A greener, smarter and more sustainable city: G20 in Florence

Mayor Dario Nardella explains what hosting the summit meant to Florence and what the city is accomplishing when it comes to green issues.

What does hosting the G20 mean for Florence?
This event is the demonstration of how Tuscany, with the significant contribution of Florence and the metropolitan area, is one of the most virtuous regions when it comes to the issues on the agenda at the meeting: sustainability, resilience, the fight against climate change, commitment and solidarity to ensure access to food for everyone, and the importance of greenery in the city form the basis of our administration’s actions. We are proud that our city hosted this event, which for three days offered to guests and local residents occasions to appreciate the city and Florentine and Tuscan excellences through the many side events organized with trade associations.

What did Florence bring to the event?
Our city is very attentive to the issue of climate change, the fight against wasted resources and food education, also in our schools through the many didactic and training projects as part of “Le Chiavi della città”, which involve countless students. For a while now, we have invested in experiential tourism that defends the landscape and local characteristics, in green mobility to reduce pollution by extending the tram network, and incentivizing public and private electric transport. As the city administration, we recently adopted home-to-work transport guidelines for our employees to guide our movement towards sustainable means of mobility as an alternative to the traditional private car, all aimed at reducing traffic and pollution as well as improving air quality. We have also focused our attention on urban forestation by planting 3,000 new trees in the last 18 months, plus we’ve introduced the urban orchard campaign: five new areas will grow up around the city, each with 40 fruit trees and a total of 200 plants. The “Give a fruit tree” scheme makes it possible for residents to give one or two trees, dedicating them to the people they care about and choosing their favourite type. The project is a spin-off of the “Give a tree” campaign, which proved a huge success locally and won several awards, including Agenda Digitale 2019 and Premi dell’Innovazione 2020. With this project, whoever wants to work with us to increase the city’s greenery can do so. Starting with these initiatives that show the contribution that we are making to create a greener, smarter and more sustainable and resilient city that protects the habitat and health of our citizens, Florence has given the Earth’s decision makers the opportunity to see and experience firsthand how much our community and its economy is working to press for change in these sectors, based on the values of environmental, economic and social sustainability.

What opportunities do hosting the G20 bring to Florence?
It was a glorious opportunity for Florence to be centre stage in the international debate about issues that affect us directly. The city had an incredible opportunity to take part in high-level conversations, from which we have gained confirmation as well as ideas and stimuli. Meeting the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization, Qu Dongyu, enabled us to lay the foundations for our city to work with this prestigious international body. We talked about Florence’s candidacy to hold the FAO General Assembly and I requested support for our candidacy for the Water Forum 2024. As the President of Eurocities, an association that represents more than 200 mayors across Europe, together we examined a possible collaboration regarding food policies.

How do you view the current relationship between Florence and the issues covered at the meeting and what would you like to take away from this occasion?
The relationship is a close one because it deals with matters that we’ve already been investing in for some time. One example is the food education school projects: planting an educational allotment on the grounds of every school. Where schools don’t have outdoor space, the idea is to create a boxed indoor planting space, and even add a greenhouse where possible. Then there’s the installation of new beehives. Bees play a fundamental role in maintaining biodiversity, food production and the environment and their survival is put at risk by pesticides and climate change. During the days of the G20 Agricultural Ministers Meeting, we added two beehives by San Miniato al Monte and one in the garden at Villa Favard to safeguard biodiversity and stay close to apiculturists at such a difficult time for the segment.

As regards the issues tackled during the summit, cities can play a key role for changes in terms of ecological transition. Florence has accepted the challenge and is looking to the future, when I want to see a greener and more eco-sustainable community, from transport to the environment and buildings, starting with residential construction and schools, where we have added “green walls”, in partnership with non-profit Florence Fondazione CR Firenze, in order to improve air quality, combat the urban heat island effect and reduce pollution, as well as spreading awareness about environmental issues, which are crucial to save the planet.

A green welcome was planted in piazza Duomo as the global powers gathered in Florence on September 16 for the G20 Open Forum on Sustainable Agriculture and from September 17 to 18 for the G20 Ministerial Meeting, which focused on the sustainability and resilience of agricultural and food systems. One installation represented the Tuscan rural landscape with a circle containing 20 cypresses – one for each town – and an olive tree at the centre, symbolizing peace. A second installation consisted of sand and palm trees to highlight desertification and climate change.