In the debate ahead of the next European elections, the climate and energy transition are playing a far from marginal role. In particular, on some issues – such as agricultural production, electric cars or green homes – the conflict is particularly heated. And, as unfortunately now systematically happens for topics like these, it is often based on ideological positions, prejudices and lack of knowledge of the topics addressed. The ideal ingredients to fuel those false myths whose main function is precisely to distract attention from the substance of the things that need to be done to effectively address a climate crisis that seems increasingly out of control.
To shed light on some of these false myths, with Italy for climate we have created the new report “Europe, a vote for the climate” trying to respond to doubts or uncertainties with scientifically solid numbers and data. A section of the document is dedicated to comparing the performance of the 27 Member States in terms of energy transition through 22 indicators divided into eight thematic areas (emissions, renewables, efficiency, vulnerability, industry, agriculture, transport and buildings). Often, the idea appears to emerge from the ongoing debate that Italy is doing too much to combat the climate crisis compared to other large European economies and that this excess of zeal could backfire on our legitimate interests. But is it really like that? What do these 22 indicators tell us?
Let’s start from the north star of climate policies, namely the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. To discover that, with just under 20% between 1990 and 2022, Italy has cut them decidedly less than the European average, which has now reached 30%, but also 25% of France or 40% of Germany . This performance is a direct consequence of what happened in the context of the other two pillars of climate policies, energy efficiency and renewable sources. As regards the first, drawing on data from the European “Odyssee mure” project which monitors the performance of Member States in various areas of energy efficiency, we note that between 2000 and 2021 Italy achieved an overall energy saving of less of 20%, a figure once again lower than the European average but which above all places our country in the not very happy position of third to last out of 27 and in any case behind all the other large economies of the Union.
We have not reduced our energy needs enough, therefore, but we have not achieved major improvements in the energy mix either. In 2022, the share of national energy consumption met by renewable sources is 19%, less than 23% of the European average and of all the large EU countries with the sole exception of Poland. The dynamics of recent years have had a decisive impact on this figure and, in particular, the stagnation in the growth of electrical renewables of which, until not many years ago, we were among the leaders in the world, starting with photovoltaics. In the last two years, to tell the truth, we have started to run a bit again, going from an average of just one GW per year of new plants to almost 6 GW in 2023: however, this is still too little to achieve the 2030 objectives. Especially when compared to the 18 GW grounded in just one year by Germany.
Analyzing the individual sectors, the picture just represented connects well in particular to what happens in transport and buildings. In transport, the higher per capita emissions than the European average are the result of a traditionally high rate of motorisation: in 2022 in Italy there were more than 680 cars per thousand inhabitants. Only Poland and Luxembourg do worse than us. At the same time, of the new cars registered in 2023, just 4.2% are electric: fifth to last in the European ranking and very far from the almost 15% of the European average or from values above 30% in several Nordic countries.
Even on buildings we are not doing more than others, far from it. Representing almost half of national energy consumption, however, this sector is probably the main responsible for the limited progress in general energy efficiency performance. Between 2000 and 2021, an average energy saving of almost 30% was achieved in this sector in the EU: Italy is stuck at 14%, fourth from last. This immobility in a strategic sector such as the construction sector translates into an average consumption per home, under the same climatic conditions, which is more than 30% higher than the European average, placing our country once again among the last five in the ranking.
To close on a note of optimism, we can say that things are a little better in the productive sectors. The industrial sector, very important for Europe’s second largest manufacturing sector, has for example an average value of energy consumption for each euro of added value produced that is better than average, which places our country in the top ten of the European ranking. Just as the energy savings over the last twenty years and the level of electrification achieved are also higher than the European average, signs of a sector that is still very dynamic. But the agricultural sector does even better, also a productive excellence at European level and beyond, which has the lowest levels of greenhouse gas emissions per euro of added value produced in Europe (with the exception of Malta which however has a truly limited in this sector) and with an extension of the organic agricultural surface almost double compared to the European average and to France and Germany.
The representation of Italy that emerges from the latest Italy for climate report, with some praiseworthy exceptions, is not, in short, that of a country that in the race towards climate neutrality has thrown its heart over the obstacle and for this reason risks suffer competition from decidedly more prudent competitors. On the contrary, it seems like the image of a country that is not fully believing in its own capabilities and is not running fast enough, thus risking progressively losing leadership in the sectors and technologies in which global markets are already investing today.
