Annual Report 2016

2016 marks a significant year for FEEM. The Foundation has streamlined
its governance to foster the integration of its activities. It has
confirmed its role as an international think tank and non academic
research institution, and it has consolidated its relationship with the
private sector, policy-makers, local stakeholders and the civil society.
For this purpose, it has redesigned its communication initiatives to
improve its visibility and to reach out to a larger public. It has also
pursued economic
efficiency and sustainability by reducing its
overall structural costs to the benefit of research activities to offset
EU research funding constraints.

In 2016 FEEM has become the
hosting institution of SDSN Italia, the Italian hub of the Sustainable
Development Solutions Network promoted by the United Nations (UN SDSN).
SDSN Italia will work under the auspices of the SDSN Mediterrane n
regional network to
promote UN SDSN initiatives at the national
level. It will also support, and cooperate with, firms and institutions
to identify concrete solutions to sustainable development issues,
promoting the initiatives of the younger generations.

To further
strengthen its commitment to sustainable development, FEEM has
participated in, and has become a member of, the Italian Alliance for
Sustainable Development (ASviS) with the goal of raising awareness of
the importance of the 2030 Agenda in Italian firms, organizations and
institutions. SDSN Italia and ASviS, with Fondazione Global Compact
Network Italia,
have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for this purpose.

As
for its research activities, in 2016 FEEM has worked on 31 projects
with 76 researchers from its different research programs. Research has
focused on the future projections of the Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs) with data on the individual Goals and
Countries. These studies
have been conducted within the APPS project on the Assessment,
Projections and Policy of Sustainable Development Goals.

FEEM has
conducted research on climate change with energy efficiency scenarios
for the transition toward a low-carbon economy – also with a specific
project with the Italian Government – and has provided an economic
assessment of the commitments made under the Paris Agreement. This has
allowed FEEM to provide evidence-based policy support for the 1.5˚C
temperature limit promoted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change
(IPCC).

FEEM has also collaborated, with a consortium
of European partners, to an initiative promoted by the EU
Directorate-General for Climate Action on the impact assessment and
development of European policies to combat climate change.

Research
in this field has also investigated climate-induced migration, and an
international conference on this topic was organized at FEEM in Milan on
November 22-23.

FEEM has participated in the 22nd Conference of
the Parties (COP22) promoted by the United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which was held in Marrakech in November, and
it has organized two side events in cooperation with Bocconi
University, the Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the
Earth and Resources for the Future.

FEEM has investigated the
future of the European energy system, and how it will be shaped by the
interaction between decarbonization and digitalization. For this purpose
it has started a joint project with Bruegel and the Florence School of
Regulation
for the organization of a series of three workshops.

FEEM
has also analyzed the role of gas and renewables in post-COP21 European
decarbonization policies and on the security of gas supplies in the
Euro-Mediterranean area.

Within the Local Development area, FEEM
has continued its institutional activities and collaboration with the
Basilicata Region. In particular, it has conducted geological studies on
the markers and hydrocarbons in Lake Pertusillo in cooperation with the
University of Basilicata, and it has produced a report on the economic
impact of Eni activities in the region. FEEM is also investigating how
the event “Matera Capitale della Cultura 2019” is affecting tourism in
the Basilicata region, and it has organized several initiatives for the
promotion and valorization of the Basilicata region brand.