A roundtable focusing on Europe’s Next Generation EU, Green Finance and Green Building was recently set by Green Building Council Italia. Keynotes and contributors included Marco Mari, president of GBC Italia, Fabrizio Capaccioli, vice-president of GBC-Italia, Fabio Massimo Castaldo and Eleonora Evi, MEPs, Salvatore Margiotta, undersecretary at the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio, President of the UniVerde Foundation, and Claudia Segre, Director of the Global Thinking Foundation.
Fulvio Giuliani, journalist and Editor-in-Chief of RTL102.5, one of the key Italian radio channels, facilitate the event.
Taxonomy Report
“The building sector will offer an enormous contribution to achieving climate change goals” – said Eleonora Evi, Member of the European Commission for the Environment Public Health and Food Safety – “We have already exceeded the bio-capacity of our planet. The climate has gone crazy and the crisis is evident.
And this is where the European Green Deal comes in:
There are many resources made available by the UE that we must use in the fairest, reasonable and, most importantly, in an environmentally and economically sustainable way. We must have the courage to make decisions of historical importance.
And this is where Taxonomy has appeared at the European level. This is a regulation that is probably the first and most ambitious legislation in the world, that defines what a green investment is. It provides clear parameters for all Member States and for all economic operators. And this is a definitive step.”
Superbonus 110%
Thanks to the Next Generation EU scheme, a rich budget of 74.3 billion euros will allow Italy to fuel the transition towards green economy, and to support initiatives such as the “Superbonus 110%.”
The Superbonus 110% is a scheme recently launched by the Italian Parliament, which includes a 110% tax credit on expenditures made to enhance homes energy efficiency and to lower building seismic risks. The initiative, which was recently extended by the Italian Government until end of 2022, has been appreciated by the European Commission as a best practice.
“The Superbonus has been successfully received and seen as a win-win measure: it is an initiative that is beneficial for people, the environment, and businesses. It is also a true boost for the Italian economy. 20 million euros of the Recovery Fund (Next Generation EU) has been allocated to support the Superbonus.” said Salvatore Margiotta, undersecretary of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport.
Act together
“How is it possible to make a regulatory, structural and cultural leap, when we have to face objective limits in our urban planning? We have an building stock with historic and heritage assets along with limits and constraints. We have planning constraints that do not allow for conversions. We have environmental constraints within seismic zones. A misalignment between the national land registry and local authorities’ databases, with most of the records kept on paper as the digitalization has not yet arrived.
The implementation of smart urban solutions requires all stakeholders (urban planners, architects, engineers) to work closely together. As well as it requires policy makers to work along with institutions like GBC Italia in promoting green rating systems.
We must leave to future generation a set of good practices, including regulations and guidelines for the regeneration of the built environment”, said Claudia Segre, Director of the Global Thinking Foundation.
Green shift and green building rating systems
“The Climate Finance is a crucial tool to tackle climate change”, stated Fabrizio Capaccioli, vice president of GBC Italia, leading the end of the round table.
“We need to look at buildings in an organic and holistic way. GBC Italia has solid roots. Our Green Rating Systems are inspired by American ones and are very well-structured. GBC Italia would like to be inspirational for the future environmental energy policies.
It is necessary to certify that the proposals that will be made in Italy, but also in other countries, for the Next Generation EU have an effective validity for the energy transition, the fight against climate change and the creation of a truly sustainable development model for Europe”.
Source: Green Building Council Italia
