Search

For many governments, enacting green policies is a priority, but such policies often impose on citizens substantial and uneven costs. How does the introduction of green policies affect voting? We study this question in the context of a major ban on polluting cars introduced in Milan, which was strongly opposed by the populist right party Lega. Using several inferential strategies, we show that owners of banned vehicles—who incurred a median loss of €3,750—were significantly more likely to vote for Lega in the subsequent elections. Our analysis indicates that this electoral change did not stem from a broader shift against environmentalism, but rather from disaffection with the policy's uneven pocketbook implications. In line with this pattern, recipients of compensation from the local government were not more likely to switch to Lega. The findings highlight the central importance of distributive consequences in shaping the political ramifications of green policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The genus Sorbus has maintained an extremely relevant role over time from a landscape and environmental perspective in many countries in the Mediterranean and Central Europe. Based on the requirements coming from the environmental policies provided in the European strategy Next Generation EU, Sorbus has been considered a valuable species to be introduced in urban and peri-urban areas. The purpose of this study was to propagate four Sorbus accessions selected in the Sicilian territory, Southern Italy, using the liquid substrate in temporary immersion bioreactors Plantform™. The results obtained showed that the presence of 1 mg L−1 mT in the substrate in combination with IBA 0.05 mg L−1 produced a significant number of shoots (4.7) and a greater length (2.2 cm). Among the accessions, there were statistically significant differences; the accession SN2 and SN1 produced more shoots (respectively, 4.0 and 3.6), and a greater length of the shoots was observed in the selections SN4 and SN3 (respectively, 2.4 cm and 2.3 cm). The relative growth rate (RGR) was significantly influenced by the presence of the culture substrate of the combination of cytokines and auxin; SN4 selection showed the best RGR results of 8.3 mg−1 d−1. The use of the bioreactor Plantform™ in Sorbus domestica L. has favored a better development of plants obtained in vitro, demonstrating that this system is a valid alternative for the micropropagation of Sorbus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The protection of valuable environments and threatened species were at the forefront of Italy's environmental policy landscape has undergone a significant transformation since the 1960s. The economic miracle's profound changes fueled a widespread demand for nature protection. This resulted in a surge of legislative measures and the creation of new environmental institutions. Furthermore, the traditional state monopoly on environmental protection was challenged by the emergence of regional administrations and the growing influence of European institutions. However, the current situation presents a complex picture. A multitude of regulations, sometimes hypertrophic and contradictory, coexist with a concerning decline in public environmental commitment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Comparative Economic Research is the property of Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Lodzkiego and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) require the implementation of 167 targets aimed at eradicating poverty, protecting the planet and improving the quality of life of humankind. The United Nations calls for uniform sustainable development at the global, local and individual levels. This research pursues a twofold objective: first, to obtain evidence on the extent to which the achievement of the (SDGs) may be uniform across territories; second, to identify the socioeconomic characteristics that contribute to sustainable development. The empirical analysis has been carried out using clustering, cross efficiency and contingency tables applied to statistical information from 101 municipalities in Spain and Italy. The results provide evidence of inequalities between territories, revealing that only in the dimensions People (SDGs 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5) and Prosperity (SDGs 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11) has the desired homogeneity been attained. Notable differences are found in the degree of compliance with the other SDGs. Furthermore, it is shown that the socioeconomic characteristics associated with the geographical location contribute substantially to the gap between municipalities. In order to ensure countries' sustainable development, there is a need for environmental policies adapted to the specific features of each region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various anthropogenic activities affect marine coastal habitats, leading to heavy litter pollution. However, whilst high litter concentrations are nowadays common in the proximity of metropolises, few studies investigated the magnitude of this phenomenon around coastal villages and small towns. We hereby characterized the benthic litter occurring in the trawlable grounds of the Gulf of Policastro (Tyrrhenian Sea, central-western Mediterranean), a low population density area that becomes a popular tourist destination during summer. We furthermore tested differences between two depths (∼100-200 and ∼500-600 m) and the impact of tourism on the shallower waters. The area was characterized by a litter abundance of 651.12 ± 130.61 item/km 2 , with plastic being almost totalitarian (93%). The shallower waters hosted two-thirds