Roberto Cingolani, Minister of Ecological Transition
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“Before, the increases in the bills came and they tried to patch them up. This time the opposite is happening. We know that the increases will come, because the price of energy is rising all over the world, and we are moving ahead by modifying the bill and trying to mitigate the increases for some categories ». The Minister for Ecological Transition, Roberto Cingolani, he had continued to say it in recent months: beware that the transition to a more environmentally friendly world means above all taking care of how we produce energy. For clear reasons: the production with fossil sources (oil, gas, coal above all) releases the CO2 that is caging the earth in a super heated greenhouse with dramatic effects.
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He is telling us that if we want to continue to turn on the light at home and businesses to produce we must resign ourselves to higher bills.
“No. I’m saying luckily we have a recovering economy: this means growth, which means we need more energy. And if demand increases, the prices of raw materials that today are used to produce that energy rise ».
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What we pay in the bill …
«For once, in the meantime, we are trying to anticipate the increases. The government is working carefully on this to understand the current trend and to initiate real-time mitigation measures ».
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The fact is that this ecological transition is costly for citizens and businesses.
“That’s not quite the case. Let’s see what the increases depend on. 80% from increases in gas prices and only 20% from CO2. That is, we are seeing what it means to be dependent on certain energy sources such as fossils. And then it is not only happening here but also in the countries close to us, from Great Britain to the European ones ».
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Mal common half joy?
“The fact that it also happens elsewhere means that there is no Italian specificity. This is why President Draghi has made it clear that a European and then global approach to the situation is needed ”.
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Yes but in the meantime?
“In the meantime, we’re doing exactly that. We are working on the first urgent mitigation measures without losing sight of the need for structural interventions, to be implemented not only internally, but also at European level. In parallel are our global commitments: the preparatory work for COP26 which we co-chair with Great Britain. Then there will be the G20 chaired by Draghi. It is not a question of gossip but of putting the whole international community in front of concrete choices ».
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However, you will understand that it has been talked about for years …
“It had never happened in such a compelling way. What is important is to understand that we are in a transition. In a process with a road map, a path that we must follow to obtain the double effect of having energy at manageable costs and at the same time from renewable sources such as the sun, the wind, which we also have in quantity, unlike oil and gas…”.
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Actually we would also have gas; only that to extract it in the Adriatic on our border are the countries in front of us.
“Each nation makes its own choices. Estonian Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson has said this several times. Europe can outline the strategies but it is up to each country to decide which is its own mix of sources from which to draw the energy it needs ».
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She doesn’t want to say it, but translated this means: if we have chosen not to extract more gas then we cannot complain if those who sell it increase their prices … But at least politics could have made a discourse of reality.
“I understand that sometimes some truths can be unpleasant, but if we commit ourselves to the goals we have set ourselves as Europe and Italy, namely to reach 70% of electricity produced from renewable sources by 2030, we will be able to disconnect from the supplies of others Villages”.
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But will we make it? You also know that it takes between 1200 and 1300 days in Italy to build a photovoltaic or wind power plant. I tell him in years: 3.5 when it goes well and if you can …
«The Simplifications decree served exactly to reduce those times. Also because public investments cannot cover all the needs of plants. We need private investors ».
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That are in hiding.
«By giving certain times we will succeed. Investors for 0.4 Gigawatts participated in the latest auctions of renewable energy plants for 2 Gigawatts (we need to reach 70 Gigawatts by 2030). But in the coming weeks we will give a calendar of auctions and simplified rules between now and the next few years to make it clear that there are certain times ».
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And hoping that each region, each municipality does not want to make its own energy policy.
“This is a theme that unfortunately affects every local community. We all want energy from the wind, but we want the blades to be placed in the common next door, not ours. We buy 5% of energy from France which produces it with nuclear power close to us ».
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Okay but what should we do then? Retracing our steps on nuclear power, drilling for gas?
«We must not look to the future with an eye to the past. We should discuss in a non-ideological way. If we want, as is right, to travel with electric cars, if we do not want not to suffer and make future generations suffer the effects of climate change caused by CO2, we must discuss how we produce energy. Collaboratively. We must certainly accelerate on renewable sources. When we say no to a solar panel, or when the interests of bureaucracy and individuals prevail at the local level, we must understand that we are saying no to ourselves and our children above all ”.
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A matter of goodwill?
“Also. But I would say more of realism and desire for the future ».
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