TiSDG: A systemic vision of sustainability at the centre of cantonal politics
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In Ticino, as in other Cantons, administrations do not yet have a support tool for defining decarbonisation strategies that comprehensively evaluate the implications of different initiatives. This lack can affect the effectiveness of the measures adopted and generate negative reactions, fuelling the perception of unfair politics on the part of citizens or categories affected by the transition towards sustainability.
How can we ensure that CO₂ reduction strategies also respect social equity? What impact does the installation of a photovoltaic park have on local biodiversity? The transition to climate neutrality brings with it radical changes, often with not entirely predictable impacts that inevitably favour some and harm others. Sustainable development is a complex challenge, involves many actors and requires an integrated view of environmental and socio-economic aspects.
Climate governance must therefore adopt a systemic approach to anticipate the consequences of its strategies and identify who benefits and who is at risk of being penalised. In this sense, it is crucial for decision-makers to be able to rely on a model that is recognised and legitimised by all parties involved, capable of identifying combinations of decisions to bring benefits on different fronts of sustainable development while minimising undesirable impacts.
The Just Transitions Towards Net-Zero Society project aims to develop a decision-making tool to support the cantonal administration in identifying initiatives that are consistent with the goal of a just transition to climate neutrality. Lorenzo Di Lucia, lecturer-researcher at DEASS and project coordinator, worked from 2014 to 2022 at the Center for Environmental Policy at the Imperial College London. For Di Lucia, it is crucial to build a grassroots consensus in order to address best the challenges of sustainable development:
"Without an integrated vision of climate governance, finding shared solutions becomes difficult. It is therefore essential to maintain an open dialogue with all parties involved, especially those who might perceive a political decision as unfair. From this point of view, the project has an ethical aspect, aimed at considering the impact of politics on each social segment, and a "utilitarian" aspect in a positive sense, developed to prevent and manage possible conflicts".
The model used by the project has been renamed TiSDG and is based on the iSDG (Integrated Sustainable Development Goals) model developed by the Millennium Institute in Washington, which is a partner in the project. It is particularly effective because, as its name indicates, it integrates economic, environmental and social factors into its predictive models, making it possible to simulate the medium- and long-term consequences of certain political choices
"The model already exists, but so far it has been used at national level. For the first time, it will be adapted on a regional level, for the canton of Ticino. The starting point for testing the TiSDG will be the cantonal energy and climate plan (PECC), which is set in a complex political and social context, making it difficult to propose effective measures. This level of complexity can be mitigated thanks to the forecasting model developed by the project. Using advanced modelling techniques, our tool simulates transformation scenarios, taking into account political changes and investments at cantonal level over the medium to long term, while evaluating the effects on more than 80 indicators linked to the UN Sustainable Development Goals."
Financed by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) through the BRIDGE Discovery programme, for the period 2024-2027, the project will be officially launched on 5 December, with a meeting attended by representatives of cantonal departments, the Chamber of Commerce and public and private associations. In this regard, Di Lucia concludes: "The most innovative aspect of the project is precisely this, it lies in the level of player involvement, which has never before been so broad. The aim of the meeting is to launch the activities and present the tool, so that all parties involved recognise its validity. Only with their consensus and the recognised legitimacy of the model by all, will it be possible to create the basis for lasting and fair success for all".
The Just Transitions Towards Net-Zero Society project is also discussed in the latest issue of Iride (No. 17/ November 2024), on page 25. Find out more.
Climate governance must therefore adopt a systemic approach to anticipate the consequences of its strategies and identify who benefits and who is at risk of being penalised. In this sense, it is crucial for decision-makers to be able to rely on a model that is recognised and legitimised by all parties involved, capable of identifying combinations of decisions to bring benefits on different fronts of sustainable development while minimising undesirable impacts.
The Just Transitions Towards Net-Zero Society project aims to develop a decision-making tool to support the cantonal administration in identifying initiatives that are consistent with the goal of a just transition to climate neutrality. Lorenzo Di Lucia, lecturer-researcher at DEASS and project coordinator, worked from 2014 to 2022 at the Center for Environmental Policy at the Imperial College London. For Di Lucia, it is crucial to build a grassroots consensus in order to address best the challenges of sustainable development:
"Without an integrated vision of climate governance, finding shared solutions becomes difficult. It is therefore essential to maintain an open dialogue with all parties involved, especially those who might perceive a political decision as unfair. From this point of view, the project has an ethical aspect, aimed at considering the impact of politics on each social segment, and a "utilitarian" aspect in a positive sense, developed to prevent and manage possible conflicts".
The model used by the project has been renamed TiSDG and is based on the iSDG (Integrated Sustainable Development Goals) model developed by the Millennium Institute in Washington, which is a partner in the project. It is particularly effective because, as its name indicates, it integrates economic, environmental and social factors into its predictive models, making it possible to simulate the medium- and long-term consequences of certain political choices
"The model already exists, but so far it has been used at national level. For the first time, it will be adapted on a regional level, for the canton of Ticino. The starting point for testing the TiSDG will be the cantonal energy and climate plan (PECC), which is set in a complex political and social context, making it difficult to propose effective measures. This level of complexity can be mitigated thanks to the forecasting model developed by the project. Using advanced modelling techniques, our tool simulates transformation scenarios, taking into account political changes and investments at cantonal level over the medium to long term, while evaluating the effects on more than 80 indicators linked to the UN Sustainable Development Goals."
Financed by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) through the BRIDGE Discovery programme, for the period 2024-2027, the project will be officially launched on 5 December, with a meeting attended by representatives of cantonal departments, the Chamber of Commerce and public and private associations. In this regard, Di Lucia concludes: "The most innovative aspect of the project is precisely this, it lies in the level of player involvement, which has never before been so broad. The aim of the meeting is to launch the activities and present the tool, so that all parties involved recognise its validity. Only with their consensus and the recognised legitimacy of the model by all, will it be possible to create the basis for lasting and fair success for all".
The Just Transitions Towards Net-Zero Society project is also discussed in the latest issue of Iride (No. 17/ November 2024), on page 25. Find out more.