News
11 Jul 2025, 15:00
Ferdinando Cotugno
|
Italy

Dispatch from Italy | July '25

It’s been a difficult few weeks for Italy: heatwaves have slowed the economy, and extreme weather events have caused casualties and damage, bringing debates around climate change back to the front pages. The Meloni government has proposed a new plan to explore Italy for critical minerals and is developing an offshore wind industry plan for economically depressed areas. However, investments in clean technologies remain sluggish.

*** Get a bird's-eye view of Italy’s climate-friendly transition in the CLEW Guide – Italy moves on green transition, but fossil fuel ties remain tight***

 

Stories to watch in the weeks ahead

The latest from Italy – last month in recap

  • A blast in Rome: On the morning of 4 July, a loud explosion was heard across several neighbourhoods in Rome as a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) station exploded in the Prenestino district, in the eastern part of the city. The incident occurred during a fuel delivery operation. There were two explosions: the second was stronger than the first. Fifty people were injured, two of them seriously. The accident has sparked a debate about how safe it is to have fossil fuel infrastructure in densely populated urban neighbourhoods.
  • Hydrogen and Italian tech neutrality: In Carugate, near Milan, a hydrogen refuelling station for vehicles has opened. It is primarily aimed to serve heavy-duty vehicles such as trucks and buses. According to estimates by the Italian Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association H2IT, by 2050 there could be 20,000 hydrogen-powered buses and 50,000 hydrogen trucks in Italy. The project aligns with the government's vision of technological neutrality: not favouring EVs but allowing all technologies to compete. The environmental group Ci sarà un bel clima pointed out that in recent years fewer than twenty hydrogen cars have been registered in Italy. However, Milan is expected to have 500 hydrogen buses by 2026.
  • Lack of funding slowing Italian cleantech: Investments in cleantech in Italy declined by nearly a third in 2024, according to the latest briefing from Cleantech for Italy. Investments went from 339 million euros in 2023 to 230 million last year. The sharpest decline occurred in the energy sector, where funding fell from 148 million euros to 22.6 million. According to the association, Italy struggles to support its cleantech start-ups and scale-ups despite a strong research and industrial base.
  • An open letter from pro-transition businesses: Dozens of Italian companies from across multiple sectors have called on the European Commission to uphold its climate obligations for businesses. In an open letter, they wrote: "It is an act of responsibility towards future generations and the stability of our livelihoods. We trust in your commitment to keep Europe on the path of climate ambition and to support the real transformation of the European economy, for the benefit of all". Their message counters the narrative of Italy’s main business association, Confindustria, which has appealed to slow and even stop the EU’s Green New Deal.

Ferdinando’s picks - Highlights from upcoming events and top reads

  • The optimistic take: Gianluca Ruggieri has published a long-awaited book on the energy transition, Le energie del mondo (The energy of the world). Ruggieri is one of Italy’s most respected communicators on energy issues — and also one of the most optimistic voices when it comes to the country’s ability to carry out a successful transition. Reading him feels like a breath of fresh air.
  • Are we losing the Green Deal? Much less optimistic is Stefano Feltri, one of Italy’s leading economic journalists. In an episode of his podcast Revolution, he argues that the dismantling of the Green Deal is already underway — even though this shift has never been communicated to voters. According to Feltri, the Meloni government shows no real attention to climate issues, and her party works in Europe to weaken all climate-related policies. The rollback, he says, is not due to a change in public opinion, but to economic interests and pressure from powerful lobbies.
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