Mediterranean Economies 2023
DOI: 10.1401/9788815411167/p3
The ongoing war between Russia and
Ukraine, along with the resulting sanctions, has significantly disrupted energy and food
markets. These disruptions are expected to have widespread effects well into 2023 and 2024
since Russia and Ukraine play pivotal roles in global commodity markets. The impacts of the
war are not evenly distributed, particularly affecting countries heavily reliant on imported
energy and food from conflict-affected
¶{p. 19}areas, including many
Mediterranean countries.
In light of this new global systemic
risk environment, there is a need for a paradigm shift to reduce exposure and build
resilience. This requires incorporating climate change considerations into the WEF nexus,
decoupling water, energy and food production from fossil fuels, and developing sustainable
intra-regional and regional cooperation/integration models for WEF based on the principle of
comparative advantage. The chapter provides specific recommendations for moving forward in
addressing these challenges.
Chapter 10 (Carmela Gargiulo, Carmen
Guida, Yolanda Pena-Boquete, Sabrina Sgambati and Loreta Calzaretta) explores the potential
impact of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict on the sustainable development of Mediterranean
cities by comparing proxy indexes of sustainable development goals (SDG) before and after
the outbreak of war.
As part of Agenda 2030 signed by the
member countries of the United Nations, Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11 is aimed at
building «sustainable cities and communities». A more equitable urban environment can make a
decisive contribution to the transition process towards sustainability. Ensuring
accessibility to basic services and reducing inequalities are essential tasks for making
cities more inclusive and sustainable.
The chapter takes an integrated
approach, considering environmental analysis alongside social and welfare dimensions to
assess the progress of Mediterranean cities toward SDG achievement. It highlights the
challenges of rapid and poorly planned urbanization, emphasizing the importance of
sustainable development in addressing issues such as affordable housing, inadequate
infrastructure, air pollution and climate risk. The COVID-19 pandemic and energy crisis have
further underscored the need for resilient cities with high-quality infrastructure and
universal access to basic services.
The Mediterranean region is
particularly significant in terms of sustainable development due to its sensitive ecosystem,
tourism industry and the development pressures on its coastline.
The chapter utilizes proxy indicators
to monitor the path towards SDG 11. These indicators are compared between a base scenario
(2019 or 2021) and the current situation (2022). The study examines the roadmap of
Mediterranean coastal cities ¶{p. 20}towards urban and economic
sustainability outlined in Agenda 2030. The work summarizes the findings by comparing
different indicators and by discussing potential perspectives, correlations and similarities
among the main Mediterranean cities in achieving the goals of Agenda 2030.
Salvatore
Capasso and Giovanni
Canitano
¶