«Prevention, we must act immediately. Less bureaucracy, useless opinions and committees»- Corriere.it

“It was like the earthquake. Eleven years later. Let’s hope it’s over.” Environment Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin was in Bologna yesterday to express the government’s solidarity with the affected populations. And announce the first interventions.

Which?

«On Tuesday the state of calamity will be approved for the areas affected by the flood. There is a freeze on mortgages and tax collections. Let’s hope it’s over. But prevention must be done. Otherwise there will be even worse massacres.

But haven’t the funds been cut for the prevention of hydrogeological instability?

«We evaluate the activation of the European Solidarity Fund. But it is not a matter of money, but of spending power. For example, of the 2014-2019 cohesion funds it now emerges that we were able to use only 34% of the 126 billion allocated”.

Then what to do?

«We need planning, programming, by Municipalities, Provinces, Regions and the State. But, when it is decided, a work of prevention must be done. There cannot be a committee that blocks everything every time ».

Are you angry with what you called “loft environmentalists”?

“With bureaucracy. Too many opinions requested.

Don’t they defend the territory from environmental havoc?

«Often they are just multiplications of the same evaluations. Sometimes precious time is lost with monitoring and setting up commissions and evaluations. We need to streamline it.”

Everyone says it.

«Fundamental for this government is to have the courage of one’s actions and to decide. At the cost of being criticized for abuse of decision-making».

What does it refer to?

«In 90% of the races, those who finish second appeal and block everything. So in the new procurement code we wrote: whoever wins does the work, if he is wrong he will pay the damages. I then doubled the members of the Via commissions (Environmental impact assessment, ed)».

What works to do quickly?

«The dirt removal, for example. The dams are half covered in mud, which until a month ago was considered waste to be disposed of, despite being in drinking water. But it is only land and we have clarified this with a decree ».

The maintenance?

«It’s useful. But even the hole in a coypu requires someone to plug it quickly.”

How to prevent the next adverse event from discovering that the only prevention in the field is the invitation to climb on the roofs?

«Emilia-Romagna is the region with the greatest hydrogeological risk. The amount of rain in the last 15 days was equal to half of the annual amount. With the wind the Adriatic has acted as a wall to the water. An extreme event but which, with climate change due to global warming, can be repeated”.

Weren’t you more skeptical about climate change?

“No. We have subscribed to the objectives of reducing emissions to 55% by 2030 and neutralizing them by 2050. But we want tables that are adequate for our country».

Don’t need a single interlocutor? Renzi reproaches the abolition of the mission structure against instability.

“It wasn’t decisive. The only interlocutor is there and it is the Presidency of the Council. Decisions must be taken by Municipalities, Provinces, Regions and by the government. But then you have to act.”

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