of the litter found. Almost all (∼95%) the litter items had a land-based origin, while the sea-based litter was mostly found at higher depths. About 14% of the litter was found to be fouled, with the development of litter-associated communities that somehow mimic the natural ones living on hard substrates. The higher litter presence noticed during the touristic peak (July-August) suggests that tourism is an important source of local litter, although it contributed to the local accumulation in a synergic way with other factors. The majority of the litter items presumably originated from the nearby coastline, while the deeper waters were or are used as a dumping site by the local trawling fleet. The discovery of such a critical waste accumulation and management in a somehow remote area contributes to widen the perspectives on the presence of benthic litter mostly in territories characterized by wide anthropization. Moreover, it confirms that appropriate local policies and communication plans are urged even at a regional level to stimulate citizen consciousness and mitigate the ever growing litter pollution., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Lucia Rizzo, Pierpaolo Consoli, and Fabio Crocetta report that financial support was provided by the Campania Region. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

The influence of the European Landscape Convention (ELC) on the landscape planning legal framework of Italy, Spain and England is discussed. The ELC defines landscape, holistically, as something perceived by people in their everyday life. Integrating landscape protection and management into every policy influencing the quality of a territory is a major ELC's goal. This view challenges the interpretation that stresses the continuing importance of objective landscape values, such as natural beauty, recognisable by expert assessment. This dialectic also reveals a fault line between local democracy/participation and a centralist approach towards landscape protection. We found signs of such competing narratives in the landscape planning regulations of the said jurisdictions implementing the ELC, although the rationales that inspire them were little affected. We argue that the said dialectic may be seen more as an opportunity to build a more comprehensive system of landscape protection than a downside. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last decade, waste management and prevention have become important in the transition towards a circular economy (CE). This study explores how voluntary environmental policies, adopted at a regional level, contribute to green transition from the perspective of the CE. By considering general and region-specific trends in waste management and environmental certifications, we perform a two-step analysis on a panel of 20 Italian regions between 2015 and 2019: the first step extrapolates the relative efficiency by using a Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), while the second step extrapolates the efficiency in terms of productivity changes supported by Malmquist Productivity Analysis (MPA). The DEA results show an overall rising trend of efficiency among the Italian regions, supported by the MPA. Furthermore, they reveal that technological innovation in Italian waste management contributes to a greater efficiency in socio-economic systems which are characterized by 'environmental federalism'. From a decision-making perspective, this study suggests that measures such as the incentivization of voluntary environmental policies should be proposed to promote techno-organizations' transition to CE, in coherence with regional economic/industrial specializations and strategies, possibly based on a diversified policy mix, setting a knowledge-based framework by using budgetary measures and policy actions at the regional level. • Circular Economy with resource recovery is a driving force to achieve green transition. • Increase in resource efficiency is an unexplored economic opportunity to support growth. • EMAS and UNI EN ISO certifications are proxies for the level of attention paid to the environment. • Voluntary environmental certifications facilitate the transition. • Choices made at the regional level contribute to the transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiple environmental stressors threaten the environmental quality in urban areas.Several policies were implemented in Italy to improve environmental quality, following the rationale that the more populated municipalities need high intervention priority and funds. Nevertheless, this approach not necessarily ensures to address real environmental challenges. This study aims to provide an innovative approach to explore interventions' priority at the national scale, based on Environmental Quality Standards (EQS) of five factors related to three environmental stressors, air pollution (O 3 , PM 10 , NO 2), thermal stress (heatwave days), and hydraulic vulnerability (flooding events). A multi-criteria analysis assessed the cumulative effect of factors by combining them into a single Aggregate Index of Challenge (AIC), and a hotspot analysis identified AIC spatial aggregation through the territory. Finally, the spatial mismatch between Italian environmental policies and the co-occurrence of factors was explored. Results evidenced EQS exceedances in the national territory of O 3 for 89%, PM 10 for 8%, NO 2 for less than 1%, heatwaves for 45%, and hydraulic vulnerability for 10%. AIC highlighted that 43% of the national surface shows the coexistence of at least two factors in EQS exceedance. Results highlighted that administrative boundaries are not sufficient to delimit an area of analysis and intervention as opposed to