The severe drought that Sicily is
experiencing is a "national emergency", Deputy Premier and
Transport and Infrastructure Minister Matteo Salvini told a
question-time session in the Lower House on Wednesday.
He said the government was taking "every action that is useful
to overcome critical issues that have been evident for years"
He said his ministry had completed the preliminary phase of
national plan of infrastructural interventions for the water
sector featuring around 950 million euros of funding.
He said Sicily's share was about 10% of that and "will concern
seven interventions for 92 million euros out of a total of 75
water works financed throughout Italy".
He added that extraordinary national commissioner will propose a
plan of urgent interventions to face the emergency.
Scientists say the climate crisis caused by human greenhouse gas
emissions is making extreme weather events such as heatwaves,
droughts, supercharged storms and flooding more frequent and
more intense.
Although there are many sources of the greenhouse gases that are
causing global heating, the main driver is the burning of fossil
fuels such as oil, gas and coal, sales of which generate huge
profits for the world's energy giants.
MPs from the Green-Left Alliance (AVS) staged a flash-mob
protest outside the premier's office at Palazzo Chigi on
Wednesday, saying the government has got its priorities wrong.
"We are in front of Palazzo Chigi to remind (Premier) Giorgia
Meloni that the climate crisis is not an ideological issue, it
is not a whim, unfortunately, it is a dramatic reality," said
Angelo Bonelli of the Green Europe party.
"In Sicily, drought is desertifying agricultural fields, farmers
are uprooting vineyards and slaughtering animals because there
is no water: it's a dramatic situation.
"Why doesn't the government intervene? They decided to quickly
build the Bridge over the Strait of Messina but they forgot what
the country's real problems are, starting with the climate
crisis and drought.
"We ask Giorgia Meloni for a meeting to talk about our proposals
to counter their silence and inertia".
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