Italy’s average annual reduction in greenhouse gas emissions was 7 million tonnes between 2015 and 2024. To meet the 2030 target in its National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC), the country would need to double that pace, cutting 14 million tonnes a year from 2026, according to a report presented at the States General of the Green Economy in Rimini.
The report says emissions rose in 2025 and are declining only slightly in 2026. It describes Italy’s climate efforts as inadequate and warns that, if the current trend continues, the country will miss its 2030 PNIEC target. The event was organised by the Sustainable Development Foundation, led by Edo Ronchi, alongside the Ecomondo trade fair.
The report also says Italy is particularly exposed to climate impacts because it lies within the Mediterranean climate hot spot. Over the past 50 years, the country’s average temperature has risen by more than 2°C, considerably more than the global average.
During the summer of 2026, red-alert conditions—indicating health risks even for healthy people and dangerous impacts for vulnerable groups—affected cities across Italy simultaneously and for prolonged periods, on a scale and duration not seen in previous years. Italy recorded more than 2,300 extreme climate events in 2025, the report says.
The report notes that climate adaptation projects have been carried out in many cities through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, and that climate shelters are becoming more common, often alongside measures to reduce urban heat islands. It also highlights “sponge city” projects designed to absorb and manage heavy rainfall using permeable, preferably green, surfaces and to store water in designated urban and peri-urban areas. That water can be reused during shortages, while the projects can also help reduce heat-island effects.
Sources: ANSA Economia.