Climate change is no longer a distant forecast. Drought, intense heat, wildfires, sudden downpours, strong winds and hailstorms are phenomena that San Marino, too, must learn to live with. The question, then, is no longer whether extreme weather events will arrive, but whether our territory is ready to face them.
From this point of view, the approval of the new law on Strategic Territorial Planning represents an important opportunity. The law introduces new tools for governing the territory, with attention paid to environmental protection, safety and hydrogeological risk. But now it will be essential to understand how these principles will be translated into future plans and concrete actions.
Climate change, in fact, does not only concern hydrogeological instability. It simultaneously affects water, wildfires, agriculture, buildings, trees, roads and infrastructure.
The project to expand the Torello lake water basin, carried out together with San Leo, goes in the right direction. Greater storage capacity can be a response to drought, but also a strategic resource during a fire emergency. This is the kind of infrastructure that is needed: works capable of performing an everyday function while also becoming decisive in the event of an emergency.
A broader vision is needed, however. San Marino needs a climate risk map of its territory, identifying the areas most exposed to fires, drought, heavy rainfall, wind, land instability and heat. And it is necessary to continue — and, where needed, strengthen — the maintenance of ditches, drainage channels, manholes, slopes and drainage networks, increasingly framing this within a planned, preventive approach, especially in light of the rise in extreme weather events.
The tree heritage must also be managed with renewed attention. The census of public greenery and periodic tree inspections are already carried out, but they can be further expanded and reoriented in light of new climate risks. Greater systematic monitoring, together with the correct choice of species and locations, can help reduce the risk of falls during strong winds, while preserving the benefits that greenery provides against heat.
Agriculture is another particularly vulnerable sector. Efficient irrigation, rainwater harvesting, storage systems, anti-hail nets, more resistant crop varieties and farm structures designed to withstand wind and extreme events can significantly reduce damage.
To make these measures possible, the State should accompany planning with a “Climate Resilience Bonus” for farms, offering contributions for water tanks and collection systems, low-consumption irrigation, anti-hail nets, drainage works and structures more resistant to extreme events.
The same principle should apply to buildings. New construction criteria will increasingly need to take into account not only winter cold, but also extreme heat, violent rainfall and wind. Roofing, gutters, drainage systems, solar shading, insulation and anchoring of systems will need to be designed with the climate we will have in mind — not just the one we have known.
Here too, a Climate Resilience Bonus for buildings could be introduced, aimed at interventions that reduce vulnerability to heat, heavy rainfall and wind events.
These tools could be complemented by an insurance incentive: discounts or contributions on premiums for those who adopt certified measures to prevent and reduce climate risk. This would create a virtuous mechanism: those who invest in prevention would be supported by the State and also rewarded by the insurance system.
Other countries have already taken this path. Italy has adopted a National Climate Change Adaptation Plan; Switzerland has developed pilot programmes and projects; the Netherlands has rethought flood management by giving more space to water; Australia has introduced specific building criteria in areas most exposed to wildfires.
San Marino does not necessarily need to copy these models, but it can study them and adapt them to its own scale and characteristics.
The new territorial law thus provides a structure. Now it must be filled with content.
The questions are concrete: will climate change be a cross-cutting criterion in the new planning framework? Will a climate risk map be produced? Will there be a strategic water plan? Will the Torello lake water basin be included in a network of water reserves also for emergencies? Will there be a fire prevention plan for agricultural and wooded areas near homes? Will monitoring of the tree heritage be further strengthened in light of new climate risks? Will future buildings and infrastructure be required to meet climate resilience standards? And will the State introduce support tools, such as a Climate Resilience Bonus and insurance incentives, to help farmers, businesses and citizens carry out the necessary measures?
And, above all, will San Marino equip itself with a genuine climate change adaptation plan?
These are questions about the future, but the answers must come today.
Because prevention costs money — but far less than rebuilding after an emergency.
San Marino, precisely because it is a small territory, has the ability to know its risks better and act quickly. The new territorial planning can become the opportunity to turn this trait into an advantage.
We must no longer plan the territory only with the climate we have known in mind.
We must start planning for the one we will live in.
Michela Pelliccioni (Domani – Motus Liberi)
