PRESS RELEASE
Among the main topics of the Wired Next Fest 2025, the focus on forests and agroecosystems could not be missing.
This morning, at Palazzo del Bene, the Fondazione Edmund Mach presented the event “The Great Green Reservoir”, moderated by Wired journalist Tommaso Perrone, with Damiano Gianelle, Director of the FEM Research and Innovation Centre, and Professor Riccardo Valentini from the Università della Tuscia as speakers.
The event offered the audience an insightful perspective on the crucial role of forests and agroecosystems in addressing the climate crisis. These ecosystems are not merely landscapes to be protected, but true climate infrastructures capable of absorbing energy and carbon dioxide, mitigating extreme events, and regenerating soil and water resources.
They can be seen as natural batteries distributed across the planet, storing solar energy in chemical form and playing a key role in ecological cycles and in regulating the Earth’s climate.
Professor Valentini highlighted how nature continues to amaze us, even in an age dominated by artificial intelligence and digital technologies.
“Forests,” he explained, “are systems infinitely more complex than the largest existing data centres. They contain far more information than all the computers in the world combined. They convert and store solar energy in ways no artificial technology has yet managed to replicate. They use only water, light and carbon dioxide to produce energy and biomass — generating no toxic waste and requiring no industrial infrastructure.”
An elegant, sustainable and highly efficient process, still unmatched by human technology.
In conversation with Damiano Gianelle, the discussion expanded to the global dimension of climate policies and the role of forests as carbon sinks and living laboratories of sustainability.
“Forests,” added Gianelle, “are the perfect model of sustainability: they capture and transform energy, preserve biodiversity, and offer resilience to climate change. Learning from nature means understanding and, where possible, replicating its extraordinary processes.”
Rich in scientific insights and engaging reflections, the event provided an opportunity to explore how natural ecosystems can inspire future choices and become essential allies in the ecological transition.
The WIRED Next Fest is organised by WIRED Italia in partnership with the Provincia autonoma di Trento – Assessorato allo sviluppo economico, lavoro, famiglia, università e ricerca, Trentino Marketing, Trentino Sviluppo, Azienda per il Turismo Rovereto, Vallagarina e Monte Baldo, and the Comune di Rovereto.
The programme is developed by a Scientific Committee, chaired by the Director of WIRED Italia, with the participation of the Università degli Studi di Trento, Fondazione Bruno Kessler, Fondazione Edmund Mach, Fondazione Hub Innovazione Trentino, Istituto provinciale per la ricerca e la sperimentazione educativa (IPRASE), and the MUSE – Museo delle Scienze.
Photo service, video and interviews by the FEM Press Office
