Objectives – Through the LIFE CLIMACTION project, Legambiente intended to pursue four specific objectives. Regarding the achievement of the first, that is to “Encourage and strengthen the participation and contribution of civil society to the implementation of the European Green Deal by mobilizing citizens, the school world, the private social sector, local administrations and civil companies to become an active part in the fight against climate change“, given the activities organized during the two years of the project and fully completed, we can safely say that all the goals have been achieved. In fact, during the entire project the main training and involvement activities of all the main LIFE CLIMACTION targets were launched. All the targets involved, primarily civil society and public administrations, were enabled to understand the main challenges to be faced between now and the near future in order to deal with the main environmental criticality which the world is called upon to respond to, that of climate change and the tools developed by the European Union starting from the “2 thematic areas of the European Green Deal dedicated respectively to climate and energy” as envisaged by the second specific objective. Similarly, the third and fourth objectives, respectively “Disseminate the contents of the European Climate Pact and encourage the assumption of individual commitments by citizens and in particular young people” and “Contribute to making known the objectives of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and in particular objectives 7, 11 and 13 dedicated to Clean Energy, Sustainable Cities and Communities and the Fight against Climate Change” were largely achieved through the implementation of project activities which focused on training, information and involvement of identified targets and main stakeholders. Given the great demand from young people, we have added 3 training meetings not initially planned to increase the number of young people actively involved all over the country. Since raising awareness among civil society and stakeholders on the issues of the European Green Deal dedicated to climate and energy and on the European Climate Pact is among the priorities identified by the knowledge partner Enel Foundation, the latter expressed its interest in supporting the project both with a financial contribution and by making its knowledge and institutional academic network available.
Activities – The first months of implementation of the LIFE CLIMACTION project saw the start of the preparatory activities, including the stakeholder mapping; the drafting of the communication plan; the design and creation of the project’s visual and promotional material including brochures and 5 video clips; and the training of climate leaders and climate operators. In addition to the 18 climate leaders and 90 climate operators identified in the first phase of the project, requests to join the initiative were collected from additional 18 climate leaders and over 100 climate operators. These are particularly motivated young people who asked to be adequately trained both to contribute to the project activities and to continue to carry out their mission as best as possible even after the project’s conclusion, thus guaranteeing the sustainability of the results over time. For this reason, in agreement with the co-financing body, the action relating to the training of Climate leaders and Climate operators was extended to the second year of the project by inserting, in light of the needs emerging from the territories, new training activities below summarized:
- training seminar from 26 to 29 January 2023 in Collevecchio (Rieti). The program of this first meeting, intended for climate leaders, includes the improvement of coordination between the Climate leaders of the various regions and a focus on climate mobilizations.
- climate training week, from 9 to 15 March 2023, in Passignano sul Trasimeno (Perugia). In this second training event, Climate leaders were further trained to become trainers themselves thanks to modern Peer2Peer education and non-formal education techniques. The training week also allowed us to delve deeper into some pedagogical approaches, facilitation techniques and training planning. During the week, through a specific project work, the participants prepared specific training modules which were used in the subsequent national meeting with all climate leaders and climate operators;
- Youth4Climate Training Meeting, from 25 to 28 May 2023 in Paestum (Salerno) was a national training meeting lasting 3 days for more than 300 young people (including climate leaders and climate operators) from all over Italy. The participants, also thanks to the help of facilitators and external experts, were involved in thematic groups on various topics related to climate change and the energy transition.
The core of the project was instead carried out in WP2 which has involved the organisation of information and awareness raising campaigns for different target audience. The information campaign for young people saw the implementation of the 15 stages of the planned Climate Caravan; 4 Climate Blitzes, organized concurrently in Rome, Milan and Piombino on the occasion of national and international events; of the Green Job & Orienta webinar series which saw the involvement of 547 young people (174 questionnaires collected), carried out as part of the Civil Economy Summer School of 27-30/06/2022; of the two Young Climate Hackathons, the first took place on 12/06/2022 at Cascina Nascosta in Milan during a day dedicated to youth activism and the second was held on 28 October 2023 in Bussero (Milan). As regards the activities dedicated to schools (T2.2.), the EduKit for the 2022/2023 school year was created and distributed among 185 schools for their use in the educational activities of 1804 classes involving more than 36,000 students (an average of 20 students per class); 6 one-hour seminars were organized for high school pupils on the water crisis (30/11/2022), biodiversity (06/12/2022), energy (16/12/2022), solidarity economy (11/01/2023), impact of climate change on mountains (16/01/2023) and opportunities for young people (27/01/2023). Teachers were also trained through an 8-hour course divided into three sessions held in November 2022, on the 14th, 23rd and 30th respectively reserved for middle school teachers, elementary and high school teachers.
