Italy has a very diverse and rich natural capital. Its high population density in certain areas leads to environmental pressures. Serious air pollution problems occur particularly in the Po Basin.
The south suffers from infrastructure deficits for water and waste management. Fines have been levied by the European Court of Justice reaching more than €806 million for non-compliance with EU environmental law.
Highlights
A reinsurance pool covers risks for three quarters of Environmental Liability Directive occurrences in Italy.
Italy has implemented national and regional sustainable development strategies. Italy’s circular economy is performing well, and a national network brings together government and business stakeholders.
Main Challenges
Pollution
Italy has made some progress in reducing air pollutant emissions but exceedances of the limit values for both PM10 and NO2 continue. Around 30% of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP) is allocated to measures on energy efficiency and sustainable transport.
Italy has made limited progress in reducing the number of non-compliant agglomerations for wastewater treatment, with Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) fines levied for two of the four ongoing infringement procedures.
Nature and biodiversity
Some marine sites still need to be designated in the Natura 2000 network. The conservation status of habitats and species must also be improved, using the prioritised action frameworks to better integrate EU funds.
Governance and investment
Italy’s overall environmental investment gap has decreased and is now around €8.29 billion per year or 0.43% of its GDP (lower than the EU-average), with the highest shares for circular economy and water.
Italy needs to improve its administrative capacity to support the green transition including coordination between the national, regional and local levels.