The “Klimamobility” eco-vehicles showroom will be organized at the Bolzano Fair – which is strongly involved since 2005 in building a carbon-alternative energetic culture – with the support of several partners including the Bolzano Province and some local institutes devoted to technological innovation and environmental research.  It will be held in parallel to “Klimaenergy”, the event dedicated to renewable energies for commercial and public use that is taking place for the third year.

“Klimamobility” will host the exposition of two, three and four-wheeled EVs, tools and machineries for charging means, accessories and components for EVs as well as drive systems and everything revolves around the future of sustainable mobility. Furthermore, the event aims at embracing the largest possible number of existing contacts in the sector by providing information to the public on service and repair of eco-vehicles and foresees the presence of universities, consulting firms, research institutes and travel operators by sustainable vehicles.

In that occasion, current issues related to sustainable and electric mobility will be discussed in an international meeting, especially focusing on infrastructures for recharging vehicles. In this context, the Bolzano Fair  - the director Mr. Reinhold Marsoner explains –  “ by combining Klimamobility and Klimaenergy  aims at becoming a 360° platform for renewable energies in integrated systems and for sustainable mobility, where entrepreneurs, public officials and managers, specialized dealers, car rentals but also banks, financial services and R&D institutes shall meet for a prominent update in this field”.        

Related articles:

• http://www.repubblica.it/motori/ecoauto/2010/12/16/news/motori_klimamobility-10232760/
• http://www.ecocaronline.it/20101228/alla-fiera-di-bolzano-klimamobility-il-nuovo-salone-sulla-mobilita-sostenibile/
• http://www.aefi.it/Aefi/site/it/news/dettaglio-news?id=1873

Related articles

• European Mobility Week – 16 – 22 September 2010 (swomm.info)
• GM publishes “Blue Paper” on sustainable urban mobility; integrating input from Sustainable Urban Mobility events in Shanghai (greencarcongress.com)
• The Future of Sustainable Urban Mobility: Change People’s Behavior (thecityfix.com)

With this regard, we thereby signal the 5th edition of East Forum 2010, which will specifically focus on sustainability, being entitled “Re-thinking the present in order to design the future: choosing sustainability”. Co-organized by UniCredit Group, the forum will be held on 8 July 2010 at Luiss, in Rome.

The panelist includes several eminent speakers from relevant companies, national and European institutions as well as prestigious international organizations which are involved in environmental, economic and political issues.

The speakers’ investigations aim to analyse the international scenario on sustainability, to conceive innovative proposals for the future, which may result important also for the SWOMM goals, in particular improving sustainable transport in mountain areas. They will define a new model of sustainable development, to face current challenges and exploit present opportunities such as the green economy. The distinct roles and tasks held by institutions, governments, companies and civil society in shaping this model will also be investigated, as well as the possible policies to be implemented to make good progress towards qualitative and human development. In the website you can find the electronic edition of many relevant international papers concerning sustainable development guidelines, as well as links with related initiatives, including SWOMM.

A further tidbit on the Conference: the organizing team (together with the group of students LUISS Sostenibile) seems to be really devoted to green economy and sustainability. Indeed, all the printed matters are made of recycled paper, speakers will travel by electric cars, the event will be powered as much as possible by means of renewable energy and the buffet is at zero kilometers. Furthermore, emissions credits are being purchased from a carbon reduction project in Chicago.

Enjoy the East Forum 2010 and – above all – the cause of sustainable development!

The international financial instability, climate change, geo-politic relations are getting worse, highlight the unsustainability of the predominant development model, and set earth’s sustainability as the first goal. Sustainability Science is meant to give an answer, theoretically and practically, on how to immediately change the route, through the study of the development key factors in the global and the local sphere. It aims to define new parameters of environmental preservation and economic and social welfare.

Sustainability Science is oriented to study and understand the complexity of the interactions affecting the economy, society and the environment, to give real alternative solutions to complex issues threatening mankind’s survival.

It is necessary then, a trans-disciplinary approach that allows a systematic vision of the ongoing phenomena, making it possible to turn human-environment interactions into an integrated sustainable development.

