Dispatch from Italy | April ‘25

*** 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

• Trade war fallout – Prime minister Giorgia Meloni is meeting US president Donald Trump today (17 April) to talk about the tariffs he imposed on the European Union. Italy is among the countries most exposed in the ongoing trade crisis with the United States, with the energy transition at risk of becoming a collateral victim. In response to the crisis — and before Trump’s 90-day suspension of the tariffs — the Italian government announced a 25-billion-euro support package for affected companies, although it is unclear where the funds will come from. Meanwhile, industry minister Adolfo Urso openly attacked the EU Green Deal, calling it a set of “crazy rules” that should be suspended because they are “bringing the European car industry to collapse.” He promised to request a freeze on the implementation rules of the Green Deal.
• Return to nuclear taking shape – “There will be nuclear plants in Italy by 2030,” environment minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin said on national TV. “And one in Milan by 2032”, added deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini. Italy had phased out nuclear power production following a referendum in 1987. Now, the government aims to pass a law to determine the country's nuclear future by autumn. Writing all the relevant regulations could take at least two more years. Public debate surrounding the topic is expected to intensify in the coming months. Giorgio Parisi, Italy’s Nobel laureate in physics, recently gave a public talk arguing that nuclear energy, being expensive and inflexible, is ill-suited for a future energy system that will need to be increasingly distributed and adaptable.
• Climate movements strike again – Climate movements are trying to regain relevance in Italian politics. Ultima Generazione has launched a new wave of actions targeting both luxury restaurants and supermarkets. The group has shifted its focus from energy transition to food systems. Its new aim is to highlight how the climate breakdown is deeply intertwined with consumption models. Meanwhile, Extinction Rebellion Italia has called for a «Noisy Spring» - a reference to Silent Spring, the seminal book by Rachel Carson often credited with launching the modern environmental movement. The Noisy Spring will be a week of non-violent protests in Rome, from 25 April to 1 May. For climate activists, dissent is becoming increasingly difficult. A new security law was finally approved, introducing prison sentences even for symbolic protests against infrastructure deemed “strategic” by the government. In response, one Ultima Generazione activist has begun a hunger strike.
• Water alert – Italy has experienced two major water crises in the past three years. One of its most crucial drivers is the lack of snow. Every spring, snow begins to melt, transforming into a water resource. According to the latest data from climate research organisation Fondazione CIMA, snow water reserves have shown a slight recovery: the national Snow Water Equivalent (the amount of water contained in snow) has improved from -54 percent in March to -34 percent in April, compared to the same months in the 2011 to 2023 average. Leading this recovery are the Alps, where a wetter-than-average March brought abundant new snowfall. The situation is different in the Apennines, where one of the poorest snow seasons of the past decade is coming to an end. Italy is therefore heading for a summer of regional contrasts: the North with partially recovered reserves, the Centre and South facing an ongoing water alert.

• A climate festival in Milan – From 5 to 7 June, Milan’s Museum of Science and Technology will host the fourth edition of the Green & Blue Festival, one of Italy’s most important events focused on the ecological future of the planet. This year’s theme is “Starting from Zero – The Numbers for the Planet’s Future”: every panel, talk, and performance will start from a number. The program will combine science, politics, culture, and storytelling.
• A new climate novel – On a more personal note, the author of this Dispatch, that is, myself, published his first novel in March: Tempo di ritorno (Time of Return). It’s a story of fossil fuels and Italian families, spanning decades and intertwined with the history of the largest steel plant in southern Italy.