Italy can face the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic by focusing on its strength in the green economy - this was the central message of an online talk given by Giuseppe Pasini, president of the Italian steelmaker Feralpi Group, and Ermete Realacci, president of non-profit organization Symbola Foundation.
Despite the delays caused by bureaucracy, they noted that Italy is a European superpower in the circular economy with the highest recycling percentage (79 percent) of all waste. The speakers indicated that Italy recovers twice the materials compared to the European average, much more than Germany, with a saving of 21 million mt of oil equivalent and 58 million mt of CO2 per year, which, they said, is the result of Italy’s creativity rather than the result of laws.
Mr. Pasini stressed that "in the world of the electric furnace steel industry, steel is produced by recovering steel scrap endlessly. "At Feralpi, the minimum recycled content is 93 percent, with peaks that go up to 97 percent. Faced with these great challenges, with the help of new technologies we can reach a reduction of 55 percent in CO2 by 2030," he added.
Pasini and Realacci concluded by agreeing that the green economy has been and will be the best response to the crisis.