top of the monument to victor emmanuel ii in rome. central to his economic agenda was a tireless commitment to reducing customs barriers ( achieved via a series of bilateral treaties ) and integrating markets, in the belief ( not only in principle but also based on his extensive experience as a farmer ( that competition was the key driver of greater production efficiency and technological progress. pragmatism and ideology he was above all a man of action in the highest sense, seeking concrete results and intent on aims that were ambitious but attainable. impervious to all forms of doctrinal fundamentalism, as a liberal he assigned the state the task of making a crucial contribution to the creation of the communication infrastructures necessary for development, above all the railways, which at the time were at the frontier, if not the very symbol, of technical progress. in the same vein, he defended the principle of state - funded support for the poor, to the extent that this did not reduce the incentives for workers to take up employment. in the field of credit, he strengthened the banca nazionale ( from which origins the banca d ’ italia later emerged ), with the aim of forming the basis of the credit system and the state bank. he was only partly successful, owing to opposition from proponents of the principle of pure liberalism who favoured competition between banks of issue, and whose ranks included the leading italian economist of the time, the sicilian francesco ferrara. in this context, his main objective was to bring about reform of the economic system, or, as we would call it today, structural reform. in the underdeveloped conditions prevailing in the kingdom of sardinia in the mid - nineteenth century, this was no easy task, not least given the opposition from a strong conservative front. he was greatly helped by the classical english culture of economics and his interest in administration, both of which he grasped to a degree virtually unheard of in italian intellectuals of the day, almost all of whom were of a literary and humanist vocation. his political language is also to be remembered : he countered the “ madmen of the rally ” with words extolling preparation and good administration as features essential to the achievement of desired results. in 1852 he brought about a radical reform of the state ’ s financial administration and accounts, which would subsequently form the basis of the legislation in this area in unified italy. europe his goal was for italy to be united and independent, mainly because he saw unity and independence as essential features of progress and civil

speech never waste a crisis : covid - 19, climate change and monetary policy speech by isabel schnabel, member of the executive board of the ecb, at a virtual roundtable on “ sustainable crisis responses in europe ” organised by the inspire research network, 17 july frankfurt am main, 17 july 2020 the coronavirus ( covid - 19 ) pandemic constitutes an unprecedented shock across many dimensions. the lockdown has led to the temporary closing - down of many production sites. global air and road travel have come to a virtual standstill. the effects have been so large and so disruptive that total carbon dioxide ( co2 ) emissions in 2020 will be about 4 to 7 % lower than estimated before the crisis ( see figure 1 ). in the past 120 years, there has never been an event that had such a dramatic impact on global co2 emissions. figure 1 global annual co2 emissions ( in million tonnes ) sources : le quere et al. ( 2020 ), global carbon project, carbon dioxide information analysis centre ( cdiac ) and unfccc ( june 2019 ). the range refers to the 4 - 7 % estimated drop in emissions in 2020. yet, studies show that even the substantial restrictions in production and mobility that were necessary to contain the spread of the virus would not be sufficient to limit the global temperature increase to the 1. 5 degrees celsius above pre - industrial levels, as aspired under the 2015 paris agreement. in order to meet that goal, according to the united nations, global emissions would need to drop by 7. 6 % each year between 2020 and 2030. given the economic and social hardship associated with this year ’ s reduction, such a drop is hardly feasible by simply reducing economic activity. the pandemic is therefore a stark reminder that preventing climate change from inflicting permanent harm on the global economy requires a fundamental structural change to our economy, inducing systematic changes in the way energy is generated and consumed. with brutal clarity, the current crisis has exposed two major risks to the global economy : first, the farreaching damages imposed on our society by a lack of prevention and early action, fostered by disbelief in science, in the face of a global shock that threatens not only the economy but our lives. and, second, the repercussions of a failure to act collectively in a globalised world where inaction in one part of the globe can lead to highly disruptive and long - lasting spillover effects