Yes to decarbonisation without undermining business competitiveness

It is a very challenging objective, perhaps too much so, and we need to understand how it will be achieved without losing competitive capacity, and then there is the issue of resources. Certainly a lot will be needed, and both companies and Member States cannot be left alone. Energy policies should be based on three pillars: competitiveness, and therefore the need for a single European market and a single energy price; security, which means certainty of supply; and decarbonisation, which must be achieved through technological endowments that only industry can guarantee. These elements must be held together, acting in a coherent and coordinated manner both in Italy and in Europe, otherwise, as I mentioned earlier, imbalances in competitiveness will be created between individual states An example: in Italy the price of electricity in June was 42% higher than in Germany, 84% higher than in France and 174% higher than in Spain.

What will be the impact of the Energy Release?

Investments in self-generation of renewable energy in energy-intensive sectors, which are highly exposed to international competition, will be accelerated. Companies have the possibility of requesting for 3 years an advance of 50% of the electricity that will be generated as a result of their investments. Suffice it to say that the energy-hungry sector in Italy consumes around 65 TWh per year and this measure could provide it with around 20 TWh of energy at competitive prices.

Now according to you the next step is the gas release: what effects do you foresee?

This is a crucial measure, since many companies use gas. When fully operational, it should account for around 30 per cent of the total volumes consumed by gas companies. In this transition phase, all technologies are important, from renewable to traditional ones. The National Energy and Climate Plan is challenging, it even plans to exceed the FitFor55 target of -66 per cent compared to 2005 levels against an EU target
of -62 per cent.

The need for harmonised policies in Europe remains: what are the priorities?

A revision of the ETS, which has turned from an incentive into a tax, is urgently needed. In addition, there are disparities between countries on how compensation resources are redistributed: in Germany, 3 billion are given back to companies, here 140 million, 300 next year. European management of the proceeds from the auctioning of CO2 certificates to compensate companies is needed. In addition, the Cibam (Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism) directive must be reviewed: the mechanism of CO2 valuation at the EU's borders, which as it is designed makes it cheaper to import non-EU products than to produce in Europe. These are just a few examples of the problems that characterised the previous European legislature and that should be overcome by favouring business investment while respecting technological neutrality and ensuring a level playing field in the single market. We expect the new European institutional course to act in this direction.

Around 1.1 trillion is needed for the transition in Italy alone: is a European fund necessary?

Of course, we need common funds and a streamlined, easy-to-implement system of rules. In this way we could achieve a twofold objective: the climate objective and the industrial objective. We are convinced that it is possible to combine productive development with environmental protection policies, which are not only not at odds with each other but on the contrary, are absolutely complementary and instrumental in strengthening Europe's competitiveness.