Rimini – The state of the green economy in Italy is marked by more downsides than upsides. Our country is a hotspot, suffering severe impacts from the climate crisis, so much so that in 2025, after years of decline, greenhouse gas emissions rose; furthermore, renewables are still lagging behind the 2030 targets. Italy also ranks first in Europe for water consumption and is one of the EU Member States with the highest dependence on foreign energy supplies. At the same time, however, it leads the way in the circular economy: in 2022, the EU recycled 41 per cent of its waste, while Italy recycled 86 per cent. This overview is contained in the 2026 Report on the State of the Green Economy, presented today (3 November) at the opening of the Green Economy Forum, organised by the Foundation for Sustainable Development as part of Ecomondo.
Edo Ronchi, president of the Sustainable Development Foundation, states: “At the international level, we are seeing significant drivers of the green economy against a global backdrop characterised by limited fiscal space, economic uncertainties, and growing climate threats.” The ecological transition, he says, “has become a structural necessity for the socio-economic stability of many countries and can be a tangible driver of social inclusion and economic growth.”
The report shows that Italy’s climate commitment “is inadequate.” If it continues like this, “it will not meet its 2030 target.” Greenhouse gas emissions rose in 2025 and are falling only slightly in 2026. Between 2015 and 2024, Italy achieved an average annual reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of 7 Mton. To meet its target, set out in the 2030 PNIEC, Italy would need to cut emissions by 14 Mton per year from 2026 (twice the amount achieved in recent years).
The situation is no better when it comes to renewables. In 2025, Italy remains behind on the targets set out in the PNIEC for 2030: the Plan sets a target for Italy of 39.4 per cent of total energy consumption (including electricity, heat and transport fuels) coming from renewables, but by 2024 this figure stood at just 19.6 per cent – below the European average of 25.2 per cent. Furthermore, in 2024 in Italy, only 20 per cent of energy consumption for heating and cooling came from renewables, well short of the PNIEC target of 35.9 per cent. In the same year, only 10 per cent of energy consumption in the transport sector came from renewables, less than a third of the 34.2 per cent target for 2030. In 2025, only 47 per cent of electricity came from renewables, compared with the PNIEC target of 70 per cent by 2030. In 2025, only 7.2 GW of renewable capacity had been installed (Germany 23.3 GW, Spain 10.8 GW). To meet the PNIEC target, annual installation will need to increase to 10 GW.
In terms of energy, Italy remains one of the European countries most dependent on foreign supplies. This dependence has stood at an average of around 74 per cent for several years, well above the EU average of around 57 per cent. This dependence, says the Minister for the Environment and Energy Security, Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, is the result of “historical choices made over many decades, not attributable to any single government.” A dependence which, according to the head of the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security (MASE), is “disastrous.”
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However, the report reveals a silver lining: Italy’s circular material utilisation rate in 2024 stood at 21.6 per cent, compared with 12.2 per cent for the EU, 17.8 per cent for France, and 14.8 per cent for Germany. In 2022, the EU recycled 41 per cent of its waste, Italy 86 per cent, Germany 44 per cent and France 52 per cent. In 2025, Italy recycled 77.3 per cent of its packaging waste. “Italy has a head start” on sustainability, says the Minister for Enterprise and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso, in a video message, “thanks to businesses of all sizes that know how to transform materials into products, even starting from waste. Italy is among the leading manufacturing economies, ranking second in Europe for circularity. And that is why we have made circularity an industrial policy, including with regard to critical raw materials.”
Italy is the European country that consumes the most water for domestic and industrial use, and ranks second for water abstraction for agricultural purposes, after Spain. The annual water availability per inhabitant in Italy, at around 2,260 m³, is less than half the EU average. According to ISPRA, climate change has contributed to a 20 per cent reduction in water availability compared with the early 20th century. In the summer of 2024, around 40 per cent of the country was affected by drought. The Italian water network loses over 40 per cent of the water supplied. According to ENEA estimates, the reuse of treated water in Italy stands at just 4 per cent, although the national water recovery potential could reach 23 per cent.
* Article produced in collaboration with GEA Agency
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
