The new ministry for ecological transition is not just an assist to the 5 Star Movement, it would be completely simplistic and reductive to thus evaluate the birth of the new dicastery in the Draghi government. Giovanni Ferri, full professor of Political Economy at LUMSA and editorialist for FIRSTonline, affirms it in this interview in which he explains the economic (and not just political) reasons that push in this direction. The truth is that the ecological transition is not an exclusively environmental issue and "there is a need to have an all-round vision of the socio-economic system" that only a ministry can ensure. It will have to have "financial skills, spending capacity and systematic expenditure control" or it will easily turn into a flop that no one can afford on an issue that is crucial for the planet and for recovery. Here's what Ferri told FIRSTonline.
Professor, there is a lot of talk about ecological transition. Exactly what is it about?
“The ecological transition is a process that affects all aspects of the world of production and distribution. It implies the rethinking of all production and distribution processes in order to respect the environment more. We are used to thinking of linear processes, in which, that is, production factors (input) are introduced such as raw materials, which, through the production process, are transformed into actual products (output), which, in turn, they are first distributed and then sold. Production waste or sale inventories are not part of the linear idea with which we have described this economic chain.
On the contrary, today we must move towards a circular economy, i.e. with circular-type production, distribution and commercial processes, where, that is, what is discarded in a production process is already thought of - right from the start - as an element to be valorised , for example as a raw material in a completely different production process. Believe me: human creativity, from this point of view, is great”!
At what stage is Italy in the ecological transition process?
“Compared with the other advanced countries, Italy is ahead 'conceptually' and from the point of view of planning capabilities, however it is generally further behind in terms of implementation capacity.
It is ahead of developing countries”.
Does it make sense to create an ad hoc Ministry for the ecological transition and what responsibilities should it have?
“Many think that the announced creation of a Ministry for Ecological Transition is just a sort of assists made to one of the political parties. It may be that there is also this motivation, but looking at the institution of the Ministry for the ecological transition only from this point of view would be too superficial.
In reality this type of development – at the level of organization of the government competences of the countries – has already spread, for example in France and Spain! It is necessary that it is a structure that also has financial expertise, spending capacity and systematic control of expenditure: in my opinion, only a Ministry is the right structure to pursue this goal. Not only that: there must be a shared concept of the future and a coordination capacity between central and local decision-makers, because if one does not have the same road in mind and there is no coordination between the variousactors/decision makers', a strategic failure awaits, which no one can now afford. There is therefore a need for a new Ministry for the ecological transition”.
What new professional skills and competences should those involved in sustainability and ecological transition have?
“The ecological transition is not an exclusively environmental issue. Mario Draghi - in the various tables - has often linked this theme to social cohesion. It is no coincidence that the social partners have also been consulted on the ecological transition. There is a need to have an all-round vision of the socio-economic system: it is not possible to be only specialists or to ensure that skills are concentrated in a single organisation. Ensuring the sustainability of a system means having a holistic view of problems and solutions. This is the only way to keep all the processes together and have the ability to govern them in a unified way.
Many of the necessary skills are of a managerial nature - for example decision, coordination and supervision - and certainly the theoretical skills alone on how to implement sustainable development will not be at all sufficient. It will be necessary to know how to put them into practice, quickly and well, because the ecological transition is the only real priority for everyone.
The private sector itself will need these skills, because the ecological transition is also a business in which to compete and make a profit”.
The pandemic has accelerated the process towards ecological transition?
“At first there were fears that the pandemic would block the transition green and some even thought that the economic recession would make it possible to draw on the funds of the European Green Deal even for unsustainable investments. This was not the case and the pandemic has made it even more evident - even to those who did not want to understand - that our future is at risk and that only an ecological revolution can ensure a future for the next generations.
Not only that: all the funds of the Next Generation EU have a strong environmental conditionality and about 40% of the funds are destined for sustainability: the real challenge will be knowing how to spend money well, adopting truly effective investments within the envisaged terms”.
Speaking of investment effectiveness: what is the necessary condition to hope for positive results from the system?
“In the short term it is necessary to invest in ecology, it is now clear. But also on digital, because the innovations to which we are called often need a digital infrastructure and our country is also far behind from this point of view. More generally, infrastructures require our utmost attention: let's think of what happened with public services such as school and transport, put to the test by the pandemic which, therefore, revealed if there was still a need , fragility and inadequacy”.
