CONFERENCE
WEDNESDAY APRIL 22, 9.00 AM – 1.00 PM, Teatro Garibaldi (Via Teatro Garibaldi, 45)
FROM THE MEDITERRANEAN BASIN TO COP31: HOW TO IMPLEMENT A JUST TRANSITION TOWARDS ANTALYA
This opening panel is explicitly dedicated to COP31 and positionsthe Mediterranean as a “Mediterranean COP”: a region where
climate ambition, social cohesion, and geopolitical stability converge, and where global commitments are tested against real-world constraints and grassroots initiatives, such as TeraMed.
9:00-9:30
Opening remarks
Marc Berthold, Director, Paris Office, Heinrich Böll Foundation Rei Tang, Programme Officer, Climate Change, Stanley Center
for Peace and Security Hajar Khamlichi, Director, North Africa, Pooled Fund for International Energy
9:30-11:00
From the Mediterranean to COP31: Making Climate Ambition Socially Credible
Ayşin Turpancı, Head of Department for Climate Negotiations and International Policies, Directorate of Climate Change. Federico Butera, Professor Emeritus, Politecnico di Milano. Grammenos Mastrojeni, Former Senior Deputy Secretary General, Secretariat of the Union for the Mediterranean Bengisu Ozenc, Director, Sefia Iskander Erzini Vernoit, Director, IMAL Initiative for Climate and Development
Moderator: Giulia Giordano, Director of Mediterranean and Global Strategy, ECCO Think Tank
11.30 AM – 1.00 PM
From Local Evidence to Systemic Change: Financing the Social Pillar of the Transition, Lessons from Sicily.
This panel is based on the ECCO policy study Integrating the Economic, Social and Climate Transition in Sicily, which highlights that: Sicily received 50% less funding for household energy efficiency compared to the national average. Energy savings per euro invested are 55% lower than in Northern Italy.
Only 10% of households accessed incentives, while low-income
groups remain largely excluded. Nevertheless, 70% of citizens support climate policies prioritizing vulnerable households. These dynamics are not unique to Sicily but reflect structural challenges in how the transition is financed across much of Southern Europe and the Mediterranean.
Speakers:
Laura Marinelli, Researcher in Economics and Statistics, ECCO Think Tank (confirmed)
Luca Guidi, Young European Greens (confirmed)
Anna Lisa Boni, Councillor for European Funds, Municipality of Bologna (online)
Daniele Ronsivalle, Associate Professor, Department of Architecture, University of Palermo (confirmed)
Francesco Muzzicato, Etna Renewable Energy Community and Presidio Simento
Moderator: Bianca Minotti, Researcher and Consultant, Està – Economics and Sustainability
1.00 – 1.10 PM
Conclusion address
Patrizia Pozzo, Head of Institutional relations and Earth Day
Med Coordinator, Studio Rizoma
Language: Italian with English translation