News for the daubers: Italy, on the green, is a model in Europe

Once again, Italy shows itself better than the clichés of the national spirit marked by commiseration depict it. Also on environmental policies

Would you have ever thought, reading the big press and listening to the defilers of works of art, that, according to the recent Ispra report, the technical body of the Ministry of the Environment, Italy is all of this? Point number one. It is second in Europe for total energy production from renewable sources only behind Sweden which boasts unreachable shares of hydroelectric for geographical reasons (19.90% against a European average of 17.7&). Point number two. Energy consumption per unit of GDP has decreased by 16% in the last 12 years and greenhouse gas emissions per unit of energy consumed have also decreased. Third. Energy intensity, ie energy consumption per unit of GDP, is among the lowest in Europe. Fourth. Greenhouse gas emissions per unit of energy are higher than the European average. Guess why? Because the share produced by nuclear energy with zero emissions weighs favorably on the European mix. If we had some, we too would clearly be in the lead. But go explain that to imaginary environmentalists. It's still. Over the years, industry and agriculture have greatly improved their efficiency and reduced the carbon intensity of their processes. The tertiary and transport sector is doing less well, where we can still improve.