Institutional portal - Municipality of Milan

Grandi: "We want to make Milan the national point of reference for environmental transition"

Milan, October 4 2022 – In Milan, nine Italian cities meet with Europe to systematize experiences and projects to protect the environment, to combat climate change and encourage decarbonisation processes by 2030. It took place today at Palazzo Reale, on the occasion of the first Environment Forum underway in the city until 7 October, the conference "The city as a laboratory for climate neutrality".

Together with the Mayor of Milan Giuseppe Sala and the councilor for the environment and greenery Elena Grandi, the mayors of Bergamo and Prato Giorgio Gori and Matteo Biffoni and the councilors for the environment of Bologna, Turin, Florence, Parma, Rome and Padua, as well as several representatives from the world of entrepreneurship and research.

"In this difficult moment, which is the prelude to an even more difficult autumn – said councilor Grandi – working in synergy with other Italian cities and with Europe is fundamental. And we want to ensure that Milan is the national point of reference for the environmental transition. The climate, environmental and social crisis must be addressed urgently and with the awareness that we will not have to leave anyone behind. This is why we are convinced that only with concerted actions will we be able to find solutions capable of mitigating the effects of the crisis climate change and to make our cities more welcoming, sustainable and livable".

To open the proceedings, after the institutional greetings of the Mayor Sala, to highlight the international outlook of the conference, the interventions of Bárbara Pons, Agenda 2030 delegate of the Municipality of Barcelona and Thomas Osdoba, director of the European Program Netzerocities, who highlighted how the urban areas host 75% of the European Union's population and globally consume over 65% of available energy, causing over 70% of CO2 emissions. From this perspective, it is increasingly necessary to create shared experimentation and innovation ecosystems among European cities by 2030.

The dialogue between the mayors of Milan, Bergamo and Prato represents an important piece in the construction of a national network between the main Italian entities involved in the implementation of concrete plans for the decarbonisation of territories, through important challenges involving different areas, from urban planning to mobility through energy efficiency.

In fact, the event continues with the discussion between the representatives of the nine Italian cities (Milan, Rome, Turin, Bergamo, Bologna, Florence, Padua, Parma, Prato) which signed with the Ministry of Infrastructure and Mobility last September sustainable the protocol for pursuing the objectives of the European Union mission "100 climate-neutral cities by 2030 – by and for the citizens", within the framework program of the European Union which makes available over 360 million euros of funding to develop and implement actions and proposals that enable cities to implement carbon neutrality strategies by 2030.

At the end, a round table to compare some of the main private and research operators on the opportunities linked to the decarbonisation processes of urban contexts.

The meeting at Palazzo Reale intends to set itself the objective of starting a national and international discussion on the construction of synergistic research and innovation plans and actions relating to clean mobility, energy efficiency and green urban planning, the protection of greenery, offering individual cities have the possibility of carrying out pilot projects, developing good practices and common initiatives that enhance collaborations between the Italian urban contexts involved.