Europe leads the way in the process of carbon neutrality with solutions aiming at the use of new renewable sources and industrial energy efficiency.
by
Maria Pia Rossignaud
05 June 2020
4 min read
by
Maria Pia Rossignaud
05 June 2020
4 min read
One of the 17 goals of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for restoring the balance on our planet is protecting the environment. This is a crucial issue, in honour of which it holds World Environment Day every 5 June.
Filippo Giorgi, a climatologist at the International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Trieste, the only Italian scientist to sit on the executive body of the Intergovernmental Panel on ClimateChange (also co-recipient of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with American environmentalist politician Al Gore), asserted that "pollution and greenhouse gases at historic lows, clear waters and nature blooming."
Now more than ever, the energy transition from a system using 80% fossil fuels to one based on clean energies is seen as a worldwide priority. With the European Green Deal, the EU has recognised this need, aiming to provide society with a modern, competitive economy that uses resources efficiently, so it no longer generates greenhouse gas emissions. The European Commission’s aim is to make the bloc the first carbon-neutral “continent” by 2050. Over the past 20 years, the EU has gradually become a driving force in the transition to renewable energies and the development of new energy efficiency solutions for industry, transport and buildings. However, in Italy only 18% of primary energy and 35% of electricity come from renewable sources.
The images taken of the world during the pandemic in 2020 are a stark reminder of the need for a sense of urgency that will really energise processes. Photographs of China have circled the globe, but what is even more startling are the before-and-after images of the lockdown in China captured by NASA and later the European Space Agency (ESA), showing a fall in nitrogen dioxide, or NO2, the reddish-brown, highly toxic and irritating gas with a strong, pungent smell.
The ESA website also notes a sharp fall in NO2 over Italy, a curve that could continue to flatten out if the country converts to electric transport. This period could in fact be a big boost for companies wanting to achieve the UN’s decarbonization goals ahead of schedule.
Nitrogen dioxide emissions before and during the pandemic
Eni is has come up with a precise and integrated strategy, which sees waste and raw material scraps transformed into bio-fuels, freshwater consumption reduced and best available techniques (BAT) – namely plant engineering, control and management – applied, to protect the environment and reduce polluting emissions. In its sustainability work, the company has also established a forestprotection programme (one of the cornerstones of its low-carbon strategy) and one more to store 40 million tonnes of CO2 carbon dioxide overall by 2050, with renewable energy production reaching an installed power of 55 GW by the same date.
And while natural gas will be the only hydrocarbon to see a rise in use between now and 2050, making it a more resilient fuel than oil in the future (it is also the most suitable fossil source for decarbonization), recent agreements signed by Eni envisage a sustainable mobility plan aimed at further reducing emissions. This involves the transformation of waste cooking oil and waste from raw vegetable materials into biofuels, the adoption of alternative mobility solutions, such as car-sharing and dual-fuels, and the use of bio-methane, as the new frontier in the circular economy. This is an integrated energy supply chain, which aims to reusewaste, including agri-food waste from meat, by converting these materials into bio-methane.
By 2030, the real challenge is to ensure incentives for energy from renewable sources to meet the targets of the integrated National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP).
This website uses cookies to show you adverts and offer you services customised according to the preferences you have shown while browsing online. For further information please refer to our cookie policy.
THIS WEBSITE (AND THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN) DOES NOT CONTAIN OR CONSTITUTE AN OFFER OF SECURITIES FOR SALE, OR SOLICITATION OF AN OFFER TO PURCHASE SECURITIES OR IS NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES (INCLUDING ITS TERRITORIES AND POSSESSIONS, ANY STATE OF THE UNITED STATES AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA) OR FOR THE ACCOUNT OR BENEFIT OF ANY U.S. PERSON AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE SECURITIES ACT (A "U.S. PERSON"), AUSTRALIA, CANADA, JAPAN OR SOUTH AFRICA OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION WHERE SUCH AN OFFER OR SOLICITATION WOULD REQUIRE THE APPROVAL OF LOCAL AUTHORITIES OR OTHERWISE BE UNLAWFUL (THE "OTHER COUNTRIES"). THE SECURITIES REFERRED TO HEREIN HAVE NOT BEEN AND WILL NOT BE REGISTERED UNDER THE U.S. SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED (THE "SECURITIES ACT"), OR PURSUANT TO THE CORRESPONDING REGULATIONS IN FORCE IN AUSTRALIA, CANADA, JAPAN, SOUTH AFRICA OR THE “OTHER COUNTRIES” AND MAY NOT BE OFFERED OR SOLD IN THE UNITED STATES OR TO A U.S. PERSON UNLESS THE SECURITIES ARE REGISTERED UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT, OR AN EXEMPTION FROM THE REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS OF THE SECURITIES ACT IS AVAILABLE. NO PUBLIC OFFERING OF SUCH SECURITIES IS INTENDED TO BE MADE IN THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, JAPAN OR IN THE “OTHER COUNTRIES.”
In any Member State of the European Economic Area ("EEA"), the information contained in this website is only directed at and may only be communicated to persons who are "qualified investors" ("Qualified Investors") within the meaning of Article 2(e) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 (the "Prospectus Regulation").
The information to which this website gives access is directed only at persons (i) who are persons falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) ("high net worth companies, unincorporated associations etc.") of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the "Order") or (ii) who have professional experience in matters relating to investments falling within Article 19(5) of the Order or (iii) to whom it may otherwise lawfully be communicated (all such persons together being referred to as "relevant persons"). Any investment or investment activity to which this communication relates is only available to relevant persons and will be engaged in only with relevant persons, or in the EEA, with Qualified Investors. Any person who is not a relevant person, a Qualified Investor or otherwise permitted under applicable law or regulation to access the information, should not act or rely on the information contained herein.
Confirmation of Understanding and Acceptance of Disclaimer
These materials are for informational purposes only and are not directed to, nor are they intended for, access by persons located or resident in the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan or South Africa or any of the Other Countries. I certify that:
I am not resident of, or located in, the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan or South Africa or any of the Other Countries or I am not a U.S. Person; or
If I am a resident of, or located in, the EEA, I am a Qualified Investor within the meaning of Article 2(e) of the Prospectus Regulation; or
If I am a resident of, or located in, the United Kingdom, I am a Qualified Investor and a relevant person.
I have read and understood the disclaimer set out above. I understand that it may affect my rights. I agree to be bound by its terms and I am permitted under applicable law and regulations to proceed to the following parts of this website.
WARNING: the above certification constitutes a "self-certification" pursuant to Decree of the President of the Italian Republic No. 445 of 28 December 2000. False certifications are punishable by law.
