To curb global warming, we must rapidly reduce emissions, but we must also produce energy differently. Italy should focus on wind power and develop a mandatory national energy retrofit program
by Alberto Ferrucci
published in Città Nuova on August 18, 2026
The increasingly intense heat waves affecting Europe, the Mediterranean, and vast areas of the planet can no longer be considered exceptional summers. They are a clear manifestation of a global climate emergency already underway. Droughts, wildfires, extreme temperatures, and rising sea temperatures demonstrate that we are not talking about a future problem.
Amid the acceleration of climate change, methane and the simultaneous massive expansion of oil and gas extraction through fracking deserve particular attention: in the United States, this technology has seen extraordinary growth, multiplying the number of wells and infrastructure and transforming the country into one of the world’s largest producers of hydrocarbons. Today, a major expansion is also underway in Argentina, in the Vaca Muerta basin.
Fracking results in methane emissions during the drilling, extraction, processing, and transportation phases—emissions that are difficult to detect and control. Methane is a greenhouse gas far more potent than CO₂ in the short term: rapidly reducing its emissions is therefore one of the most immediate ways to curb global warming. If an extraction technique leads to leaks that we are unable to control, it is not enough to address only the easily identifiable leaks: it is the technique itself that must be called into question.
We are facing a global emergency, and we must tackle it together. But the global scale cannot become an excuse to wait for others to act. International action is the sum of the actions of individual countries. Every nation must act immediately on what it can control while simultaneously contributing to a global strategy.
For Italy, a priority must be to quickly break free from dependence on natural gas. It is legitimate to discuss nuclear power, but we must be realistic about the timeline. Even if we decided today to build new plants, it would take many years to navigate legislation, site selection, permits, design, and construction. The emergency, however, demands results within the next two to five years.
The first major initiative should focus onwind power, including offshore wind. In Italy, many obstacles are not technological, but bureaucratic and political. Protecting the landscape is important, but it must be weighed against the cost of the alternative: continuing to burn fossil fuels.
The case of Sardinia is emblematic. It is right to protect our landscape heritage, but it is not rational to consider the visual impact of a turbine without comparing it to the damage caused by failing to phase out fossil fuels. A wind farm can be dismantled and the land restored; greenhouse gases accumulated in the atmosphere have far more lasting consequences. Environmental protection must also take into account the damage caused by inaction. We must therefore drastically streamline the permitting process and set firm deadlines for administrative decisions.
Wind and solar power, however, pose the problem of intermittency. Their expansion must be accompanied by a major plan for energy storage. In addition to batteries, Italy should make better use of hydroelectric reservoirs and pumped-storage systems: when there is excess energy, water is pumped to an upper reservoir, to be used later to generate electricity when the sun and wind are insufficient. At the same time, we must accelerate the deployment of solar power on rooftops, in parking lots, in industrial areas, and, where appropriate, across the countryside.
However, simply producing energy differently is not enough: we must consume less. A significant portion of Italy’s energy is used to heat and cool inefficient buildings. A mandatory national program for energy retrofitting is needed to gradually bring the building stock up to Class A energy efficiency.
The cost should be borne primarily by property owners. The government should provide subsidized loans—for example, 10-year loans—with specific support for those who lack the necessary resources. The owner would recoup the investment over time by benefiting from reduced consumption, without resorting to generalized subsidy schemes that are too burdensome for the government.
Another measure must address imported natural gas. Italy, preferably in conjunction with the European Union, should introduce a climate tariff based on emissions across the entire supply chain, with particularly strict measures targeting gas obtained through fracking and other production methods with high methane leakage. For the highest-emitting supply chains, the tax should reach 50%. It is unacceptable to reduce emissions in Europe by importing gas produced elsewhere using processes that exacerbate the climate crisis.
But national and European action alone is not enough. Italy should promote, at the United Nations General Assembly, an extraordinary program against global warming, with concrete goals, deadlines, and periodic reviews.
Methane should be one of the top priorities. The UN should declare that the intentional or avoidable release of significant quantities of methane constitutes a serious environmental offense and, in the most severe cases, an environmental crime. But we must go further: when an extraction technique causes significant emissions that cannot be adequately measured, captured, and controlled, the technique itself must be banned.
It cannot be argued that an emission is acceptable simply because it is impossible to avoid it while continuing to use the process that generates it. If the process does not allow for compliance with climate-compatible limits, it must be replaced. This principle must also apply to fracking.
Oil, gas, coal, and waste management companies should be required to measure emissions, repair leaks, and eliminate the intentional release of methane. Monitoring should include independent surveys, including aerial and satellite monitoring, rather than relying exclusively on data provided by the companies.
This principle is already applied to SO₂ and other industrial pollutants: when an emission is recognized as seriously harmful, abatement technologies and strict limits are mandated. If a technology fails to meet these limits, it must be replaced.
The deliberate release of methane, the concealment of emissions, or the knowing use of techniques that result in uncontrollable leaks should result in severe penalties and criminal liability for environmental crimes.
The UN should also promote trade sanctions against oil and gas produced using techniques incompatible with these standards. It must become economically more cost-effective to recover methane than to release it. Industrialized countries should help poorer nations with the transition by providing technology and funding.
If we define climate change as an emergency, we must act accordingly. No country can solve it alone, but no country can use this fact as an excuse for inaction. Global action is only possible if every nation does its part immediately.
The key technologies are already available. What is missing is not a miracle solution, but the political will to treat this situation for what it is: a global emergency that can still be addressed—provided we act now.
Photo: Garden-GG on Pixabay