As regards the campaign aimed at local administrations, the 5 planned webinars were held with the following themes: 1. Water resources (15/12/2022), 2. Management of public green areas and ecological network (19/01/2022), 3. Energy and energy communities (16/02/2023), 4. Mobility and territorial planning (18/05/2023) and 5. Waste management and reduction (19/10/2023), reaching altogether 268 participants. The good practice manual for local administrators has been created and is available on the website and distributed among all the municipalities in Italy through Legambiente’s mailing list (7,896 municipalities). All events intended for local administrations were planned in close collaboration with ENEL Foundation, the project’s knowledge partner, whose contribution was of great importance in particular for the days dedicated to the topics of energy and mobility.
Vs. a target of 10 events planned for the planting of trees in collaboration with the LIFE Terra project, 12 were carried out for a total of 13,770 trees (vs. a target of 10,000). The initiatives aimed at citizens consisted of the opening of the 6 energy info desks in the cities of Turin, Milan, Bologna, Padua, Cagliari and Naples. Energy monitoring of the homes identified by the regional operators has successfully ended. Versus a target of 12 infodays for the 6 branches (2 per branch), 13 were organized with the participation of 428 citizens. The guide “All the secrets of energy” has been created and can be downloaded from the website and it was also shared to all the contacts collected by the energy desks (3,024) and to Legambiente’s Energy Office contacts (approx. 1,000 contacts) reaching a total of 4,000 people. Three training seminars were held for condominium administrators and designers (vs. a target of 2), with 326 participants.
The activities aimed at businesses saw the organisation of the Climate Hackaton on 10/18/2022, in collaboration with a specialized agency that simulated the most dramatic consequences of climate change and saw the involvement of 87 companies and over 100 registrations. The foreseen code of conduct for companies was also developed, in collaboration with 15 companies, and was eventually signed by 21 companies (vs. a target of 50), while two Climate Friendly Companies Awards were awarded on 22 November 2023 at the ADI Design Museum in Milan.
Regarding communication, the following activities were carried out: launch event was held on 6 April 2022; 32 press releases (vs. the 24 planned) were issued; 4 periodic press reviews were prepared, showing that the project was mentioned in more than 300 news/articles in newspapers and TV; 1,079 posts were published on social media (257 on Facebook, 182 on Instagram, 640 on X), reaching more than 20,000 people and registering 2,453 unique visits to the website (vs. a target of 3,000). Through all the media relations, the project reached more than 7,5 million people (vs. 2 million expected), an estimation data based on OTS (Opportunity To See) approach using the TelPress Italia platform. Instead of the foreseen press tour, a training course for journalists was organized (11/15/2023) in collaboration with the Order of Journalists which provided for the recognition of professional training credits (involving 45 participants). The final project event took place on 2 December 2023 during Legambiente’s national congress (1-3/12/2023), seeing the participation of approximately 150 people from companies, institutions, associations, journalists, youngsters and professionals of the energy sector. The activities have also seen the creation of posters, organisation of events on social networks, and drafting of meeting reports. The constant updating of social media profiles and the website have allowed a timely and updated communication of all the activities carried out. Thanks to the realization of the press releases it was possible to update users through all specific communication channels.
