-building mechanism for least developed coun-tries by 2017 and enhance the use of enablingtechnology, in particular information andcommunications technology

Capacity-building17.9 Enhance international support for imple-

menting effective and targeted capacity-building in developing countries to supportnational plans to implement all the Sustain-able Development Goals, including throughNorth-South, South-South and triangularcooperation

Trade17.10 Promote a universal, rules-based, open, non-

discriminatory and equitable multilateraltrading system under the World Trade Organi-zation, including through the conclusion ofnegotiations under its Doha DevelopmentAgenda

17.11 Significantly increase the exports of develop-ing countries, in particular with a view todoubling the least developed countries’ shareof global exports by 2020

17.12 Realize timely implementation of duty-freeand quota-free market access on a lastingbasis for all least developed countries, con-sistent with World Trade Organization deci-sions, including by ensuring that preferentialrules of origin applicable to imports fromleast developed countries are transparent andsimple, and contribute to facilitating marketaccess

Systemic issues

Policy and institutional coherence

17.13 Enhance global macroeconomic stability, in-cluding through policy coordination and policycoherence

17.14 Enhance policy coherence for sustainable de-velopment

17.15 Respect each country’s policy space andleadership to establish and implement poli-cies for poverty eradication and sustainabledevelopment

Multi-stakeholder partnerships

17.16 Enhance the Global Partnership for Sustain-able Development, complemented by multi-stakeholder partnerships that mobilize andshare knowledge, expertise, technology andfinancial resources, to support the achieve-ment of the Sustainable Development Goalsin all countries, in particular developingcountries

17.17 Encourage and promote effective public,pub-lic-private and civil society partnerships,building on the experience and resourcingstrategies of partnerships

Data, monitoring and accountability

17.18 By 2020, enhance capacity-building supportto developing countries, including for leastdeveloped countries and small island devel-oping States, to increase significantly theavailability of high-quality, timely and reli-able data disaggregated by income, gender,age, race, ethnicity, migratory status, disabil-ity, geographic location and other character-istics relevant in national contexts

17.19 By 2030, build on existing initiatives to de-velop measurements of progress on sustain-able development that complement grossdomestic product, and support statistical ca-pacity-building in developing countries

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Members of ASviS (at 12 September 2019)

