On 5 July 2021, the Bank of Italy presented the "Charter of Sustainable Investments", or the document in which the institution undertakes to "reaffirm its commitment to contribute to sustainable development" through its investments. Bankitalia has often claimed to have been one of the first Central Banks to have included the principles of sustainability in its investments and this can only be a source of pride for the Peninsula. But we have to ask ourselves a question: is the Bank of Italy an "enlightened" institution or has it just implemented what citizens and the market have been asking for for almost 10 years? From the latest analyzes, it has been seen how, in order not to experience a 3-degree rise in global temperature between now and the end of the century, it will be necessary to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by the 1930s and achieve "neutrality carbon dioxide "by 2050. These conditions have been translated into binding targets for all European Union countries that aim to revolutionize the methods of energy production and consumption. The International Energy Agency itself has stated that to achieve this goal, "green" investments will have to triple over the next 10 years, reaching 4,000 billion dollars a year worldwide. According to BlackRock, one of the largest investment funds in the world, sustainable investments by individuals and governments will grow by 300% between now and the next 7 years but we are not yet sure they are enough to achieve the aforementioned objectives. Failure to achieve sustainability targets could increase the unknowns and risks at the environmental level. Environmental Risks and the Pandemic As stressed several times, environmental risks and mismanagement of natural resources jeopardize not only the ecosystem, but also the stability of the economic and financial system, generating both short and long-term costs. We have experienced this first hand with the pandemic where the negative externality, probably due to an extreme exploitation of nature, has strongly destabilized the global economy, recording double-digit decreases in GDP for several countries and a strong increase in debt. Italian public which reached 2,680 billion euros in April.
Source: La Repubblica
The aftermath of Covid-19 will be felt for a long time by world economies compromising all pre-pandemic growth estimates and it will take several years of investment in the "right direction" to return to the physiological levels of the economy and limit the emergence of critical situations also in the future. Italian investments and future scenarios Thanks to the Charter of sustainable investments, Italy is ready to put on the plate about 190 billion euros deriving from the investments of the financial portfolio and currency reserves, while the approximately 540 billion euros of the monetary policy portfolio are still excluded from the charter. Therefore, we do not think it is just a coincidence that at the moment of the restart from one of the largest crises that can be remembered, Bank of Italy, one of the most important institutions in the Republic, publishes a document in which it undertakes to put almost 200 billion euros on the market for sustainability. and the environment, but we think this is a first sign of a profound and structural change for our country. Let's just hope it's not too late already. Updated on Jul 29, 2021
The Prontobolletta editorial team Alessandro S. Energy Editor