European policy promises to listen to science

FThe pre-election agreement on climate and biodiversity was signed today in Rome. Only the Identity and Democracy Movement, the group to which the League belongs, refused. Meanwhile, Environment and Energy Security Minister Piceto Frattin has given the green light to establish the Scientific Council for Climate and Environment in Italy.

Editorial Board
com. lavialibera

June 5, 2024

Listening to science for effective political solutions on climate and biodiversity: this is the commitment made before the elections by almost all the European political families present in Strasbourg – with the exception of the Identity and Democracy Party, of which the Salvini League is part. The agreement was signed today, June 5, in Rome at the headquarters of the National Research Council. On the same occasion, the Minister of Environment Gilberto Bechetto Frattin It announced that it had given the green light to the process of setting up a foundation in Italy Scientific Council for Climate and Environment. According to climate physicist Antonello Pasini, coordinator of the “Science for Vote” scientific committee, which is the origin of the project Venice dialogue Of which the agreement constitutes a stage, this gesture raises hope that “despite differences on solutions, we can share respect for scientific goals and find common ground for all in the fight against crime and the environmental crisis.”

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Contents of the agreement

the European political families Those who signed the agreement in all its parts are: European People’s Party, Socialists and Democrats, Greens, LeftThey have done so in part Renewing Europe, European conservatives and reformistswhile not fully committed Identity and democracy. Among the points of agreement is the establishment of national scientific advisory bodies. “The establishment of national advisory bodies on climate and environment is a recommendation that comes from European climate law,” explains Roberto Barbero, Vice President of the Italian Society of Climate Science, one of the promoters of this initiative.

Environment Minister Gilberto Bechetto Frattin announced that he had given the green light to the process of establishing a Scientific Council for Climate and Environment in Italy.

These are the points of pre-election agreement:

• The need to adhere to the decarbonisation and biodiversity protection targets indicated by scientific research, to prevent our continent from pursuing emergencies of ever-increasing magnitude, which would deprive European citizens of essential resources and the freedom to choose their future – thus preserving the EU’s leading role in new international markets for transition. Towards balance with the natural world that supports us;
• Be open to discussion and even division about the appropriate tools to achieve the goals, in order to identify those that have the best relationship between science-based effectiveness and impact on citizens, but also those that are closest to the different values ​​embodied by European political families;
• Political forces welcome the offer of assistance from the scientific community, which is ready to point to the widest possible set of science-based tools to address the climate and biodiversity crisis and to recommend the timing of intermediate targets needed to respect the ultimate goals;

To stay on this path, political families pledge to engage with the European Advisory Board on Climate Change (the independent body that provides the EU with scientific knowledge, expertise and advice on climate change) and strengthen national bodies, ensuring greater independence and efficiency. . According to Pasini, “In this way we not only avoid greenwashing, but we give the scientific community the opportunity to provide data and tools that will then become solutions.”

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Declarations upon signing the agreement

After the signing, comments came from secretaries or spokesmen for political families. James FilipkeOn behalf of the European Socialist Party, it “hopes to continue to maintain a close relationship with scientific advisory bodies and welcomes the establishment and work of the European Advisory Committee on Climate Change” to advance the issue of emergency as an environmental priority. Environmental.

to Benedetta Di MartiSecretary General of the European Green Party, “Rapid climate action, through investments in public transport, home regeneration and green jobs, is the foundation for a fairer, healthier society that respects the planet’s boundaries.”
“Climate change – confirms Nicola Procaccini“Co-leader of European conservatives and reformists – an undeniable fact that must be addressed at the scientific, not ideological, level.”
to intervene Marion Aubrey and Martin Cherdivan, leaders of the Left Group in the European Parliament, stops any kind of misunderstanding: “Science is not an opinion. Knowledge is not a discretionary choice. Science is an indispensable basis for public decision-making and the Left Group in the European Parliament is committed to listening to, respecting and protecting scientists.

In Italy, the Scientific Committee on Climate and Environment is being established

Already in 2022, a group of climate and environmental scientists launched the “Let’s Choose the Future” project, proposing a new institutional framework. The proposal, which had been pending in the Environment Committee for a year, witnessed a sudden acceleration just days before the European vote

This event was also the moment when Environment Minister Pichito Frattin began the parliamentary process to create the organization Scientific Council for Climate and EnvironmentThis goes in the direction that the European Convention also wants and follows the example of other countries such as the Haut Conseil pour le Climat and the Expertenrat für Klimafragen in Germany and the Committee on Climate Change in the United Kingdom. Already in 2022, a group of climate and environmental scientists launched the “Let’s Choose the Future” project, proposing a new institutional framework. The proposal, which had been pending in the Environment Committee for a year, witnessed a sudden acceleration just days before the European vote. The scientists who proposed it are satisfied. “The first step has been taken – concludes Pasini – but everyone together, scientists, citizens and journalists, has the task of monitoring the fulfillment of promises.”

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