an evidence-based approach which seems promising for enhancing the costeffectiveness of funds allocation as well as their return in terms of human wellbeing. This study provides a novel approach to enhance environmental policies and planning, giving insight for future research, especially for Nature-Based Solutions implementation, performance, and multifunctionality. • Multi-criteria analysis was performed to assess co-occurrence of stressors. • Intervention priority was identified based on aggregate indices of challenge. • 43% of the Italian territory is simultaneously threatened by multiple stressors. • High stressors heterogeneity is found within the analyzed administrative domains. • Evidence-based approach can improve cost-effectiveness of policies in urban areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Board members' attitudes towards environmental protection are an important antecedent of how companies define and implement sustainability initiatives, but little is known about directors' attitudes and the factors associated with these. Using survey data on Italian board members, the research sought to explore the relationships between these individual's personal attributes, especially those related to their roles on boards, and their attitudes towards environmental protection. The findings suggest that female directors, directors with financial background, and independent directors are positively related to attitudes towards environmental protection. In the financial sector, younger board members and risk committee members show stronger environmental attitudes. The results could be of interest to policymakers because the board member attributes identified may require a stronger regulatory focus in order to achieve public policy's environmental protection objectives and to governance bodies in terms of defining board committees' composition and selecting "green directors" oriented towards environmental issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the literature on the relationship between economic growth and CO2 emissions is extensive, the use of machine learning (ML) tools remains seminal. In this paper, we assess this nexus for Italy using innovative algorithms, with yearly data for the 1960–2017 period. We develop three distinct models: the batch gradient descent (BGD), the stochastic gradient descent (SGD), and the multilayer perceptron (MLP). Despite the phase of low Italian economic growth, results reveal that CO2 emissions increased in the predicting model. Compared to the observed statistical data, the algorithm shows a correlation between low growth and higher CO2 increase, which contradicts the main strand of literature. Based on this outcome, adequate policy recommendations are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The world population is demonstrating an increasing awareness about the ecological impacts of air quality, including impacts on human health. The Veneto region and, more generally, the Po Valley (NE Italy), are characterised by frequent exceedance of limit values for air quality, in particular particulate matter (PM 10), which causes these areas to be listed as hotspots; thus, this region has some of the worst air pollution in Europe. The aim of the current research was to analyse a 10 year-long time series of air quality data (2011–2021) in the Veneto region to investigate the influence of selected factors on air quality, such as natural processes (meteorological conditions), environmental policies, and health emergency measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Generally, the considered pollutants, PM 10 , NO, and NO 2 , presented a decreasing trend during the last ten years. The reduction in nitrogen oxides was clearly improved after the implementation of a specific environmental protocol (the "New Agreement of Po Valley Basin"). Conversely, the PM 10 concentration seemed to be affected by other important emission sources, such as domestic heating systems, agricultural activities, and animal farms, which are not as strongly regulated as emission sources such as traffic. The 2020 lockdown mainly influenced nitrogen oxide concentrations. • Italy has infringed on the EU law regarding ambient air quality. • One of the more polluted Italian areas is the Po Valley, including the Veneto region. • A long time series of the air quality data region was statistically analysed. • Only nitrogen oxide concentrations were significantly reduced during the last ten years. • Environmental policies have mainly addressed traffic emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecological knowledge is considered an important factor in environmental policy-making. However, the opportunity for ecologists to influence policy can often occur within discrete time policy windows, and seizing these opportunities has been heavily emphasized as a recent global conservation need. In 2017 the Natura 2000 Conservation Measures have been finalized in Italy, and delineated the management policy and institutional responsibilities of Natura 2000 Sites, after obligations of the EU Habitat Directive. In this timeframe, we developed a multi-scalar hierarchical habitat selection model for wolf reproductive-sites to identify potentially favorable habitat for wolf reproduction in the western Italian Alps, based on 19 years of data. This habitat suitability model was useful for the definition of species conservation requirements within the Natura 2000 Sites, and has been adopted in legislation processes, representing a successful example of ecological modelling fitting into a relevant policy window and informing legal instruments to achieve nature conservation goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]