Ricerc@Sapienza

After a critique of the concepts of “green economy” and “sustainable development” (which have not succeeded in ensuring a proper pursuit of the environmental objectives within the economic systems), the article underlines the need for a stronger role for the public authorities in the environmental field, also through a “new season” of economic programming. However, in order to avoid the risks of dirigisme or paternalism, such programming tools should be fully credible for the entrepreneurial system and, above all, they should take proper account of all the social costs involved in the ecological transition.