Pichetto: "The energy challenge for Italy is greater self-sufficiency"

Italy’s energy challenge is to become increasingly self-sufficient by focusing on renewables and nuclear. The Minister of the Environment and Energy Security told AGI, Gilberto Pichetto Fratinat the conference for the 20 years of Confindustria Energia. “Let’s say that we are celebrating 20 years and we are celebrating at a time when we realize that energy has become the vehicle for development. It certainly was so in the last century, but the last century was also that of great industrialisation. Today we are at a time where electrification, also following the duty of decarbonisation, is a vehicle for change which however is highlighting how our country is unfortunately very dependent on foreign countries. And being very dependent on foreign countries also means suffering the consequences, as we are suffering at the moment following the two conflicts we have on our doorstep”, he underlined.

To be competitive as a country system it is important “to have the necessary amount of energy. The challenge is to be safer, more self-sufficient, therefore to implement renewables and then in the next decade to reach nuclear“.

Pichetto Fratin: “Europe must consider the different energy needs”

“Europe at this moment must realize that we have many different needs in the various European countries. There are realities such as the Northern countries which do not have, for reasons of production model, number of inhabitants and therefore consumers, the needs that the large countries of Southern Europe such as Italy or in any case of the continental part such as Germany have, which are large manufacturing realities where the demand for energy and normally the availability do not always manage to equalise”, he continued.

The minister then focused on price cap on fuel. “The extension of this voluntary commitment on fuels until the end of the year is very positive”, highlighted Pichetto. “Clearly the fact that Eni took the initiative and was then followed by all the big companies is a significant help. It is certainly not the solution. The solution does not lie in budget availability because we do not have a state budget capable of covering what is a phenomenon whose international consequences we suffer”.