Italy's fragility in the face of the
climate crisis will be a problem and if action is not taken the
country will pay a terrible price, European Commissioner for
Economy and former Italian premier Paolo Gentiloni said on
Sunday during the In mezz'ora programme on Rai Tre.
Recent deadly flooding caused by very heavy rainfall in Tuscany
is just the latest in a series of events triggered by extreme
weather linked to climate change that have shown up Italy's
exposure to hydrogeological risk including flooding, mudslides
and landslides.
On the other end of the scale, in the last two years Italy has
also experienced a series of extreme heatwaves and drought that
have depleted water supplies and damaged soil and crops.
On Italy's EU-funded national recovery and resilience plan
(NRRP), Gentiloni said the European Commission is "working a lot
in these weeks with the Italian government and with other
countries" so that modifications can be approved by the end of
2023.
"We are working hard, because it is also in the interest of the
European Commission to have these revisions approved and make
the plans work," he added.
Last month Italy received the third installment of funding worth
18.5 billon euro for implementation of the programme to make its
economy greener and more modern by 2026 thanks to projects
funded with the help of almost 200 billion euros in EU grants
and low-interest loans.
It is hoping to receive the fourth installment, worth 16.5
billion euros, by the end of this year, following approval by
the European Commission and the European Council of proposed
changes to the plan concerning incentives for energy efficiency,
an increase in childcare facilities, the development of the
space and film industries, and sustainable transport.
Italy also added a milestone on increasing student accommodation
that had initially been linked to the third installment.
On the Middle East crisis, Gentiloni said the European Union can
do "much better" and that it has an important role to play.
"Gaza is in the Mediterranean and the EU is fundamental for
almost all the countries in the region," he said.
The bloc needs to regain a role "in the small things right away:
humanitarian pauses, the proposal for a humanitarian corridor"
by sea "from Cyprus", which "is an excellent idea", added
Gentiloni.
"Looking to the future: I think the EU has leverage" in the
Middle East, "we had a start that did not give the best
demonstration of European policy but we can do much better in
the coming months," he stressed.
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