Environment and climate change
- INHALE - Impact on humaN Health of Agriculture and Livestock Emissions
Valentina Bosetti, Francesco Granella, Maurizio Malpede, Jacopo Lunghi
The harsh lockdown measures that marked the response to the COVID-19 outbreak in the Italian region of Lombardy provides a unique natural experiment for assessing the sensitivity of local air pollution to emissions. However, evaluating the pollution benefits of the lockdown is complicated by confounding factors such as variations in weather. We use a machine learning algorithm that does not require identifying comparable but unaffected regions while addressing the effect of weather. We show that the lockdown, albeit virtually halting most human activities, reduced background concentrations of PM2.5 by 3.84 µg/m3 (16%) and NO2 by 10.85 µg/m3 (33%). Improved air quality has saved at least 11% of the years of life lost and 19% of the premature deaths attributable to COVID-19 in the region. Although air pollution has significantly decreased, it has often remained above safety thresholds. The analysis highlights the diversity of air pollution sources and the need for an expansive policy response.
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- Lockdown Measures and Air Quality: Evidence from Italian Provinces
Maurizio Malpede, Marco Percoco
The aim of this study is to estimate the effects of the implementation of more restrictive lockdown measures on pollution levels in Italy. Using a time series of weekly concentrations of PM 10, PM 2.5 and NO 2 for the period 2016–2020 across 71 provinces, we find that the introduction of lockdown measures reduced the air concentration levels of PM 10 and NO 2 by 17–18%, while their effect on PM 2.5 remains unclear. These results indicate that the lockdown yielded a double dividend in terms of lives saved and improved air quality.
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- Respect Your Capital
Marco Percoco
GREEN Bocconi is estimating the social value of new approach to coastal management with the re-use seagrass (Posidonia Oceanica) according to circular economy principles. The project has been funded by Marevivo Association thanks to a donation by Pramerica SGR.
- Expanding PadovaFIT! Home Solutions
Edoardo Croci, Tania Molteni, Benedetta Lucchitta, Annamaria Bagaini
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No 847143.
The “PadovaFIT EXPANDED” project aims to design, create and pilot a “One-Stop-Shop” dedicated to energy renovation of private residential buildings. The business model will be tested in four pilot areas (Padova – Italy, Timisoara – Romania, Burgas and Smolyan – Bulgaria).
- COMETS - COmmunity Models for the Energy Transition and Social Innovation
Chiara Candelise, Veronica Lupi
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No 837722.
There are large knowledge gaps around the governance of the low carbon energy system transition in a smooth and participative way, ensuring that citizens are at the centre of the required fundamental transformation and enabling the full efflorescence of their creative potential. Social innovation is a prime way to tap into that potential while Collective Action Initiatives (CAIs), a social innovation in itself, are a prime way to mobilize people and to ensure the acceptance for and participation in the necessary transition process. The COMETS project aims to fill these knowledge gaps by quantifying the Europeanwide aggregate contribution of CAIs to the energy transition at national and European levels by investigating their evolution and scaling up at an in-depth level in six selected countries.
- SMART — Strategie sostenibili e Modelli di Aziende Responsabili nel Territorio transfrontaliero
Davide Della Valentina, Michela Melis, Michele Merola, Gaia Pretner
This project has received funding from the Italy-Switzerland Interreg Programme under Project ID 492824.
The challenge of SMART Project is the valorization of the cross-border territory of Como-Lecco-Ticino as an area that adopts economic, social and environmental corporate sustainability as a competitive advantage element. Its main goals are i) the alignment of corporate sustainable practices with specific territorial policies, ii) the transformation of sustainability into a corporate and territorial competitive factor and iii) the provision of sustainability tools to cross-border companies. The main activities implemented by the project are Research, Formation and Accompanying. Italian Partners: Chamber of Commerce of Como-Lecco, Confindustria Como, GREEN-Bocconi University. Swiss Partners: SUPSI University, SQS.
- URBAN GreenUP: New Strategy for Re-Naturing Cities through Nature-Based Solutions
Edoardo Croci, Benedetta Lucchitta
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No 730426.
The project aims at facilitating the exploitation, replication and up-scaling of innovative urban nature-based solutions, for enabling more resource-efficient, inclusive, healthier, attractive and livable cities. At this purpose, the project will develop and deploy large-scale demonstration activities of innovative nature-based solutions adopting “front-runners” and “followers” cities.
- SIM4NEXUS: Sustainable Integrated Management FOR the NEXUS of water-land-food-energy- climate for a resource-efficient Europe
Roberto Roson
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No 689150.
The project aims at better understanding climate change and land use impacts on water resources and agricultural productivity, and how all this mutually affects -and is affected by- energy generation, with potential implications on a low-carbon future in Europe. The project considers a range of potential strategies for promoting/strengthening the productive resilience of European agriculture, forestry and water use, linking them to land use through carbon sequestration, fossil fuel substitution and a low carbon economy. These are intended to provide integrated assessment tools for promoting food security in Europe, while supporting the twofold goal of a low carbon economy and sustainable water management. The strategies will be developed in participatory process with stakeholders, using an holistic high-level approach that will also include governance issues.
- BRAVER: Boosting Regulatory Advantages Vis-à-Vis EMAS Registration
Camilla Facheris, Michela Melis, Michele Merola, Gaia Pretner
This project has received funding from the European Union’s LIFE+ Programme under Grant Agreement No 15ENV/IT/000509.
In this project, which is the follow-up of the BRAVE, Bocconi GREEN stands as Coordinator: i) selecting European Directives (both in force, and at a preparatory stage) to include in a regulatory relief perspective; ii) analyzing existing measures adopted in other countries not involved in the partnership; iii) elaborating and testing the “better regulation” and “regulatory relief” proposals; iv) involving regional and local governments in order to effectively contribute to the achievement of the projects objectives; v) carrying out communication training and sensitization activities and developing ad-hoc tool for policy-makers, local actors and SMEs, in order to spread the knowledge about regulatory reliefs and other simplification measures for EMAS registered organizations.
- RISICO: Risk and uncertainty in developing and implementing climate change policies
Valentina Bosetti
This project has received funding from the European Union’s 7th Framework Programme under Grant Agreement No 336703.
Uncertainty is pervasive when considering climate change. The drivers of the process, the final effects and the potential solutions are all non-deterministic. Although this is a staple fact, the vast majority of research dealing with developing and implementing policies to mitigate and adapt to climate change ignore uncertainty. The present project aims at advancing substantially the way we conceptualize model and frame climate change policy making focusing on the central role of uncertainty.
