Next-stop Asia: il futuro green della mobilità

Last June the G20 leaders promoted the six guiding “Principles for quality infrastructure investment”, considered a priority mainly by the Japanese. China’s support for these principles has sanctioned the will to address the criticisms made to its Belt and Road Initiative, in terms of environmental sustainability. China and Japan, hitherto rivals in the production of high-speed trains, seem open to collaborate on projects that meet high sustainability standards, as Motoko Aizawa, President of the Observatory on Sustainable Infrastructure has argued. In Asia, the HSR (High-speed rail) and the systems connected to it (such as the Chuo Shinkansen and the more limited Shanghai Transrapid) are now considered a priority investment to connect people and territories, while promoting prosperity and smart urban growth. Japan in particular has always been very sensitive towards sustainable infrastructure design: from the network of metropolitan parks which, according to the Tokyo Regional Disaster Prevention Measures, is an integral part of a mass evacuation plan following earthquakes, to the attention that the government and private companies have paid to fight the environmental impact and noise pollution of railway lines, such as the Shinkansen Super-express.