The Green Growth Community (GGC) partners Dynamic Vision PC. and Anima Investment Network organised an event – hosted in the Circle the Med platform – that gathered speakers from the North and the South of the Mediterranean to share views, experiences and opportunities about the green economy in the region.
The Green Growth matinee that took place the 20th of May was a rich exchange between the speakers that share their knowledge and experiences on green investment in the Mediterranean. The event was divided in two parts. The first part was drawn as a webinar where the speakers presented opportunities and challenges for the green economy in the region. Mercè Boy Roura – the GGC Coordinator – presented the Community to the audience showcasing the tools and opportunities that the GGC offers to boost the transition towards a circular economy in the Mediterranean.
Matthew Stephenson – Policy and Community Lead for International Trade and Investment, World Economic Forum – draw a general picture of the situation in the Mediterranean but also globally. He highlighted the importance of good instruments to create the most suitable environment for green investment. “If you have a good tool then you can apply it to any situation”, Stephenson affirmed.
Stephenson also underlined that being sustainable is an added value for companies from a revenue perspective – even if sometimes is perceived differently. The customer loyalty is higher for companies that are sustainable as they are more resilient to shocks – such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Hicham Boudraa – Moroccan Investment and Export Development Agency – closed the first part of the event describing the situation in Morocco and how the country has positioned itself as a renewable energy producer. “We aim to have 50% of the energy mix coming from renewable energies by 2030/2050”, Boudra said.
The second part of the event was a debate moderated by George Kremlis – President of Circle the Med Forum and Principal Adviser to the Greek Prime Minister for energy, climate, environment and circular economy. The six speakers that intervene in the session showcased the opportunities and challenges from their stakeholder position. Giancarlo Puddu – Expert Advisor of University of Turin for finMED project – underlined a key factor to boost the circular economy transition: the involvement of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), that have more challenges to access credit.
On their side, Alessandro Paglia – Transizione Ecologica Solidale – and José Manuel Durán Cuevas – CDTI-Spanish Agency of Innovation – emphasized a more social perspective. “The ecological and digital transition that we are living now risks punishing the most disadvantage layers of society”, Paglia affirmed. Durán, on his side, made clear that “investment doesn’t need to be only in profit terms but in terms of impact to the society”.
In the session wrap up, Kremlis highlighted the need of a holistic awareness to boost the green transition in the Mediterranean – one of the more unequal regions in the world. Investment needs to be done with a strategy and an added value. If not is wasting the money and undermining the objective, we want to achieve as the moderator said. “We don’t need to rediscover the wheel, but we just need to speed up the process”, affirmed Kremlis.