COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 2025 Environmental Implementation Review Country Report - ITALY Accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions 2025 Environmental Implementation Review for prosperity and security
Date: 2025-07-07
Institutions: Directorate-General for Environment, European Commission
Subjects: EU environmental policy, Italy, application of EU law, biodiversity, circular economy, climate change policy, environmental law, governance, pollution control measures, waste management

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 7.7.2025  SWD(2025) 314 final  COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 2025 Environmental Implementation Review        Country Report - ITALY               Accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions 2025 Environmental Implementation Review for prosperity and security {COM(2025) 420 final} - {SWD(2025) 300 final} - {SWD(2025) 301 final} - {SWD(2025) 302 final} - {SWD(2025) 303 final} - {SWD(2025) 304 final} - {SWD(2025) 305 final} - {SWD(2025) 306 final} - {SWD(2025) 307 final} - {SWD(2025) 308 final} - {SWD(2025) 309 final} - {SWD(2025) 310 final} - {SWD(2025) 311 final} - {SWD(2025) 312 final} - {SWD(2025) 313 final} - {SWD(2025) 315 final} - {SWD(2025) 316 final} - {SWD(2025) 317 final} - {SWD(2025) 318 final} - {SWD(2025) 319 final} - {SWD(2025) 320 final} - {SWD(2025) 321 final} - {SWD(2025) 322 final} - {SWD(2025) 323 final} - {SWD(2025) 324 final} - {SWD(2025) 325 final} - {SWD(2025) 326 final}  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Italy  2 

Contents 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................................... 3 

PART I: THEMATIC AREAS ...................................................................................................................................... 4 

1. CIRCULAR ECONOMY AND WASTE MANAGEMENT ............................................................................................................. 4 
Transitioning to a circular economy ..................................................................................................................... 4 
Waste management ............................................................................................................................................. 6 
2. BIODIVERSITY AND NATURAL CAPITAL ........................................................................................................................... 13 
Global and EU biodiversity frameworks ............................................................................................................. 13 
Nature protection and restoration – Natura 2000 ............................................................................................. 13 
Recovery of species ............................................................................................................................................ 15 
Recovery of ecosystems ..................................................................................................................................... 16 
Prevention and management of invasive alien species ...................................................................................... 22 
Ecosystem assessment and accounting ............................................................................................................. 23 
3. ZERO POLLUTION ..................................................................................................................................................... 24 
Clean air ............................................................................................................................................................. 24 
Industrial emissions ............................................................................................................................................ 26 
Major industrial accidents prevention – Seveso ................................................................................................. 28 
Mercury Regulation ............................................................................................................................................ 29 
Noise .................................................................................................................................................................. 30 
Water quality and management ........................................................................................................................ 31 
Chemicals ........................................................................................................................................................... 36 
4. CLIMATE ACTION ..................................................................................................................................................... 39 
The EU emissions trading system ....................................................................................................................... 40 
Effort sharing ..................................................................................................................................................... 40 
Land use, land-use change and forestry ............................................................................................................. 41 
Adaptation to climate change ............................................................................................................................ 41 

PART II: ENABLING FRAMEWORK – IMPLEMENTATION TOOLS ............................................................................ 43 

5. FINANCING ............................................................................................................................................................. 43 
Climate finance landmarks ................................................................................................................................. 43 
Environmental financing and investments ......................................................................................................... 44 
Public financial management ............................................................................................................................. 48 
6. ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE ................................................................................................................................. 52 
Information, public participation and access to justice...................................................................................... 52 
Compliance assurance ........................................................................................................................................ 54 
EU-supported environmental capacity building ................................................................................................. 57 
ANNEX: 2025 PRIORITY ACTIONS.................................................................................................................................... 60 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Italy 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Italy  3 

Executive summary 

In  May  2016,  the  European  Commission  launched  the 
Environmental  Implementation  Review  (EIR),  a  regular 
reporting 
tool  based  on  analysis,  dialogue  and 
collaboration  with  EU  Member  States  to  improve  the 
implementation  of  existing  EU  environmental  policy  and 
legislation (1). Following previous cycles in 2017, 2019 and 
2022,  this  report  assesses  the  progress  made  while 
the  main  outstanding  challenges  and 
describing 
opportunities 
legal 
implementation in Italy.  The  purpose of this report  is to 
provide information on the implementation performance 
and  highlight  the  most  effective  ways  to  address  the 
implementation gaps  that impact human health and the 
environment  and  hamper  economic  development  and 
competitiveness.  The  report  relies  on  detailed  sectoral 
implementation  reports  collected  or 
issued  by  the 
Commission under specific environmental legislation. 

