Interview with Enrico Giovannini, member of the Italian Government task force to face Covid-19 and spokesperson for the Italian Alliance for Sustainable Development (ASviS)
Enrico Giovannini, economist and statistician, member of the task force of experts who will guide the country’s recovery in the context of the Covid-19 emergency, was among other things president of the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) and Minister of Labour and Social Policies of the Letta government. In 2016 he was co-founder of the Italian Alliance for Sustainable Development (ASviS), a network of over 230 institutions from Italian civil society, of which he spoke in national and international contexts. One of the main commitments of the Alliance represented by Giovannini is to promote the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, key points of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, in order to raise awareness in Italian society, in economic bodies and in institutions of the importance of sustainable development. Never before has the issue of sustainability and health become so intertwined and fundamental also in preparing the country to get back on its feet.
Dr. Giovannini, how is ASviS moving in this unprecedented emergency?
From an operational point of view, the Alliance, in compliance with the restrictive provisions, is carrying out its activities using smart working models. Given the situation, ASviS had to postpone and remodel the contents of its most important event, the Festival of Sustainable Development, which therefore will take place from 22 September to 8 October, a period in which important international events are also scheduled. With regard to policy actions, ASviS presented, with the Inequalities and Diversity Forum, a supplementary proposal for government actions to support the income of the people most in difficulty, to prevent the epidemic crisis from further aggravating economic disparities and inequalities and try to prevent the risk of impoverishment and social instability. We then examined the government decree, “Cura Italia” in light of the 2030 Agenda and conducted an initial assessment of the impact of the epidemic crisis on the objectives of sustainable development. As you can see, our research and analysis activity has not stopped, precisely with a view to helping to prepare to make decisions that go in the direction of greater economic, social and environmental sustainability. We must ensure that this crisis leads to an evolution of our patterns of behaviour, production and consumption towards what, just three months ago, everyone called a “paradigm shift”.
This crisis was not the first and, in the opinion of science, will not be the last. What could be done to build greater resilience in our system?
Resilience means that after a shock you return to the starting point, a point that was unsustainable, however. This is why we must look further and transform what was not working and what we already knew we had to change. The trauma we are experiencing is an opportunity for all humanity to review the mistakes made, given that we will be called upon to face enormous challenges from an economic, social and institutional point of view. I insisted that the Government set up, alongside the crisis unit, a “transformative resilience” unit, a task force that would look beyond the emergency. In the analysis I was talking about, for each article of the “Cura Italia” Decree, ASviS, based on the document developed with the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) on transformative resilience, ASviS assigned the individual measures the most relevant dimension among the five identified by the research: policies that prevent, prepare, protect, promote and transform. In the case of the “Cura Italia” Decree, most of the articles can be traced back to “protection” measures: in fact, these are measures with short-term effects to deal with the emergency. Some of these (for example, distance learning or agile work) should then be used to initiate a change in the sense of transformative resilience.
What preventive measures would be necessary to face these situations?
The public policies identified to prevent crises should be implemented with all dimensions of sustainability in mind. This must be one of the objectives of the governmental task force. In this context, ASviS reiterates the recommendation to the Government and Parliament that the regulatory measures under discussion are always accompanied by an assessment, albeit qualitative, of their expected impact on the various dimensions of sustainable development. Only in this way can we prevent and not chase crises.
It was said that this crisis is ‘an anticipation of what could happen if the world remains on an unsustainable path of development’. How do the sustainability issues contained in Agenda 2030 intertwine with this situation or with other similar ones in other countries?
The 2030 Agenda foresees a path towards solutions that lead the whole world on a path of sustainable development. And it remains an important guide, particularly in this period of uncertainty. The coronavirus pandemic has made us realise how vulnerable we are and how short-sighted we have been so far. For example, we had been warned by scientists that the destruction of ecosystems would increase the risk of a pandemic, even if we didn’t know exactly when it would happen. The 2030 Agenda helps to create a basis for preventing the effects of other possible catastrophic events, for preparing and protecting us. Many countries were ready to face the crisis; we certainly were not. On the other hand, five years have already passed since the signing of the 2030 Agenda by all UN countries and we only have ten years left to achieve the relevant objectives. Maybe, now that we have experienced how we are in a boat at the mercy of the storm, when we get out of it we will strive to build a more solid ship and therefore a more sustainable world.
What actions among the 17 Sustainable Development Goals are the most urgent to achieve in order to improve the current situation?
In addition to the issue of health, which is putting the whole system in crisis, with serious loss of human life and very distressing circumstances, we must remember that, although the virus can affect everyone indiscriminately, the closure of businesses and isolation aggravate the situation of those who were already in economic and social hardship. I think of those who are losing their jobs, especially those who are not covered by benefits that support income. So the goals regarding poverty and inequality are the most urgent ones to address, but so is that of education, because the closure of schools and universities increases educational poverty, especially for those who are more fragile or live in more isolated areas. As you can see only from this example, the objectives are all interconnected and this is why the 2030 Agenda must continue to be our compass.
Apart from activities aimed at finding treatments or a vaccine for coronavirus, what role can scientific research and innovation play in the recovery of the country?
The role of research and innovation is fundamental and this emergency has proved it. I hope that this crisis will push all sectors to direct more investments to these purposes, starting with the spread of broadband nationwide. But I would add that recovery must be supported with strong incentives for innovation in companies and in public administration. Both to catch up with the past and to modify production processes to make them more sustainable. I am thinking of the energy transition and the circular economy. I am thinking of the regeneration interventions in our country. In all these fields, and in many others, Italian research has already identified important and innovative solutions that must now be adopted in a pervasive way.
What do you think we will learn from this period of crisis?
It is difficult to give an answer that does not sound rhetorical. I’ll just say that this shock has given us proof of how much we dared to challenge ecosystems and how vulnerable and exposed we are. We are to blame for having destroyed the world in which we live, but now we have the opportunity to start again in a different way, to protect ourselves and future generations from other possible systemic shocks like this and to build a world that is more sustainable all round. But we cannot rule out that the world will emerge from the health crisis more fearful and more aggressive, with very high risks for peace. That’s why we can’t waste even a minute in deciding now how to build the future we want.
