Italy Continues To Pay Its Citizens To Go Green Post-COVID

The Italian government has announced various initiatives that will encourage sustainability through incentivizing cycling, green transport, and eco-friendly recovery projects. 

Resuming the Eco Fight

Amid the COVID-19 emergency, being eco-friendly has had to be sacrificed for safety. In order to reduce the spread of the virus, there has been a boom in mono-use plastics, a preference for packaged goods in shops, and an inclination to use private modes of transport over public. Italy’s green proposals may be in a bid to offset this lapse in sustainability, and the environmentally-friendly initiatives will hopefully set the country back on track for a sustainable future. 

Subsidized Cycling

As the calm, quiet streets of locked-down Italy have been replaced with the usual urban traffic and smog as restrictions are eased, the Italian government has promoted cycling as an alternative by offering a “bike bonus”. People living in an urban center of more than 50,000 inhabitants are eligible for the up to €500 contribution towards the purchase of a bike, e-scooter, or anything not using a combustion engine. The bonus can be requested to cover up to 60% of the new vehicle. 

Individual cities are also pushing cycling with the introduction of new cycle lanes in Milan and a project in Bologna to encourage cycling to work. The “Bike to work” project will see companies given a contribution by Bologna’s council if they are seen to actively incentivize cycling to work through reimbursing employees based on kilometers cycled or reducing costs of bike-sharing. In Rome, electric scooter sharing is being encouraged with 1,000 new vehicles added to the fleet and options for an up to 60% refund on rental costs from a mobility bonus. 

Public Transport Goes Green

Images of Venice’s “clean” canals under COVID-19 lockdown went viral in March. Although the reason was actually shown to be mud, normally churned up by boats, settling back to the bottom of the canals, Venice’s air pollution levels did drop as a result of fewer boat exhaust fumes. Venice’s council has now announced that by 2030, the city’s fleet of waterbuses and ferries will all be replaced with new models with hybrid engines. Private boat owners will also be given subsidies for installing hybrid engines. 

In addition, the European Investment Bank (EIB) has announced it will be investing €450 million in a project by Italy’s state-owned rail company FS Italiane to introduce 135 new hybrid trains. The regional trains will have a lower environmental impact by producing less pollution and being more efficient.  

Sustainable COVID Recovery

The EIB will also be supporting green public sector projects in the province of Trento in northern Italy. The bank is expected to invest €300 million in sustainable recovery projects in areas such as transport, renewable energy and urban development. Funds will also be dedicated specifically to combatting climate change. Any municipality or public entity in the province is eligible for the investment if they propose eco-friendly recovery projects following the economic crisis provoked by the COVID-19 emergency.