Accademia dei Georgofili di Firenze, ActionAid Italia, Adiconsum, Agenzia di Ricerche e Legislazione (AREL), AIAF Asso-ciazione Italiana per l’Analisi Finanziaria, AIESEC Italia, Alleanza contro la Povertà in Italia, Alleanza per il Clima ItaliaOnlus, Amref Health Africa – Italia, ANCC-COOP - Associazione Nazionale Cooperative Consumatori, ANEA - AssociazioneNazionale degli Enti di Governo d’Ambito per l’Idrico e i Rifiuti, Anima per il sociale nei valori d’impresa, Animaimpresa,Arci, ARCO lab (Action Research for CO-development), ART-ER Attrattività Ricerca e Territorio, Associazione Coordina-mento Agende 21 Locali Italiane, Associazione Diplomatici, Associazione ETIClab, Associazione Europea Sostenibilità eServizi Finanziari (Assosef), Associazione Fuori Quota, Associazione Isnet, Associazione Italiana Biblioteche (AIB), Asso-ciazione Italiana delle Fondazioni ed Enti della Filantropia Istituzionale (Assifero), Associazione Italiana Donne per loSviluppo (AIDOS), Associazione Italiana Formatori e Operatori della Sicurezza sul Lavoro (AIFOS), Associazione Italianaper gli Studi sulla Qualità della Vita (AIQUAV), Associazione Italiana per il Consiglio dei Comuni e delle Regioni d’Europa(AICCRE), Associazione Italiana per la direzione del personale (AIDP), Associazione Italiana per la promozione della Cul-tura della Cooperazione e del Nonprofit (AICCON), Associazione Italiana per lo Sviluppo dell’Economia Circolare (AISEC),Associazione Nazionale dei Comuni Italiani (ANCI), Associazione organizzazioni Italiane di cooperazione e solidarietàinternazionale (AOI), Associazione PEFC Italia, Associazione per gli Studi Internazionali e Comparati Sul Diritto delLavoro e Sulle Relazioni Industriali (ADAPT), Associazione per la difesa e l’orientamento dei consumatori (ADOC), Asso-ciazione professionale Italiana Ambiente e Sicurezza (AIAS), Associazione Professionale Italiana dei Consulenti di Mana-gement (APCO), Associazione Veneta per lo sviluppo sostenibile – AsVeSS, Associazioni Cristiane Lavoratori Italiani (ACLI),Assolavoro – Associazione Nazionale delle Agenzie per il Lavoro, Automated Mapping/Facilities Management/GeographicInformation Systems (AM/FM GIS) Italia, Aziende Modenesi per la Responsabilità Sociale d’Impresa (RSI), Azione Catto-lica, CasaClima Network, CBM Italia Onlus, Center for Economic Development and Social Change (CED), Centro di Culturaper lo sviluppo del territorio “G. Lazzati”, Centro di ricerca ASK Bocconi - Laboratorio di economia e gestione delleistituzioni e delle iniziative artistiche e culturali, Centro Nazionale per il Volontariato (CNV), Centro per la Salute Glo-bale dell’Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Centro Sportivo Italiano, Centro Studi ed iniziative Culturali “Pio La Torre”, CesviFondazione Onlus, Cittadinanzattiva, Club Alpino Italiano (CAI), Club dell’Economia, CMCC Centro Euro Mediterraneosui Cambiamenti Climatici, Comitato italiano per il Contratto Mondiale sull’acqua – Onlus, Comitato Italiano per l’UNICEF– Onlus, Confartigianato, Confcommercio – Imprese per l’Italia, Confederazione Cooperative Italiane (Confcooperative),Confederazione Generale dell’Agricoltura Italiana, Confagricoltura, Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro (CGIL),Confederazione Italiana Agricoltori (CIA), Confederazione Italiana Sindacati Lavoratori (CISL), Confederazione Nazionaledell’Artigianato e della Piccola e Media Impresa (CNA), Conferenza delle Regioni, Confesercenti Nazionale, ConfimpreseItalia – Confederazione Sindacale Datoriale delle Micro, Piccole e Medie Imprese, Confindustria - Confederazione Ge-nerale dell’Industria Italiana, Consorzio Italiano Compostatori (CIC), Consorzio universitario per l’Ingegneria nelle As-sicurazioni - Politecnico di Milano (CINEAS), Consumers’ Forum, Coordinamento Italiano NGO Internazionali (CINI), CSRManager Network, CSROggi, CSVnet, Earth Day Italia, Enel Foundation, Equo Garantito - Assemblea Generale Italianadel Commercio Equo e Solidale, FAI Fondo Ambiente Italiano, Fairtrade Italia, Federazione Banche Assicurazioni e Fi-nanza, Federazione Italiana per il Superamento dell’Handicap (FISH onlus), Federazione Organismi Cristiani ServizioInternazionale Volontario (FOCSIV), Federazione per l’Economia del Bene Comune Italia, Federcasse, Federculture. Fe-derazione servizi pubblici Cultura Turismo Sport Tempo Libero, Federdistribuzione, FederlegnoArredo, FIABA, FondazioneAccademia di Comunicazione, Fondazione Adecco per le Pari Opportunità, Fondazione Aem - Gruppo A2A, FondazioneASPHI Onlus, Fondazione Astrid (Fondazione per l’Analisi, gli Studi e le Ricerche sulla Riforma delle Istituzioni Demo-cratiche e sulla innovazione nelle amministrazioni pubbliche), Fondazione Aurelio Peccei, Fondazione Aurora, Fonda-zione Azione contro la Fame Italia Onlus, Fondazione Banco Alimentare Onlus, Fondazione Barilla Center for Food &Nutrition (Fondazione BCFN), Fondazione Bruno Kessler, Fondazione Bruno Visentini, Fondazione Cariplo, FondazioneCentro per un Futuro Sostenibile, Fondazione Cima/CIMA Research Foundation, Fondazione Circolo Fratelli Rosselli,Fondazione con il Sud, Fondazione Curella, Fondazione dell’Ospedale Pediatrico Anna Meyer-Onlus, Fondazione Dynamo,Fondazione Ecosistemi, Fondazione ENI Enrico Mattei, Fondazione FITS! - Fondazione per l’innovazione del terzo settore,Fondazione Fitzcarraldo, Fondazione ForTeS - Scuola di Alta Formazione per il Terzo Settore, Fondazione GiangiacomoFeltrinelli, Fondazione Giovanni Agnelli, Fondazione Giovanni Lorenzini, Fondazione Giuseppe Di Vittorio, FondazioneGiuseppe e Pericle Lavazza Onlus, Fondazione Gramsci Emilia Romagna, Fondazione Gramsci Onlus, Fondazione GruppoCredito Valtellinese, Fondazione Italiana Accenture, Fondazione l’Albero della Vita, Fondazione Lars Magnus Ericsson,Fondazione Lelio e Lisli Basso – Onlus, Fondazione MAXXI, Fondazione Monte dei Paschi di Siena, Fondazione per l’Edu-cazione Finanziaria e al Risparmio (Feduf), Fondazione per la cittadinanza attiva (FONDACA), Fondazione per la Salu-togenesi Onlus, Fondazione per lo sviluppo sostenibile (SUSDEF), Fondazione Pirelli, Fondazione Pistoletto – Cittàdell’arte, Fondazione Pubblicità Progresso, Fondazione Simone Cesaretti, Fondazione Sodalitas, Fondazione Sorella Na-tura, Fondazione Sotto i Venti, Fondazione Terre des Hommes Italia Onlus, Fondazione Triulza, Fondazione Unipolis,Fondazione Universitaria CEIS - Economia Tor Vergata, Fondo Provinciale Milanese per la Cooperazione Internazionale,FonMed – Fondazione Sud per la Cooperazione e lo Sviluppo nel Mediterraneo, Forum Italiano per la Sicurezza Urbana(FISU), Forum Nazionale del Terzo Settore, Forum per la Finanza Sostenibile, FSC ITALIA - Associazione Italiana per laGestione Forestale Responsabile, Futuridea, Global Thinking Foundation, Green Building Council Italia (GBC), Gruppodi studio per la ricerca scientifica sul Bilancio Sociale (GBS), Happy Ageing - Alleanza per l’invecchiamento attivo,Human Foundation, Impronta Etica, INDIRE Istituto Nazionale di Documentazione, Innovazione e Ricerca Educativa, In-tercultura Onlus, IPSIA Ong – Istituto Pace Innovazione Acli, ISPRA Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Am-


