As soaring energy prices continue to pile pressure on Italian businesses and households – another cost-of-living aid package is now being drafted – Italy’s main political parties have placed the current energy crisis at the core of their manifestos ahead of the elections on Sunday, September 25th.
Though all parties seem committed to weaning the country off its dependence on Russian gas and developing alternative energy sources, proposals vary greatly from one side of the political spectrum to the other.
READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: How much are energy bills rising in Italy?
To give you an idea of who’s saying what, here’s an overview of how Italian parties plan on tackling the energy crisis.
Democratic Party (PD)
The left-wing Democratic Party, led by former premier Enrico Letta, is promoting renewable energy and promises free or discounted energy for low-income families.
Here are the PD’s main policies on the subject:
- Introduce a new energy support scheme for low-income families, with up to 1,350 kilowatts/hour of energy provided free of charge and the remaining energy demand being supplied at discounted prices.
- Increase the amount of renewable energy produced in the country – the target is an additional 85 gigawatts by 2030 – through the introduction of financial incentives for businesses scoring highly in environmental ratings and the construction of “local energy communities” (i.e. families and businesses sharing the same renewable energy grid)
- Temporarily resort to regasification plants (plants converting liquefied natural gas to methane gas) to tackle gas supply shortages. However, the use of these plants should be abandoned “long before 2050” to allow for the planned phasing out of the use of fossil fuels in favour of renewable energy.
- Reject nuclear energy given that the “timeframe and existing technologies” are not “compatible” with the country’s emission targets.
READ ALSO: Where do Italy’s main parties stand on environmental issues?
Five-Star Movement (M5S)
Led by former premier Giuseppe Conte, M5S places renewable energy and improving buildings’ energy efficiency at the centre of its programme. Here are the main policies:
- Improve the current building superbonus in order to further increase the number of properties with high energy efficiency.
- Introduce a new building bonus allowing businesses to switch to renewable energy sources at little or no cost.
READ ALSO: Italy’s building superbonus: How will it change after the election?
- Create a “energy recovery fund” to help struggling families and businesses, and make key investments in the field of renewable energy, with a peculiar focus on “green” hydrogen.Push for a
- European price cap avoiding “speculation mechanisms” on the part of the Dutch market.
- Oppose new gas drilling and nuclear power, with the latter being described as “incompatible with the energy transition” due to “inherent flaws” and “vulnerability”.
Italia Viva-Azione (or third pole)
The coalition of two relatively new centrist parties – Matteo Renzi’s Italia Viva and Carlo Calenda’s Azione – has made independence from Russian gas its primary concern in the energy field.
These are their main proposals:
- Build two new regasification plants and increase the national production of natural gas through the enhancement of existing plants.
- Streamline bureaucracy for the construction of renewable energy plants (chiefly, solar panels, wind farms and biogas plants) and offer financial incentives for businesses choosing to make the switch to renewable energy.
READ ALSO: Where do Italy’s main parties stand on environmental issues?
- Introduce a European price cap on gas and impose taxes on energy companies’ “real profits” (the programme offers no explanation as to what is meant by “real”), using the collected funds to help low-income families.
- Resort to nuclear energy to achieve a “zero emissions” target by 2050
Right-wing coalition
The alliance uniting Brothers of Italy, the League and Forza Italia is expected to win the elections, but it's not clear what it would do to help businesses and families with rising energy bills once in government.
The coalition hasn’t gone into much detail about how they plan to tackle the energy crisis, with parties recently squabbling on whether or not the country's public debt should be increased.
The bloc’s joint programme includes the following short proposals:
- Increase the amount of renewable energy produced in the country (no further details are given) to achieve energetic independence.
- Exploit existing gas reserves through the construction of new gas rigs.
- Support European price-cap policies.
- Resort to “green and clean” nuclear power.
The individual manifestos of the parties making up the coalition offer some additional insight into their planned energy policies.
READ ALSO: How would victory for Italy’s far right impact foreigners’ lives?
In its own programme, the League says it is committed to capping VAT at 5 percent for electricity bills and fuel duties.
Additionally, Salvini’s party plans on building “a national nuclear energy industry” centred around “last-generation nuclear reactors” – something which they regard as “vital” to achieving energetic independence and meeting the “zero emissions target by 2050”.
Like the League, Forza Italia sees nuclear power as a viable option, though it also pledges to double Italy’s production of natural gas. Furthermore, Berlusconi’s party promises unspecified financial incentives for businesses choosing eco-friendly technologies.
Brothers of Italy, led by Giorgia Meloni, says it wants to impose greater taxation on energy companies’ “extra profits” – the resulting funds, they say, would be used to help struggling families and businesses.
The party also says it backs a European cap on gas prices and will consider guaranteeing minimum levels of gas and electricity supplies for households who’ve missed bill payments.
Find all the latest news on Italy’s elections here.
Comments