Researchers from highly rated international universities at the forefront of R&D, have gathered in networks with the purpose of creating and disseminating a new scientific knowledge for global sustainability, thanks to a tight collaboration with all the stakeholders, including citizens and policy makers. Universities have an important role in establishing a sustainable society: to educate the future generations and mould new scientific knowledge that is supposed to be the catalyst of social change and to identify efficient policies for sustainability.

Participation is free previous registration on the website.
http://icss2010.net/?p=home

Contacts
Press Office : Massimo Bruni – mob +39 3358085748     
email – press@icss2010.net

Conference Secretariat : Valeria Valitutti – mob +39 3289048259
email – scientific@ICSS2010.net

Ralph Smith, senior transport campaigner in the Campaign to Protect Rural England, gave an affermative answer to the question.
On the occasion of the British government plans for building a high-speed rail network, he dealt with the issue of how to improve the sustainability of transports across England.

In fact the British transport secretary Andrew Adonis announced plans for a £30bn high-speed rail network to be completed by 2026. Lord Adonis promoted this network of trains as an alternative to the construction of new highways. The high-speed rail should be as well an alternative to domestic air travel throughout Britain.

With regard to the environmental impact of such plan, George Monbiot wrote on the guardian.co.uk that no clear evidence and data can prove that the greenhouse gases produced by high-speed rail would be cancelled out by people switching from planes to trains. On the contrary, he said, a report of 2007 concerning the modal shift from plane to rail between London and Manchester, demontrated that the savings would not compensate for the extra emissions caused by a new line.

Ralph Smith seemed to be much more positive towards the possible effects of high-speed railways for the environment preservation. In its article he pointed out that rail travel has already seen record growth in UK, even if passengers now face the highest fares in the world. It would further increase if measures as road-user charging and higher per-flight aviation duties were introduced, making travel by rail cheaper if compared with car or by air.

Nevertheless he explained that only if sustainable travels were taken really seriously and high-speed railways were included in a more coherent national transportation plan there would be effective environmental results in the modal shift to rail. That is the case, for instance, of the eco-city of Freiburg in Germany, where the surrounding local rail network has seen the number of passengers increase from 1.5 million in 1999 to 7.3 million last year.

Related articles

• http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/mar/11/new-high-speed-rail-network
• http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/may/17/high-speed-rail-policy-carbon-emissions
• http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cif-green/2010/may/25/high-speed-rail-sustainability
• http://www.c40cities.org/bestpractices/transport/freiburg_ecocity.jsp

The event will be held on the 6th May 2010, at 5 o’clock p.m. in Aula 3 of Bocconi University – Via Sarfatti, 25, ground floor.

The contribution of the author, Dr. Enzo Gargante, will be followed by a round table and a discussion foreseeing the participation of representatives from the academic world as well as from companies as FIAT, ENEL, AMA (Agenzia Milanese Mobilità Ambiente).

Programme and registration form for the event are available at the following link.

AMA – the city mobility agency
Egea
Research Center CERTeT (Centro di Economia Regionale, dei Trasporti e del Turismo)
Master MEMIT (Master in Economia e management dei trasporti, della logistica e delle infrastrutture)

Greenpost is a project co-financed in the frame of the European “Intelligent Energy Europe” (IEE). Partners from public boards as well as from industrial and environmental organisations are committing themselves to boosting the sustainability of post deliveries.

The core of Greenpost is the promotion of efficient electric and hybrid vehicles for postal deliveries. The postal agencies of the countries involved (Belgium, Bulgaria, Italy and Hungary) are testing different vehicles to assess the more cost-effective and the less polluting solution.

Aim of the project is to exchange best practices and know-how for improving energy efficiency in the postal as well as in the whole transport sector and to reduce air pollution. Greenpost has started in 2006 and it will close in June 2010.

Actually, in few months, sending our mails could be less polluting than it used to be.. and without coming back to carrier pigeons!

Link to the website

http://www.greenpostproject.eu/