environmental 

regarding 

The  main  challenges  set  out  below  have  been  selected 
from  Part I  of  this  report,  ‘Thematic  areas’,  taking  into 
consideration 
factors  such  as  the  gravity  of  the 
environmental implementation issue in light of the impact 
on the quality of life, the distance to target and financial 
implications. In Italy, such challenges have lingered since 
the first EIR in 2017 and require urgent action. 

With regard to air quality, Italy has made some progress 
in reducing emissions as a whole, but exceedances of the 
limit values for both PM10 and NO2 continue. Around 30 % 
of  the  recovery  and  resilience  plan  (RRP)  is  allocated  to 
measures on energy efficiency and sustainable transport, 
which will improve air quality. Progress can also be made 
through a broader tax shift from labour to environmental 
and other tax bases, including the gradual elimination of 
environmentally  harmful  subsidies  (EHS)  through  the 
European Semester and the RRP. 

In  terms  of  water  management,  Italy  has  made  limited 
progress 
in  reducing  the  number  of  non-compliant 
agglomerations for wastewater treatment, with Court of 
Justice of the European Union (CJEU) fines levied for two 
of  the  four  infringement  procedures.  Drinking  water 
quality must  be improved in Lazio,  regarding which  Italy 
was  condemned  by  the  CJEU 
in  2023.  High  water 
consumption  is  a  concern  in  southern  regions.  Water 
investment plans are still needed for a few regions to allow 
European  Regional  Development  Fund 
(ERDF)  co-
financing.  The  RRP  and  the  ERDF  support  significant 
leakage  and 
in  flood  control,  reducing 
investments 
investing in urban wastewater treatment. The assessment 

(1) 

from 

the  Commission 

the  European 
Communication 
Parliament,  the  Council,  the  European  Economic  and  Social 
Committee  and  the  Committee  of  the  Regions –  Delivering  the 
benefits  of  EU  environmental  policies  through  a  regular 

to 

in 
status  of 

of the  3rd river basin management  plans (RBMPs) shows 
improvement 
the  ecological 
a  minor 
only 
status/potential  and 
surface 
chemical 
waterbodies,  while  there  has  been  good  progress  in  the 
quantitative  status  and  chemical  status  of  groundwater 
bodies compared the 2nd RBMPs. The recommendations 
in  the  Commission’s  assessment  of  the  third  river  basin 
management plans and flood risk management plans need 
to  be 
implemented.  Furthermore,  most  marine 
descriptors remain in a poor state and need improvement. 

With  regard  to  the  Natura  2000  network,  some  marine 
sites still need to be designated. The conservation status 
of  habitats  and  species  must  also  be  improved,  using 
prioritised  action  frameworks  to  better  integrate  EU 
funds. The rapid implementation of national and regional 
guidelines on appropriate assessment is essential. Invasive 
alien species and illegal poaching are increasing concerns. 
Soil is being consumed at an alarming rate. 

Italy’s  overall  environmental 
investment  gap  has 
decreased and is now around EUR 8.29 billion per year or 
0.43 % of its  gross domestic  product  (lower than the EU 
average),  with  the  highest  needs  being  for  circular 
economy and water. An increased level of financing from 
the private sector is needed to close the investment gap. 
Italy  has  improved  its  capacity  to  absorb  EU  funds  for 
environmental measures, except in Sicily. Since 2015, Italy 
has paid more than EUR 800 million in penalty payments 
for non-compliance with judgments of the Court of Justice 
of the EU in the areas of waste and water. 

On environmental governance, Italy needs to improve its  
administrative  capacity  to  support  the  green  transition 
including coordination between the national, regional and 
local  levels.  Furthermore,  spatial  data  could  be  made 
more widely accessible to improve the implementation of 
environmental legislation  and access to courts improved.  

