Drawing from multiple local success stories in the green and blue economy, the event will provide a snapshot of the present and a vision for a more sustainable, healthy, and socially equitable future through shared ideas, proposals, and projects.
- circular economy | environmental impact | innovation | sustainable economic growth strategy
- Friday 27 June 2025, 09:30 - 17:30 (CEST)
- Taranto TA, Italy
Practical information
- When
- Friday 27 June 2025, 09:30 - 17:30 (CEST)
- Where
- BAC - D2, Via Federico di Palma, 223,74121 Taranto TA, Italy
- Languages
- Italian, English
- Part of
- Website
- Event website
- Social media links
Description
Taranto, a symbolic city reflecting the environmental, industrial, and social complexity of the Mediterranean, will host the official EU Green Week event on June 27, 2025. The event will focus on cooperation among European regions engaged in the ecological transition and supported by the Just Transition Fund (JTF).
At the heart of the initiative is a dialogue between Taranto and Ida-Viru County (Estonia), two European areas united by the challenge of converting fossil fuel–intensive economic models. The meeting will address the specific challenges of renewable energy development, rare material processing, the reduction of climate-altering emissions, and their impacts on public health. In Taranto, the concept of One Health – promoted by the Calliope House of Emerging Technologies (CTE) and adopted as a strategic key for territorial planning – is being applied in an integrated way, with the aim of connecting public health, environmental protection, and social innovation. The JTRAIL consortium will present actions already underway to strengthen green skills, smart infrastructures, and predictive systems for health in industrial settings.
Special attention will be given to the delegation from Ida-Viru County, which has already implemented the vast majority of its JTF programme, investing over half a billion euros in energy transition infrastructure, the strategic materials industry, and territorial redevelopment. The delegation will include Hardi Murula (Association of Local Authorities of Ida-Viru), Lauri Jalonen (Business Advisory Centre), and Bogdana Androsjuk (University of Tartu), offering an integrated perspective spanning governance, enterprise, and social sciences.
The morning will open with a keynote by Prof. Hans Orru from the University of Tartu on the theme: “Health and Well-being in All Policies for the Just Transition”, followed by a roundtable between Estonian and Italian representatives, focusing on the operational comparison of territorial models for JTF implementation.
Members of the European Parliament and representatives from the Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy of the European Commission (DG REGIO) will also participate, highlighting the strategic importance of a just transition grounded in scientific evidence, transnational cooperation, and social innovation as a driver of equity and tangible transformation.