Parma, March 12, 2025 – The conference "Sustainability Governance and the Role of Independent Authorities" will be held on Friday, March 21, from 2:00 PM to 7:00 PM, at the main headquarters of the University of Parma (Historical Library of Public Law, Department of Law, Political Studies, and International Relations).
This conference, which provides an important opportunity for discussion and in-depth analysis of the current challenges of sustainability governance at the European and global levels, is organized as part of the PRIN 2022 PNRR NESUS-G project – New Sustainability Governance, of which the University of Parma is a part with a research unit coordinated by Lucia Scaffardi, professor of Comparative Public Law.
The event will open with an intervention by Professor Lucia Scaffardi and will then be divided into two sessions.
In the first session (from 2:00 PM to 4:15 PM), chaired by Giulio Vesperini, professor at the University of Tuscia, Ellen Vos, professor at the University of Maastricht, will give a presentation on EU agencies and sustainability, followed by Claudia Sartoretti, professor at the University of Turin, who will discuss independent administrative authorities from a comparative perspective.
Next, Alberto Spagnolli from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) will focus on the central role of science in European food safety, outlining the present and future of EFSA.
The first session will conclude with Jordi Serratosa, professor at the Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona and former EFSA Liaison Officer at the US FDA, who will explore the topic of food sustainability, comparing the approaches of the European Union and the United States concerning the One Health approach and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
The second session (from 4:30 PM to 7:00 PM), chaired by Annalisa Volpato, professor at the University of Padua, will feature young scholars selected through a call for papers.
Alberto Atelli from LUISS Guido Carli will analyze the theme of epistocracy and sustainability, focusing on the role of independent authorities in scientific governance and their relationship with higher normative sources.
Enrico Buono from the University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli will discuss the position of the European Environment Agency (EEA) between Deep State and Deep Time, exploring scientific assessment and sustainability governance in European environmental policies.
Nicola Brignoli from the University of Parma will focus his intervention on the multi-level governance of the food sector, and Ludovico Iorio, also from the University of Parma, will address public regulation and control activities in the agricultural supply chain.
The session will conclude with Angelo Rainone from the University of Parma, who will discuss the evolution of AGCM case law on Green Claims, both before and after the introduction of the Greenwashing Directive.
Finally, the members of the research unit of the PRIN 2022 PNRR NESUS-G – New Sustainability Governance project at the University of Parma will discuss the works presented by the young scholars during the second session.
