NextGenerationEU between pandemic, war, and energy transition. – The energy transition has been strongly questioned by the pandemic and the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. The European Green Deal – designed and approved before the Covid-19 pandemic – became fully part of economic recovery program of the pandemic, and the war as well. Actually, the Green Deal becomes one of the fundamental pillars of the 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Plan, as well as of NextGenerationEU and, consequently, of the various national plans related to it, including the Italian PNRR. As a typical win-win policy, NextGenerationEU must solve the problems related to the economic crisis, and those related to environmental quality, through the energy transition, as well. Obviously, the economic recover does not necessarily fit perfectly into an energy transition program. Actually, the policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions might imply many issues, related to economy and labor policies. Added to this are the socio-economic gaps between the countries that make up the EU, which have produced an energy divide (different levels of energy demand, different efficiency, different composition of primary energy sources), which has also further increased. from the pandemic, which requires a “calibrated” approach. This condition produces a more complex energy transition, and in many countries - especially those with the lowest GDP per capita - it could create obstacles to economic recovery. Although a Just Transition Mechanism has been prepared, precisely to bridge these gaps, the energy transition could be perceived as an external interference and a brake on growth, becoming a lever for forms of nationalism and sovereignty in key anti-European. The proposed work - after analyzing the structure of the energy supply in the EU, highlighting the inconsistencies in it - will address the impact of the Green Deal in the energy transition process associated with the relaunch of the economy.

The National Recovery and Resilience Plan: recovery of inner areas for sustainable tourism and economy. – European Commission and European Parliament have issued the Recovery Plan, also called Next Generation EU, to revive the finance and the economy of European countries compromised by the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Italian Government has developed a specific plan for the recovery of inner areas with particular attention to the redevelopment of the villages: very emblematic, in this sense, The National Borough Plan, promoted and managed directly by The Italian Ministry of Culture. The Recovery of inner areas perfectly coincides whit the great challenges of contemporary society: ecological transition, climate change, environmental sustainability, better quality of life. Concepts such as slow philosophy, slow food, slow tourism are increasingly popular and form the basis for a profound cultural change, to build a slow life that is more compatible with the needs and sensibilities of humanity.

Environmental transition and energy transition. A regional analysis – The relationship between environmental quality and GDP has been emphasized in the past, placing the accent on the “natural” trend towards improving environmental quality during the maturity of economic growth, after its deterioration in “takeoff” phases of the economy, according the socalled Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC). This condition has in many parts been disavowed or weakened. In the same way, an attempt was made to read the energy transition through the EKC filter, but a regional analysis, carried out within the European Union, of the components of the energy transition (energy demand, intensity of energy, consumption of fossil fuels and renewables) shows that these conditions can vary considerably from country to country and that policies can determine changes, not just economic growth.

Considerations on the regional landscape plan of Sardinia: a contribution from internal areas. – The concept of landscape is at the core of many geographical studies and is rich in different meanings that over time have given rise to numerous interpretations. According to the European Landscape Convention adopted by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in 2000, landscape is a combination of natural and cultural elements in continuous transformation. Transformations that, if not planned attentively, can give rise to processes of deterioration and loss of quality of landscape configurations. In a Europe where there is still a significant dualism between urbanized and rural areas and in an environmental, economic and social era marked by the objectives of sustainability dictated by the 2030 Agenda, it is therefore necessary to adopt and strengthen policies and strategies for a more cohesive development and planning of the territory. The contribution, after a brief review of the literature on European and national policies on the landscape, wants to focus on the ability of regional realities to activate reconstructive interventions and environmental improvements from the adoption of Landscape Plans. In particular, the attention wants to focus on the Sardinian regional context, the first reality in Italy to have adopted a Landscape Plan in 2006. A plan that, to date, has identified only in the coastal areas the areas to be protected and enhanced. However, in the light of the priorities for a sustainable future, the Plan needs to be reviewed and a new plan that can also include the internal areas that are still not sufficiently integrated in the development process of the island.

Environmental sustainability among socio-economic variables of influence and geographical determinisms. An analysis of the Italian scenario at nuts-3 level. – The process of awareness of the value of environmental sustainability is currently changing, also due to the the media lever that has catalyzed its dynamics both individually and collectively ones. At a European level, particularly, with the von der Leyen presidency, the orientations based on a vision linked to the Green Deal seem to have strengthened even more, according to which Europe must aim to become the first continent with zero climate impact by 2050, at the same time stimulating the economy, improving people’s health and quality of life, taking care of nature and in the absence of geographical differentials. The real effectiveness of these actions, however, will only materialize where integrated approaches will be adopted able to improve other variables directly related to the propensity for environmental sustainability. The present contribution, through a multivariate regressive analysis, a clustering methodology and the related cartographic representation, therefore tries to understand which are, in the Italian scenario (Nuts 3 scale), these socio-economic variables of possible influence, in order to clarify the territorial differentials that can be detected in the domain of sustainability.

The countryside revenge. From the typical economy to the post-modern eating. – The increasing of the homologated processes of the production field and the food consumption are explanatory factors of a flowing back thought process that brings to consider food again in a stronger ethic and local key and environmental sustainability. In this evaluative scene of groceries traditional, handmade, biological, natural, zero kilometer, short supply chain and local categories, incorporating an additional quid to the industrial groceries, seem to answer with greater adequacy to the satisfaction of needs felt essential to the safety of traditions, nature and human wellbeing. Values for wich consumers are willing to pay an higher price with the purpose to respect them or incorporate them. As long as they are able to perceive their quality, identity and origin with an efficient story that bring them to market. A story that, in an increasing and careful measure, aims to bring out the intangible components of food that end up endowing it with an economic, nutritional, gustatory, health and identity surplus value.

Rural Development Index (RDI). Hypothesis for a synthetic indicator of rural development. – This paper contains proposals contributing to the compo-sition of a synthetic macroeconomic indicator able to measure/assess on a European, national and regional scale the effectiveness of rural development policies up to now implemented by the EU. Since Agenda 2000, the rural development program is the “second pillar” of the CAP and it aims to maintain the competitiveness of rural areas through a quality policy, promotion of employment (in particular for young people) as well as environmental and rural protection; the measure’s central theme is the search for synergies between productive activities and those based on the territory and the traditions of the rural environment. The contents of this research refers almost exclusively to rural Europe, because the framework of these reflections is the Common Agricultural Policy, but some hints can be generally considered for development assessment relating to rural areas outside Europe.