Italy is about to close 2019 registering a 1% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, which is mainly to a less carbon intensive energy mix thanks to the replacement of coal with gas in the production of electrical energy.
However, if the use of renewable sources of energy and energy efficiency do not register a more significant increase, this 1% reduction will not be enough to reach the objectives set by the National Energy and Climate Plan (Pniec, Piano Nazionale Energia e Clima) and enable the transition towards a low-carbon economy.
This has emerged from the latest issue of the Analysis of the Italian energy system by ENEA À , which highlights, during the first nine months of the year, a 3.5% reduction in CO2 emissions from the electricity sector due to an increased gas use (+15%), the reduced use of oil products (-10%) and, above all, coal (-30%); in the same period, emissions in the transports and civil sector have registered a 0.5% reduction. Emissions have, on the whole, decreased by 0.8% in nine months, and they are expected to reach a -1% reduction on an annual basis.
The Analysis has also shown
that the production of energy from renewable sources in the first three quarters of the year has been relatively stable, in spite of a slight recovery in the third quarter (+5%, compared to the same period in 2018) with the increase of energy from wind and solar sources making up for the decrease of hydroelectric energy.
In the first nine months of 2019, primary energy consumption has decreased by about 1%, with final consumption at -0.5%.