Horizon 2020 iCHANGE project
Techne Consulting is a partner of the iCHANGE project (individual Change of Habits Needed for Green European transition), funded by the European Community in the framework of Horizon 2020 with about € 5 million, started on November 2021 and with duration 42 months.
The I-CHANGE project deals with the challenge of engaging and promoting the active participation of citizens to address climate change, sustainable development and environmental protection in the framework of the European Green Deal, the European Climate Pact and the European Biodiversity Strategy for 2030. The overall concept is based on the idea that citizens and civil society have a central role in the definition of environmental protection and climate action and their direct involvement is essential to drive a true shift and promotion of changes of behaviors towards more sustainable patterns.
The project follows the Innovation actions type of funding scheme and addresses the Topic LC-GD-10-3-2020 "Enabling citizens to act on climate change, for sustainable development and environmental protection through education, citizen science, observation initiatives, and civic engagement”. The project is one of six projects selected from 204 proposed.
Toscana Region - Air Quality plan update
In August 2024, notice was given of the start of the consultation foreseen by the Strategic Environmental Assessment procedure of the Regional Air Quality Management Plan (PRQA) of the Tuscany Region in Italy and the plan documents, its attachments, the environmental report and the related documents were published.
The Regional Air Quality Management Plan (PRQA) contributes to the implementation of the community strategies of "zero pollution", as well as representing the programming tool through which the Tuscany Region defines in an integrated manner the policies for improving the quality of ambient air.
The Plan was drawn up by the regional sector Circular Economy and Air Quality of the Tuscany Region with the collaboration of Techne Consulting.
Veneto Region - Air quality plan update
With Resolution no. 480 of 02.05.2024, published in the BUR of 31.05.2024, the Regional Council of the Veneto Region adopted the proposal to update the PRTRA, including the Preliminary Environmental Report. At the same time, the procedures for verifying the subjection to the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) were started, pursuant to Legislative Decree no. 152/2006 and subsequent amendments and DGR no. 545/2022.
The proposal to update the Plan was prepared by the Environment and Ecological Transition Directorate with the technical support of ARPAV (Regional Agency for Environmental Prevention and Protection of Veneto) and with the collaboration of Techne Consulting.
Task Force on Emissions Inventories and Projections 2024
The technical director of Techne Consulting, presented at TFEIF annual meeting in May, a work on Emissions of ships in Liguria ports: trend, COVID & NECA Area implementation.
Techne consulting E2Port model was applied for ships in port emissions estimates. The model uses Tier3 methodology, based on installed engine power and time spent in the different navigation phases in port (hotelling and manoeuvring) for each ships movement. Data on ships movements by ship were provided by port authorities and engine power was obtained from the E2Port database or, only where missing, from gross tonnage (GT) using GB power vs GT functions. The emissions are evaluated in 2021 and in future scenario for the years 2025 and 2030.
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has designated the North Sea and the Baltic Sea as NOx Emission Control Area (NECA) starting from January 1, 2021 onwards. The impact of a future extension to Mediterranean Sea of NECA is discussed.
Sustainable Development and Planning 2024
The Technical Director of Techne Consulting, a partner in the ICHANGE project, presented a paper with some of the project’s results last week at the 13th International Conference on Sustainable Development and Planning held in Seville from 23 to 25 September 2024. At the conference was registered 81 people from all continents with different professional backgrounds who share an interest in sustainable planning.
The invited presentation first provided an overview of environmental footprints used to assess the impacts of human activities on the environment. The Horizon 2020 I-CHANGE project was then introduced, which addresses the challenge of engaging and promoting active citizen participation to address climate change, sustainable development and environmental protection. Finally, environmental footprint methodologies were applied based on the information collected by the Living Labs on daily activities, traffic simulation results and statistical data to calculate specific footprints in the base case and in the alternative scenarios for different Living Labs in the I-CHANGE project.