On 8 February 2022, the Italian Parliament finally approved the draft law no. 3156-B regarding environmental protection and amending articles 9 and 41 of the Italian Constitution, in light of the EU previous experience.
Therefore, within the Italian legal system “environmental, biodiversity and ecosystems protection also in the interest of future generations” becomes a fundamental principle the legislation must comply with (article 9), as well as a limit to the freedom to conduct business, which cannot be carried out to the detriment of the environment pursuant article 41 amended.
The reference to the interest of future generations is fundamental as well, for it brings at the heart of the Constitution the principle of intergenerational equity, whose meaning we can explain by a well-known say that has now entered our common cultural heritage: “We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors; we are borrowing it from our children”.