Green energy and support for new businesses: the 800 million plan for Taranto
The Apulia Region has finally approved the EU-funded plan for the just transition in the Apulian area. But very little time is available
4' min read
4' min read
Production of 'green' hydrogen, energy communities, business incubators and accelerators, training, reforestation, sustainability of sea-related production: these are some of the measures envisaged by the implementation plan of the Just transition fund (JTF) finally approved by the Apulia Region for the Taranto area and sent to Rome to the National Management Authority, which will have to examine and approve it. After the subsequent green light from the European Commission, the plan will be able to start and the calls for tenders, which have already been set, will be activated. The funds made available for Taranto by the European Union are EUR 796 million. Taranto and the Sulcis in Sardinia (which has an endowment of 367 million) are the only two Italian areas benefiting from the fund set up by the European Union.
The plan envisages eight actions with a guiding reference: accompanying the transition and mitigating its negative effects, both economic and social, by looking at three aspects: the environment (reducing polluting emissions), the economy (creating new supply chains by bringing together competitiveness and sustainability) and social inclusion (e.g. how to govern the effects on employment of the application of artificial intelligence). As for actions, the first three concern the environment. Three others focus on diversification and business. Finally, the last two actions deal with retraining courses for workers at risk and care and social services. Recipients of the measures are companies, Bari Polytechnic, the University of Bari, the reclamation commissioner and the municipality of Taranto, which has already put forward four projects, approved by the council a few days ago, for a total of 245 million euro. Of the funds, a large part will be spent by 2026, the rest by 2029.
Tight deadlines, the possibility of an extension
In the meetings held in recent days in Taranto with the municipalities and the social partnership, the need was raised to urge the government to ask Brussels for an extension of at least the 2026 deadline.
"2025 will be the year in which these important resources will start to be spent and we cannot afford to waste time. We must achieve the objective of the transition and revitalisation of Taranto,'' said Michele Emiliano, president of the Puglia Region. ''The plan was put together after months of work that ended with the convening of the economic, social and institutional partnership at the beginning of October. It is a result achieved thanks to the work of the Region's technicians'.
In 2025, explains Mattia Giorno, the councillor delegated by President Emiliano to the transition plan, 'in addition to the calls for tenders for companies, the negotiated procedures for the municipality of Taranto, the commissioner for land reclamation, the universities and the Consortium for the development of the industrial area will also start. Time is short, but we will work to obtain an extension and, above all, we will make sure to square the timetable of the plan so that before the final deadline of 2029 things will be in place. The initial one is 2026 and we should have been able to agree on 31 December. This is an intermediate step. By this date, we should spend 70 per cent of the resources allocated to Taranto. But since a possible extension of the NRP to 2027 is not ruled out, as the JTF is pegged to the recovery and resilience plan, we could gain another 12 months'.