Regarding dissemination, networking and replicability, the project was presented during Ecomondo, in Rimini on 11 October 2022; at Condominio Eco, also in Rimini on 11 and 12 November 2022; at the Ecoforum Abruzzo, in Lanciano (CH) on 19 December 2022; at the Ecoforum Sardegna in Cagliari on 10 February 2023; 22 March 2023 at KEY- The Energy Transition Expo in Rimini and at the EB Energy & Climate Working Group meeting in Brussels (25-26/10/2023). As regards networking, contacts have been established with 13 LIFE projects, and with three of them joint events were organised: tree plantations with LIFE Terra, Big Jump with LIFE Blue Lakes and scientific aperitif with LIFE ModerNec. As part of WP4, a Replicability Strategy has been drawn up, with the aim of transferring the results obtained from the project, the problems encountered, and the lessons learned. Legambiente organized 3 panel meetings to bring together several associations. The meetings consisted of an initial introductory speech by the guest followed by an open discussion between the participants. These meetings were an opportunity to discuss, share experiences, transfer knowledge and increase awareness of the topics covered, even among those for whom it does not represent their primary activity.
The monitoring of the socio-economic impact of the project was entrusted to an expert external to Legambiente who created the deliverable Ex-ante and Ex-post Monitoring Reports based on interviews with privileged witnesses and on questionnaires administered to different project targets. These two reports represent the preliminary and final phase of the monitoring activity itself. The first phase was mainly aimed at describing the status of the art about the knowledge of the problem of climate change and identifying the main sectors affected by extreme climate phenomena. The second phase focused on measuring the project impacts on the different sectors involved (such as, for example, businesses or local authorities) and with respect to the involvement of local authorities, companies and institutions. The monitoring activity also took into account the effects of the project in terms of public awareness on climate change. The ex-post impact monitoring highlighted an increased awareness among key target groups about climate change impacts and the need for mitigation and adaptation policies. There’s a recognized necessity for local awareness initiatives to enhance understanding of sustainable behaviors and emergency management due to more frequent and extreme climate phenomena. An increase in climate change awareness was noted, suggesting a need for deeper knowledge on citizens’ part regarding their contributions to combatting these changes. The project provided in-depth information, especially to younger audiences, underscoring the importance of educating the younger generation as they’re often at the forefront of driving change. Stakeholders also noted climate change’s significant global economic impacts, affecting various sectors and necessitating investments in infrastructure, renewable energies, and sustainable practices. International collaboration was emphasized as essential for coordinated action and mitigating global economic impacts.
The Life ClimAction project involved a wide audience with over 100 initiatives and around 50 thousand contacts with the aim of establishing a new community pact to fight climate change through the dissemination of the instruments adopted by the European Union: European Pact for Climate and Green New Deal in addition to the Strategy for Sustainable Development envisaged by the UN 2030 Agenda.
Specifically, the project actively involved and made the following categories protagonists of the energy transition with some targeted activities:
✓ primary and lower secondary schools through specific information campaigns and thematic seminars for pupils and students and targeted training for teachers: 45,000 students involved
✓ citizens were the recipients of the Energy Help Desk activated in six regions (Emilia-Romagna, Campania, Lombardy, Piedmont, Sardinia and Veneto), to support families towards a sustainability path that puts lifestyle, efficiency and savings at the center energy, production from renewable sources. The desk was also active for sector bodies and all interested parties: around 3,000 contacts between citizens and associations; over 120 electrical monitoring for families to reduce consumption; 15 stages of the Caravan for the climate: meetings throughout Italy including events, awareness campaigns, press training; 13 infodays for around 500 participants; 3 training seminars dedicated to condominium administrators and designers in which over 300 participants took part;
✓ the young people, who were the main protagonists of the Life ClimAction project, were involved in numerous local and national mobilization activities, scientific seminars and information blitzes: 4 flashmobs with around 300 participants¸ 2 Young Climate Hackathon with over 100 young people; 3 Green Job & Orienta meetings to discuss the work opportunities offered by green jobs with around 180 young people.
✓ Local administrations have a fundamental role in combating the effects of climate change because in all urban contexts it is urgent to develop integrated policies that can create new opportunities for local development, promoting energy efficiency and sustainable mobility: 5 webinars dedicated to public administrators with over 200 municipal administrators and technicians participating.
✓ Companies have been an active part of the change promoted by Life ClimAction, which can make a difference through sustainable and far-sighted choices. The Code of Conduct was addressed to them to implement feasible ideas and solutions to combat the climate emergency and a Climathon: a dedicated immersive experience with 100 members, 87 participating companies and 600 interactions.
Furthermore, 14.000 new trees were planted.
