MADE_3_GB

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Year I September-October 2009 n. 3 Authorization: Secretariat of State for Internal Affairs. Copy registered with the Tribunal of the Republic of San Marino

in san marino

INFORMATION MAGAZINE PUBLISHED BY THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE OF THE REPUBLIC OF SAN MARINO

C ONTENTS

INTERVIEW - Gabriele Gatti, Secretary of State for Finance MADE IN… CAM COM - Chamber of Commerce activities - Secretariats of State - Trade Associations - Banks and University

E DITORIAL

by Massimo Ghiotti - General Manager

We are currently passing through a very particular period in history. The financial downturn and climate change under way have appeared in all their complexity, forcing us to come to terms with an idea of welfare which sees a constant increase in GDP as the sole indicator of economic growth, without considering a number of other major factors, such as quality of life, the health of ecosystems and above all the finite nature of available resources. The fact is though, that an alternative development model exists that could bring us out of the difficult situation in which we find ourselves: the Green Economy. The implementation of innovative energy policies, based on clean and efficient technologies, green energies, education in favour of sustainable consumer habits, undoubtedly represents an effective solution, able to create a new prospect of progress based on equity, quality and sustainability, and the only one capable of freeing us from our dependence on fossil fuels, creating new professional opportunities and new jobs in a world of innovation and research. Let us therefore find a concrete answer to our problems in the Green Economy which, thanks to its natural tendency to integrate itself in the socialeconomic fabric of the country, is able to combine

the re-launching of the economic system with the protection of the environment, thus expanding related employment sectors and regenerating the real economy. The increase in the number of jobs is undoubtedly one of the fundamental factors that ought to prompt us to move speedily along the road towards the Green Economy. Suffice it to say that in the USA, the Pew Foundation (an organization identical to the Kyoto Club) report indicates that in the 1998-2007 period, jobs increased in the clean energy sector by 9.1% against a 3.7% growth in the economy as a whole and, in 2008 alone, 35,000 new “wind jobs” were created. In Europe on the other hand, the WWF “Low carbon jobs for Europe” study showed that the number of jobs in green economic activities touched 3.4 million approx. and far exceeded those in polluting industries, which remained unchanged at 2.8 million. In neighbouring Italy, according to a survey by the Unioncamere Study Centre, companies are reacting to the downturn by fielding all their best entrepreneurial energies and making changes to major aspects of their business activities. 40% of Italian small and mediumsized firms have in fact switched to environmentalfriendly energy saving technologies and products.

In recent years, our Republic has also shown itself more attentive to these issues. Numerous agreements have been signed relating to environment protection and various economic activities have been set up which find their raison d’etre in the green sectors. Aware as it is of the importance of developing the Green Economy as a prime mover of a new economic model, the Chamber of Commerce has also attempted to give its contribution by organizing Ecomercatale, the eco-compatible energy event, the second edition of which was staged this year. By organizing events, meetings, performances, workshops and stands, the idea is to foster awareness among the public of the need to adopt technological solutions that are well tolerated by living organisms, human beings and the environment. The aim is to promote a real culture of sustainability, stimulate critical thought and understand what effects our daily behaviour can have. Only this way can we become conscious consumers of an ecosustainable market. But to do this, we need more than transparent information, we need radical cognitive evolution, to be developed all together, an essential element for facing challenges that are too complex to be taken up and won by single individuals.

in san marino

september-october 2009 1


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MADE_3_GB by Agenzia per lo Sviluppo Economico - Camera di Commercio San Marino - Issuu