In  terms  of  good  practices,  a  reinsurance  pool  prevents 
risks for three quarters of Environmental Liability Directive 
occurrences. Italy uses natural capital accounting and has 
an EHS inventory as well as indicator-based national and 
regional  sustainable  development  strategies.  Italy 
is 
performing  well  in  terms  of  circular  economy,  and  a 
national  network  brings  together  stakeholders  from  the 
state  and  business.  Italy  has  made  good  use  of  the  LIFE 
programme  with  integrated  projects  like  Prepair  and 
Gestire.

implementation  review,  COM(2016) 316 
environmental 
final  of  27 May  2016,  http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM%3A2016%3A316%3AFIN. 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Italy 

 
 
Part I: Thematic areas 

1. Circular economy and waste management 

 Transitioning to a circular economy 

Figure 1: CMUR (%), 2013–2023 

Italy  4 

Advancing the transition to a circular economy in the EU 
will reduce the  environmental and climate impact of our 
industrial  systems  by  reducing  input  materials,  keeping 
products and materials in the loop for longer and reducing 
waste generation, thus decoupling economic growth from 
circular  economy  has 
resource 
considerable potential to increase competitiveness and job 
creation  and  will  also  promote  innovation  and  provide 
access  to  new  markets.  With  the  2020  circular  economy 
action  plan  (CEAP) (2)  measures  going  through  the 
legislative  process,  EU  Member  States  will  now  have  to 
focus on a swift and effective implementation. 

consumption.  A 

The 2020 CEAP launched the legislative process for a set of 
initiatives  that  will  now  have  to  be  implemented  by 
national governments across the EU. These initiatives were 
all introduced following a holistic life-cycle approach, with 
measures addressing the different stages of a product’s life 
cycle, from design through use to end of life. 

In  the  CEAP,  the  EU sets  as  its  overarching  objective  the 
doubling of its circular material use rate (CMUR) by 2030. 

The  CMUR  is  a  measure  of  one  aspect  of  circularity:  the 
share of the total amount of material used in the economy 
that  is  accounted  for  by  recycled  waste.  A  higher  CMUR 
value means that more secondary materials were used as 
a  substitute  for  raw  materials,  thus  reducing  the 
environmental impacts of extracting primary material. 

Italy’s circular  use of material was  20.8 % in 2023, which 
makes  it  one  of  the  top  Member  States  for  CMUR 
(Figure 1). However, after a consistent increase since 2013, 
the rate has remained relatively steady since 2020, when 
it was 20.6 %.  

(2) 

Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, 
the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the 
Committee  of  the  Regions –  A  new  circular  economy  action plan 
for a cleaner and more competitive Europe, COM(2020) 98 final of 

25

20

15

10

5

0

2013

2015

2017

2019

2021

2023

Italy

EU-27

Source:  Eurostat,  ‘Circular  material  use  rate’,  env_ac_cur,  last  updated 
13 November 
2024, 
accessed 
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/product/view/env_ac_cur. 

10 December 

2024, 

Resource  productivity  measures  the  total  amount  of 
materials directly used by an economy in relation to gross 
domestic product (GDP). Improving resource productivity 
can help to minimise negative impacts on the environment 
and reduce dependency on volatile raw material markets. 
As  shown  in  Figure 2,  with  EUR 3.59  generated  per  kg  of 
material consumed in 2023, resource productivity in Italy 
is well above the EU average of EUR 2.23 per kg and one of 
the highest in the EU. 

Figure 2: Resource productivity (EUR/kg), 2013–2023 

4,0

3,0

2,0

1,0

0,0

2013

2015

2017

2019

2021

2023

Italy

EU-27

NB: The unit of measurement used is EUR/kg chain-linked volume (2015). 
Chain-linked  volumes  focus  on  changes  on  quantities  and  prices  of 
commodities  in  previous  years,  taking  account  of  inflation,  and  are 
indexed to the nearest appropriate year, in this case 2015. 

Source:  Eurostat,  ‘Resource  productivity’,  env_ac_rp, 
7 August 
accessed 
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/product/view/env_ac_rp. 

last  updated 
2024, 

10 December 

2024, 

11 March 
content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM%3A2020%3A98%3AFIN. 

2020, 

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Italy 

 
 
 
 
Policies and measures 

In  parallel  with  European  initiatives  under  the  CEAP, 
Member States are  encouraged to adopt  and implement 
circular  economy  strategies  at  the  national,  regional  and 
city levels. These should be tailored to each national and 
local  reality,  to  harness  the  proximity  economy’s (3) 
potential, while following the principles of a holistic whole-
value-chain approach. 

