The Outcomes of the Second Dolomite Conference on Climate Change

The proceedings and the Dolomite Manifesto

Trento - Bolzano | 5-8 October 2023

“At a time when we should be accelerating action, there is backtracking.  At a time when we should be filling gaps, those gaps are growing. We are hurtling towards disaster, eyes wide open – with far too many willing to bet it all on wishful thinking”. The UN Secretary General, Antonio Gutierrez recently warned that we risk falling into dangerous acquiescence. Indeed, the battle for mitigating (or adapting to) climate change appears to have lost political steam.

And yet, “we” (as part of the community of institutions, scientists, companies, media advocating the adoption of a new paradigm) also ought to quickly acknowledge that we have made some fundamental mistakes. The support of people to the agenda on climate change is not just optional: it is the energy we need to transform our societies, our cities, our families, the way individuals and institutions behave. We need to engage people and not just lecture them on what they should do. And the paradox is that people are already part of the battle; after all they are the first to feel the heat.

Vision and its partners have thus conveyed a four-day meeting, from 5 to 8 October 2023, where 80 intellectuals, students, policymakers, entrepreneurs, managers, journalists, political and natural scientists tried to find a common ground, a common language. To launch “actions beyond the (too many) words spent on climate change”. And give a new hope to future generations.

After the huge success of the 1st edition in 2022, Vision and the founding partners of the initiative (AXA Italia and Autostrada del Brennero) conveyed a bigger, more ambitious edition of the conference in the Dolomites. This beautiful area, just like last year, was chosen as location of the event because of its special status of vulnerability and resilience to the challenge of climate change. 

The scientific partners of this edition were Bocconi University, Politecnico of Milan, Oxford Blavatnik School of Government, INET and the University of Trento. The conference has received the institutional endorsement of the European Parliament and of the Autonomous Provinces of Trento and Bolzano. Rai Radio Uno and Sky News Arabia have covered the whole initiative as media partners. 

This edition has taken place in several, beautiful locations as the MUSE (Science Museum of Trento), the Buonconsiglio Castle, the University of Trento and, last but not least, Salewa Headquarters in Bolzano. With the background of these beautiful places, the conference has proceeded with multidisciplinary Plenary Sessions and with 4 different Problem-Solving Groups, aimed at developing concrete proposals to the issue of climate change. 

The conference has addressed the topic of climate change from different points of view, considering issues as the reform of the Bretton Woods Institutions, climate change and migration, the future of renewable energy, the Middle East and the green transition, gender/age perceptions of climate change - and much more. 

The students from the Bocconi-Polimi Joint Master's in Transformative Sustainability have worked on the contents of the 4 Problem-Solving Groups, actively engaging both before the conference (by working on the Concept Note and participating to Vision's 4 webinars) and in Trento, taking part to the discussion and presenting the final report of each PSG during the last day of the Conference.  

The closing session on Saturday 7th October presented the concrete proposals emerged at the Conference, summarized in 8 key points at the very basis of the "Dolomite Manifesto". The Manifesto itself, as a more structured document, will be presented at COP 28 in Dubai (30th November - 12th December 2023). 

The distinctive feature of the Dolomite Conference is that it is a unique problem-solving platform, where people with very different backgrounds can exchange ideas and points of view to build new solutions together. The same format has been successfully followed by the other initiative by Vision Think Tank, the Siena Conference on the Future of Europe, which had its fourth edition in June 2023. 

DOLOMITE MANIFESTO

DOLOMITE CONFERENCE AGENDA

CONCEPT NOTE  

SPEAKERS 

Watch the video of the three days: 

DAY 1 - Thursday, 5th October 2023 (PART ONE)

" - Thursday, 5th October 2023 (PART TWO) 

DAY 2 - Friday, 6th October 2023 (PART ONE) 

" - Friday, 6th October 2023 (PART TWO) 

DAY 3 - Saturday, 7th October 2023 

The Second Dolomite Conference achieved Zero Impact! Thanks to AXA Italia, which purchased carbon quotas, and Autostrada del Brennero, which provided hydrogen shuttles for transportation.