THERE is a moment in the recent Italia 90 documentary when Diego Maradona looks into the camera, with those dark, almost pupil-less eyes of his, and implores the people of Naples to support Argentina. There's just one small problem – it was the host nation who were up next for his team. 

In any other circumstance, in any other time, and in any other city, this would have been unthinkable. But this was Diego Maradona and this was Naples. As far as the fans of Napoli – the city's football team – were concerned, Maradona's word was holier than the Pope's (and it probably wasn't even particularly close).

Forestry Journal: Diego Maradona was (and still is) an idol in NaplesDiego Maradona was (and still is) an idol in Naples (Image: Archant)

For those who weren't around or who haven't watched the documentary, there's a spoiler ahead but Argentina – cheered on by a large proportion of the Neapolitans – dumped the hosts out on penalties, ending Italy's dreams of lifting the World Cup on their own soil. 

If, like me, you're a football fan, Maradona and that Napoli team is Naples. Forget the pizza and the Mafia. But, if like me you're also interested in a sustainable future, then you'll probably have been keeping a close eye on a project that is also putting the city on the map.

A new metro station is being built by mass timber in its Centro Direzionale region. At the moment, the building site is one of the biggest in Europe using wood. New pictures were recently released by the architecture studio behind it and they will likely take your breath away. 

The project came to mind this week when the Chancellor (at least for now) delivered his Autumn Statement. There's so much to unpack from Jeremy Hunt's plan, but one point leapt off the page. 

The government is to plough £6 billion into energy-efficiency measures in buildings and industry, as part of a plan to slash consumption over the next eight years.

Mr Hunt said the nation must aim for energy independence and energy efficiency to reduce the country’s reliance on overseas gas. He said he wanted to see energy use reduced by 15 per cent by 2030. In an effort to meet that goal, the government’s annual investment in measures to promote energy efficiency would be doubled to more than £12bn from 2025 to 2028.

Forestry Journal: Jeremy HuntJeremy Hunt

This seems like an obvious opportunity to capitalise on the use of wood in construction. It's safe, sustainable, and, if it's used nearly as well as the station in Naples, it looks the part, too. 

The only question now is: with the UK continually falling well short of its planting targets, just where is the timber going to come from? 

This piece is an extract from today’s Forestry Latest News newsletter, which is emailed out at 4PM every Friday with a round-up of the week's top stories. 

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