Welcome to Outlook, the Repubblica newsletter that analyzes the economy, finance and international markets.
What I know about financial markets and the economy I learned by working for one of the main stock exchanges on Piazza Affari, the companies that buy and sell securities on the stock exchange for large investors. I took it with me when I became a journalist for La Repubblica where, among other things, I covered investigations and major scandals such as that of Parmalat, helping to unmask its false financial statements. Every Wednesday we will talk about listed and unlisted companies, personalities, institutions, scandals and investigations linked to this world. If you want to write to me, my email is [email protected]. Enjoy the reading
Walter Galbiati, deputy director of Repubblica
Behind the clash over the installation of ground-mounted solar panels between the Minister of Agriculture, Francesco Lollobrigidaand the environment, Gilberto Pichetto Fratinthere’s the whole inability of the government to make a fundamental decision about how use and preserve soil in Italy.
The topic has always been relevant, but it has forcefully entered the political table since, like the elimination of carbon dioxide emissions, land consumption also became one of the Sustainable Development Goals defined byUnited Nations Global Agenda for Sustainable Development.
So how do we talk about the Carbon Neutralitytoday we must also talk about Land Degradation Neutralityalthough the second term is much less well-known and popular than the first.
There is no law on land consumption. The colorful debate between Lollobrigida and Pichetto Fratin, the top of the iceberg of clash between farmers and the solar panel industryresulted in the last one decree law on agriculture which put a stop to the internal derby of the majority, but unfortunately it was not the opportunity, as it should have, to start thinking about the writing of a law that regulates land use in Italy in line with what is prescribed by Europe which supports the reusethe urban regeneration and the limitation of consumption, together with the development of sustainable construction and agricultural valorisation.
The real problem is keeping everything together, i.e. the needs of preserve the territory and that of achieving other objectives, such aszeroing of CO2 emissions which also involves the installation of solar panels.
The Italian situation. The state of land consumption in Italy is well outlined in annual report published byIspra for the National system for environmental protection. The data says that between 2021 and 2022 in Italy they were consumed 2.4 square meters per second for a total surface area of 77 square kilometersmore than 10% more than in 2021.
In parentheses. To know, that in Italy the 43% of the territoryapproximately 130 thousand square kilometers are intended for agricultural use (more than half arable) and the 30.6% (92 thousand square kilometers) is covered from forests or wood arboriculture.
The urban areas or similar have about 10% (30 thousand square kilometers) and the non-economic uses another 14.5% (43 thousand square kilometers). The Photovoltaic systems occupy a total of 178 square kilometersmost of which (35%) in Puglia.
Which activities consume the most land. Starting from these data, the Ispra study highlights which interventions have consumed our territory the most, taking into consideration the time span that goes from 2006 to 2022 and distinguishing between permanent modifications, i.e. constructions that would hardly allow the soil to be returned to its original appearance, and non-permanent interventions.
Irreversible consumption. On 1,216 square kilometers consumed in 16 years739, equal to 60% have undergone permanent changes. Of these, bearing in mind that approximately 303 square kilometers are considered construction sites in progress and therefore still to be classified, the majority have been earmarked for the 15.9% of the total to buildings and buildingsFor 8.2% to roadsfor the8% to impervious or paved areas.
Reversible consumption. As for the reversible land consumption which overall is worth approximately 40% of the total, well 20.8% was eaten by construction sites and dirt areas such as yards, car parks, courtyards, sports fields, material depots and more, while the 12.3% has been occupied by ground-mounted photovoltaic systems and the 4.1% from quarries.
The ranking. If we were therefore to draw up an absolute ranking of land consumption from 2006 to 2022, combining permanent and non-permanent use, the first step of the sad podium would be construction sites and dirt areas with 253 square kilometersfollow from buildings and buildings with 192 square kilometers (with the aggravating circumstance of being permanent) and give them photovoltaic systems with 150 square kilometers.
The case of photovoltaics. There is therefore a problem linked to the development of photovoltaics, as farmers have pointed out and as the numbers say. And the real challenge is finding a balance between different needs such as de-carbonisation, for example, and land protection.
Land consumption projections. If no action were to be taken, at the current pace, ISPRA estimates that the new land consumption, including various constructions, would be equal to another 1,981 square kilometers between 2022 and 2050which, however they would be reduced to about a quarter (566 square kilometers) if only the goal of reaching zero by 2030 was achieved.
How to preserve the territory. In their study the Ispra scholars start from the prescriptions of Ecological transition plan (Pte) adopted in 2021 which, to achieve Net carbon zero, certainly involves the use of photovoltaics, but identifying “suitable areas and surfaces […] consistently with the needs of protecting the soil, agricultural and forestry areas and the cultural and landscape heritage, in compliance with the principles of minimizing impacts on the environment, territory and landscape”.
The solutions. The solutions are “the priority exploitation – we always read in the Pte – of the surfaces of built structures (roofs and in particular those of public buildings, industrial warehouses and car parks), areas and sites subject to remediation, discontinued quarries and mines”.
Another possible solution are the advanced agrivoltaic systemswhich allow both productive and energy use to coexist on the same land, which are also encouraged by the Pnrr.
Climate objectives. The National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC), in its June 2023 update, predicts that they will be installed by 2030 131 GW of renewable source plants, with an increase in capacity of approximately 74 GW compared to 2021. Of this increase, 57 GW they are expected to be produced via photovoltaics and 17 via wind power.
How to reach them? ISPRA has calculated that, excluding historic centers and areas of cultural interest, the roof surface that could be used to install photovoltaic systems varies between 757 and 989 square kilometers, capable of guaranteeing variable power between 73 and 96 GWwell above the planned 57 GW.
“To this power – we read in the Ispra study – we could add that which can be installed in parking areasin correspondence with some infrastructures, in abandoned areas or in others waterproofed areaswithout increasing land consumption”.
The projection. To date, 34% of the panels installed are grounded and 66% are non-grounded. According to Ispra, assuming this distribution to cover the 57GW would risk consumption 340 kilometers squares of soil to have approx 19 GW. If instead they were all placed on the ground, the land consumption would be 990 kilometers of land.
A cost we cannot afford. Hence the need to follow the suggestions of the Ecological Transition Plan, obliging with a land law, to build on roofs or in areas already compromised, to minimize the impact on the ground.
