Italy is proceeding along an unsustainable development path and, despite the commitments made at international level, including with the signing of the Pact on the Future, the country’s choices are insufficient to achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda. Of the 37 quantitative targets linked to European and national commitments, only eight are achievable by the 2030 deadline, 22 are not and for seven others the outcome is uncertain. A profound change of approach and pace is urgently needed, putting sustainable development at the centre of all policies, accelerating (not delaying) ecological and digital transitions, effectively fighting inequality, including territorial inequality, and exploiting the opportunities arising from the new European regulations on sustainability in businesses and the regeneration of territories, and from the 2022 amendment of the Constitution to protect the rights of new and future generations. This is what emerges from the ninth ASVIS Report, ‘Cultivating our future now. Italy and the Sustainable Development Goals ‘ presented by the Italian Alliance for Sustainable Development (ASviS) at the Acquario Romano, in Rome.
‘Sustainability is not simply an energy or climate issue, which can be solved with marginal interventions or small adjustments in public policies presented as epoch-making transformations, while they are often green-washing and social-washing expedients,’ says ASviS scientific director Enrico Giovannini. – The construction of sustainable development requires a systemic vision and the awareness that every delay increases the scale of crises and the costs of transition’.
The Report’s data clearly describe Italy’s enormous delay on the path to achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)of the 2030 Agenda . Between 2010 and 2023, the country deteriorated for five Goals: poverty, inequality, quality of the Earth’s ecosystems, governance and partnership. Limited improvements are noted for six Goals: food, clean energy, jobs and economic growth, sustainable cities, combating climate change and quality of marine ecosystems. More substantial improvements are noted for five Goals: health, education, gender equality, water and sanitation, and innovation. The only very substantial improvement concerns the circular economy.
The situation appears even more serious if we consider the gap between the population’s concerns and political action. According to recent polls, nine out of ten Italians are concerned about the state of ecosystems and 62% are convinced that the planet is reaching dangerous ‘breaking points’ and are calling for a faster and more incisive ecological transition, while 93% believe that Italy must strengthen its commitments in the fight against climate change. These concerns are compounded by the fact that only 25% believe that the government’s decisions are taken for the benefit of the majority of the country (against an average of 39% in the G20 countries) and only 21% think that the government is operating with the country’s long-term prospects in mind (37% in the G20 countries).
ASVIS proposals for putting sustainability at the centre of policies
ASVIS puts forward numerous proposals and ‘system’ interventions to improve national and European policies. Italy in particular must urgently implement the National Sustainable Development Strategy, approved by the government in September 2023 and then forgotten, and a Programme for Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development, putting the implementation of the 2030 Agenda at the centre of political decisions. In an era marked by the climate crisis and the increasing loss of biodiversity, it is also essential to comply with international agreements and ensure sustainable management of ecosystems. This is the context of the need to pass a Climate Act, to guide the country towards carbon neutrality by 2050. It is also essential to prioritise the implementation of the Declaration on Future Generations approved at the UN on 23 September: a commitment that should involve young people more closely in the democratic and decision-making life of the country: not just an act of justice, but an indispensable choice to ensure an inclusive and sustainable future.
The four ‘game changers’ on which Italy’s future depends
According to ASVIS, Italy’s choices are marked by four possible ‘game changers ’ that could profoundly influence the country’s future. The first is linked to the law on differentiated autonomy, which risks worsening inequalities between territories, compromising the sustainability of public accounts and the coordination of policies needed to achieve the SDGs. This is why it is essential to limit the overlaps between the State and the Regions, assigning the former the exclusive management of strategic sectors such as infrastructure and energy. The second depends on the European Directives on corporate sustainability reporting: a turning point for the production system, called upon to ensure greater transparency and to assume new responsibilities in the social and environmental spheres. The third derives from the new European Regulation on the restoration of nature, which binds Member States to restore degraded ecosystems, triggering not only environmental improvements but also generating new and qualified employment, especially in urban areas, where, among other things, a stop to land consumption is imposed. The fourth stems from the reform of the Constitution, which took place in 2022 thanks also to the initiative of ASVIS, which introduces among the constitutional principles that of protecting the environment, ecosystems and biodiversity also in the interest of future generations, and establishes that economic activity cannot take place to the detriment of health and the environment. The recent Constitutional Court ruling (no. 105/2024) reinforces this principle, stating that environmental protection is an absolute value. In this logic, ASVIS proposes that future legislation be subjected to a ‘generational impact assessment’. The unique opportunity to transform Italy’s development model in a fairer and more sustainable direction depends on the ability to act quickly and decisively today.
The 2030 Agenda in Europe
Even the European Union, despite the integration of the SDGs into EU policies in the 2019- 2024 legislature, is struggling to meet the roadmap to achieve the 2030 Agenda. According to the ASviS analysis, between 2010 and 2022, the summary indices register very substantial growth only in the case of gender equality, significant increases for clean energy, jobs and economic growth, and innovation, moderately positive dynamics for ten Goals, and worsening for the quality of terrestrial ecosystems and partnership. In contrast to Italy, out of 17 quantitative goals officially defined by the EU, ten are attainable by 2030, only five are not attainable and for two the judgement remains suspended. Positive is the fact that President Ursula von der Leyen has reaffirmed her commitment to implementing environmental, economic and social policies in the direction of sustainable development, despite the difficult geopolitical context, and that she has included in the mission letters of the new Commissioners the goal of achieving the SDGs within their remit.
The 2030 Agenda in the world
As the first chapter of the Report shows, even at the global level the path to implementing the 2030 Agenda is dramatically uncertain. With only six years to go until 2030, only 17% of the global Targets monitored seem set to be achieved, while at least one third of the Targets are stalled or even deteriorating. Hence, the United Nations, through the ‘Pact on the Future ’ signed on 22 September, identified 56 actions to which world leaders are committed, covering five priority areas: sustainable development, finance, peace and security, technology cooperation and strengthening global governance. Many of the actions are aimed at improving global governance, reforming the UN (including the Security Council), the World Trade Organisation and major international institutions, and recognising the right of emerging and developing countries to assume greater roles in them.
ASVIS Report 2024: ‘ Cultivating our future now. Italy and the Sustainable Development Goals’.
