Italy today walks a narrow path, constrained as it is to balance national security requirements with its long-standing decarbonisation trajectory. The analysis presented below examines how the Russia-Ukraine conflict has acted as an accelerator of processes, transforming energy from a mere commodity into a pillar of state sovereignty. While renewable deployment proceeds at a sustained pace (+46% in 2023), Italy continues to face critical structural vulnerabilities: technological dependence on China for the green supply chain and energy costs that penalise industrial competitiveness (+40% compared to France and Spain). The ‘nuclear renaissance,’ centred on SMRs and fourth-generation reactors, emerges as a long-term strategic option.
This policy paper, written by Francesco Galietti, CEO and co-founder of Policy Sonar, a political-risk and strategic-advisory firm based in Rome, examines how Italy, and Europe more broadly, can reconcile decarbonisation, energy security, industrial competitiveness and political sovereignty.
