INTERVENTION/ We take note of the statements of the Minister of the Environment and Energy Security Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, who spoke as part of the G7 underway in Turin, on the possible exit from coal and the decommissioning of the Federico II power plant, even before the date set for December of 2025; However, we would be satisfied if the satisfaction with which we intend, as Italy, to be first in the class, were corroborated by contextual alternatives, the result of social consultation, to the existing production system, as well as by reassurances on the future of the current direct employment pool and of the ‘induced.
We, as CISL, have always declared it: Brindisi is a territory that deserves great consideration, having given so much to the country in terms of energy security and having paid a significant price from an environmental and social cohesion point of view.
Furthermore, the expectations and hopes of workers whose only family income depends on that production system should be considered with greater respect, being aware of the negative repercussions resulting from the continuous announcements on the closure of Cerano.
And, above all, we insist in maintaining that the employment issue and that of the country’s energy security do not concern the past but are of dramatic relevance.
In our recent conference held in Brindisi on the topic “Territorial Development, between crisis and opportunity we have launched proposals regarding alternatives.
Among these, that serious consideration be given to the opportunity offered by Energy Legislative Decree no. 181/2023 converted with Law 11 of 2 February 2024, regarding the identification of two port areas in the South, with the related bodies of water, intended to shipbuilding infrastructures, for the production, assembly and launching of floating platforms, for wind power offshorealso thanks to the amendment with which the port areas of Taranto and Brindisi were proposed.
Subsequently, we hoped for useful synergies for the development and growth of the Ionian-Messapian area, planning strategies that respect the production specificities of both provinces, where industry is not only steel, energy, chemistry but also aeronautics, shipbuilding, ports and includes also the system that revolves around the agriculture, agri-food, tourism and services sectors.
Furthermore, since Terna did not declare the reconversion of the Enel power plant in Cerano to be essential to gas, we also proposed that its closure be postponed for the purposes of national energy security and a valid alternative to the deadweight loss of the related employment.
If, therefore, an agreement could have been found within the EU for the total exit from coal by 2035, all the more reason why Italy, where production systems and important employment areas are at stake, must not punish itself, causing a consequent social drama that Brindisi cannot support.
So, as CISL, we ask the institutions, politicians and Enel itself to present a common front, avoiding rigidity that would not bring environmental benefits, let alone social benefits.
Even more appropriate is this appeal in conjunction with the celebration of May 1, 2024, which Cgil Cisl Uil have dedicated to a Europe of peace, work and social justice.
Therefore, a Europe that knows how to be an authoritative arbiter so that peace prevails everywhere over wars, legal and contractual work is truly recognized as a constitutional right that does not exclude anyone, especially women and young people, social justice knows how to include to break down persistent economic inequalities, educational programs that continue to find citizenship in our country and especially in our communities.
Gianfranco Solazzo
CISL
: “Early closure of the power plant? Let employment and development be guaranteed in Brindisi first”){kind=link}