VENICE DOES NOT SINK BY ACCIDENT: this is the title of the briefing (available in Italian) published by Greenpeace Italy on the role of the climate emergency for the fate of Venice and the responsibilities of big oil companies as well as the complicity of politicians.
Highlighting some salient data from reliable sources such as the report jointly written by UNESCO/ICOMOS/RAMSAR “Venice and its Lagoon” 2020 and the Risk Assessment (2021) of the Euro-Mediterranean Centre on Climate Change (CMCC), Greenpeace underlines the need to listen to the alarms sounded by scientists in recent years and to act now. The phenomenon has in fact been observed for decades, both on the cultural and artistic heritage of the historic city and the natural heritage of the lagoon, whose value and importance in climate mitigation are often overlooked. The salt marshes – the lagoon environment par excellence – make fundamental contributions to human and non-human wellbeing. The morphological and ecological balance of the lagoon is now being severely challenged by the closure of the MOSE barriers, which, if operated increasingly often in the future, risks negatively impacting the lagoon ecosystem and the salt marshes in particular already in the short to medium term. We discussed this and much more with Captain Hettie Geenen and the crew of the Rainbow Warrior together with Federico Spadini, Climate Campaigner of Greenpeace Italy during an excursion in the Northern Lagoon of Venice.
On board the Rainbow Warrior sailing ship, Jane da Mosto together with environmental law expert Matteo Ceruti, Michela Piccoli, voice of the Mamme NO PFAS, Vanni Destro of the Polesine environmental protection committees, and Alberto Peruffo, environmental and social activist in Veneto, discussed climate justice. Knowledge of the territory, demanding transparency in decision-making processes and pursuing a critical approach are the principles that guide environmental struggles.
Thus, GP’s report reminds us of the inestimable value of the lagoon and its natural contribution to the well-being and survival of the local community as well as the rest of the world. Considered to be the needle in the balance in assessing human efforts for the climate emergency, Venice does not sink by accident.
