In a world going backwards in a direction opposite to that evoked by General Vannacci, where the generation in power is burning (in a literal sense with fossils) the future of its children and grandchildren, there is a small positive sign. And on the day when the rapid environmental disaster in Tehran adds up to the slower global environmental disaster, it is worthwhile to open a small window of hope by looking at an act that may perhaps be only symbolic in nature, but instead could grow by fueling an antidote to what we are seeing in these days and months. Telling the story serves to show that an alternative to madness is possible, even if little practiced.
Europe and the new “contract between generations“
For years, intergenerational justice has remained a word evoked in debates about climate, public debt or demographics, but rarely translated into concrete public policy instruments. Now something is changing. The European Union has adopted a strategy dedicated precisely to intergenerational equity, while in Italy a rule has recently come into force requiring prior assessment of the impact of laws on young people and future generations. Two initiatives that arise from different contexts but converge on the same idea: public policies can no longer be designed by looking only at the present.
A few days ago the European Commission approved the Strategy on Intergenerational Justice, a document that attempts to introduce a long-term perspective into the way European policies are designed. The goal is to make sure that decisions made today do not compromise tomorrow’s opportunities and that benefits and responsibilities are distributed equitably across generations.
The text explicitly mentions a new “intergenerational contract” based on three pillars: more forward-looking public policies, more balanced opportunities between territories and generations, and greater involvement of young people in decisions affecting their future. The strategy starts with an observation: the major transformations underway-from climate change to the digital revolution, from an aging population to the energy transition-are reshaping opportunities across the lifespan.
For Brussels, the problem is not change itself, but how policy decisions govern it. If policies remain anchored in the short term, the risk is that the economic, social and environmental costs will fall on younger generations. In contrast, forward-looking policies can turn these transformations into opportunities. Not surprisingly, the Commission calls the strategy an attempt to ensure that “today’s choices also contribute positively to tomorrow’s opportunities.”
Italy experiments with generational impact assessment
Within this European framework, Italy has a significant innovation. In November 2025, Law No. 167 was passed introducing the Generational Impact Assessment of laws, the ViG. In practice, any new legislation will also have to be analyzed to understand what effects it will produce on today’s youth and the generations to come: “The laws of the Republic promote intergenerational equity also in the interest of future generations.” The idea is to introduce into the legislative process a tool capable of assessing in advance the social, economic and environmental effects of public policies.
If truly applied, ViG could change the way laws are written. Until now, many policy decisions have produced effects that manifest over the long term-from public debt to land consumption, from climate policies to investments in education-without these impacts being systematically assessed. The new standard tries to fill precisely this gap.
Trying to flesh out this regulatory innovation is the Future Paper “Generational Impact Assessment of Laws: a paradigm shift for public policy,” produced by the Italian Alliance for Sustainable Development (ASviS) together with Save the Children as part of the Ecosystem Future project.
The document, edited by Enrico Giovannini and Raffaela Milano, was created to prevent ViG from turning into a bureaucratic fulfillment. The report states that ViG should become a true “permanent cognitive infrastructure of the regulatory process,” capable of orienting the design of public policies toward a long-term perspective. A lens through which to evaluate choices that will affect the country’s future.
The issue is not only theoretical. In Italy, the imbalance between generations is already visible in many economic and social indicators. The population is shrinking and aging, while the number of young people is shrinking. About 370,000 children were born in 2024, with the fertility rate dropping to 1.18 children per woman. Projections indicate that by 2050 Italy’s population could fall to just over 54 million. This dynamic has direct effects on the economy and welfare sustainability. Italy already has one of the highest levels of pension spending among industrialized countries and a public debt in excess of 3 trillion euros. Meanwhile, child poverty is growing and more and more young people are struggling to enter the labor market permanently or to access housing.
Added to these factors is the environmental dimension. Climate change, hydrogeological disruption and water scarcity represent increasingly significant economic and social risks for the country. Scenarios developed in recent years show that choices made today on the ecological transition will have direct effects on economic growth, employment and quality of life in the coming decades.
It is not only about protecting future generations from the risks of current choices, but also about creating the conditions for them to develop new opportunities.Generational impact assessment is a change of perspective. It means moving from defensive policies–oriented to manage immediate problems–to policies capable of building the future.
There is a dramatic need for it.