167

bientale, ISTAO Istituto Adriano Olivetti di Studi per la Gestione dell’Economia e delle Aziende, Istituto Affari Interna-zionali (IAI), Istituto di Ricerche Economico Sociali del Piemonte (IRES Piemonte), Istituto Europeo di Ricerca sull’ImpresaCooperativa e Sociale (Euricse), Istituto Internazionale Jacques Maritain, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), IstitutoLuigi Sturzo, Istituto Oikos Onlus, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d’Aosta, Italia De-cide, Italia Nostra Onlus, Italian Institute for the Future, Junior Achievement Italia, Lega Nazionale delle Cooperativee Mutue (Legacoop), Legambiente, Legautonomie Associazione autonomie locali, Libera, Link 2007 - Cooperazione inrete, Mani Tese, MC Movimento Consumatori, Museo delle Scienze di Trento (MuSE), Nuova Economia per Tutti (NeXt),Opera Barolo di Torino, Oxfam Italia, Pari o Dispare, Pentapolis Onlus, Percorsi di secondo welfare, Plan InternationalItalia, Planet Life Economy Foundation - Onlus (PLEF), PoliS Lombardia, PriorItalia, Rete delle Università per lo SviluppoSostenibile (RUS), Rete per la Parità - associazione di promozione sociale, Rise Against Hunger Italia, Roma Capitale,Save the Children Italia, Senior Italia FederAnziani, Società Geografica Italiana Onlus, SOS Villaggi dei Bambini Onlus,Sport Senza Frontiere Onlus, Stati Generali dell’Innovazione, Svi.Med. Centro Euromediterraneo per lo Sviluppo soste-nibile Onlus, Symbola - Fondazione per le Qualità Italiane, The Natural Step, The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation- Collezione Peggy Guggenheim, UISP – Unione Italiana Sport per tutti, UNI Ente Italiano di Normazione, UniCredit Foun-dation, Unioncamere, Unione Italiana del Lavoro (UIL), Università degli Studi di Roma "Tor Vergata", Università di Bo-logna, Università di Siena, Università Suor Orsola Benincasa di Napoli, Urban@it - Centro nazionale di studi per lepolitiche urbane, Utilitalia - Federazione delle imprese energetiche idriche ambientali, Valore D, Venice InternationalUniversity (VIU), Volontariato Internazionale per lo Sviluppo (VIS), WeWorld, World Food Programme Italia (WFP), WWFItalia.

Printing completedin September 2019at Editron srl - Rome

Graphic design and layout

NOWLEDGE USINESS

The Report prepared by the Italian Alliance for Sustainable Development (ASviS), now in its fourth edition, assesses the progress our country, its regions and the European Union have made in achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the UN’s 2030 Agenda, adopted by the governments of 193 countries on 25 September 2015. The Report also sets out the areas where action is needed to ensure the economic, social and environmental sustainability of our development model. The 2019 Report, drafted by experts from the Alliance’s over 220 member organisations, offers a wide-ranging view of the situation in Italy vis-à-vis the various aspects of sustainable development. It formulates concrete policy recommendations to improve people’s wellbeing, reduce inequalities and increase the quality of the environment in which we live. For the first time, the Report also provides an in-depth analysis of the 21 Targets that Italy has committed to achieve by 2020.

ASviS was established on 3 February 2016, on the initiative of the Unipolis Foundation and Rome’s Tor Vergata University. The Alliance is committed to spreading a culture of sustainability at all levels and aims to raise awareness in Italian society and among economic stakeholders and government institutions of the importance of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. ASviS is the largest network of civil society organisations ever created in Italy and has rapidly become a point of reference for the government and an authoritative source of information on sustainable development, made available via the Alliance’s website at www.asvis.it and on social media. The Sustainable Development Festival, organised by ASviS in the period between May and June, involved over 1,000 events throughout Italy in 2019.

Documents

Italy and the Sustainable Development Goals · change in economic, social and environmental policies. However, none of these actions appear to be up to meeting the challenge we are