Since the launch of the online European Circular Economy 
Stakeholder  Platform  in  2017 (4)  national,  regional  and 
local  authorities  have  used  the  platform  to  share  their 
strategies,  roadmaps  and  good  practices,  for  example 
alternative business models and innovative technologies. 

In  June  2022,  Italy  updated  its  2017  circular  economy 
policy  document  and  transformed  it  into  a  national 
strategy  for  circular  economy (5).  The  strategy  and  the 
timetable  addendum  (cronoprogramma)(6)  define  new 
administrative  and  fiscal  instruments  to  strengthen  the 
market  for  secondary  raw  materials,  contribute  to  the 
progress  towards  climate  neutrality  objectives,  and 
implement a roadmap of measurable actions and targets 
(for 2035 for the strategy and for the first quarter of 2025 
for the timetable addendum(7)). Many of the actions in the 
strategy  are 
in  the  national  recovery  and 
resilience plan (RRP) (8), such as circular economy flagship 
projects, a new digital waste traceability system,  a revision 
of environmental taxation, and more. A circular economy 
observatory  was  established  to  coordinate  and  monitor 
the implementation of the  strategy. Italy has updated its 
action  plan  on  bioeconomy  17  December  2024,  which  is 
relevant  for  the  circular  economy(9).  There  is  also  a 
network  on industrial symbiosis, important for the circular 
economy(10). 

included 

A tax on single-use plastics goods, which was supposed to 
enter into force in 2021, has been deferred  until July 2026. 

(3) 

(4) 

website, 

Commission 

European Commission, ‘Proximity and social economy ecosystem’, 
European 
https://single-market-
economy.ec.europa.eu/sectors/proximity-and-social-
economy_en. 
Circular 
(https://circulareconomy.europa.eu/platform/en/strategies). 
(5)  Ministry  for  Environment  and  Energy  Security  (MASE),  Strategia 
Nazionale 
2022, 
https://www.mase.gov.it/sites/default/files/archivio/allegati/PNR
R/SEC_21.06.22.pdf. 

Stakeholder 

l’Economia 

Circolare, 

Economy 

Platform 

Rome, 

per 

(6) 

MASE, 

ministerial 

19.09.2022, 
decree 
https://www.mase.gov.it/pagina/riforma-1-1-strategia-nazionale-
l-economia-circolare. 

n.342, 

(7)     MASE has communicated to the Commission that there are delays 
for  some  measures  in  the  timetable  addendum  up  to  the  4th 
quarter of 2027.  
https://www.governo.it/sites/governo.it/files/PNRR.pdf. 

(8) 
(9)  MASE, 

bioeconomy 

action 

plan  

https://www.mase.gov.it/comunicati/bioeconomia-pichetto-
bene-approvazione-piano-leva-innovativa-obiettivi-di-crescita. 

Italy  5 

Circular  economy  is  an  element  in  the  country’s  main 
policy tool for economic modernisation Transition 5.0. On 
2 March 2024, the government presented a decree-law to 
introduce  financial  incentives  for  companies  investing  in 
sustainability, including circular economy (11). 

A  voluntary  system  to  examine  and  communicate  the 
environmental  footprint  of  products  and  services,  called 
Made Green in Italy, has been in place since 2018 (12). 

The  country’s  2022  national  programme  for  waste 
management (13) has a strong circularity component.  

Despite  its  strides  towards  a  circular  economy  at  the 
national  level,  Italy’s  progress  is  fragmented  because  of 
significant  differences  between  regions  in  the  north  and 
the south. The 6th port from the national circular economy 
network shows a higher degree of best practices in circular 
economy  implemented  in  northern  and  central  regions 
than in southern regions (14).  

Green public procurement 

consumption,  with 

Public  procurement  accounts  for  a  large  proportion  of 
European 
authorities’ 
purchasing  power  representing  around  14 %  of  EU  GDP. 
Public  procurement  using  green  or  circular  criteria  (life-
cycle analysis, platform as a service, second hand) can help 
drive  the  demand  for  sustainable  products  that  meet 
reparability and recyclability standards. 

public 

In Italy, an action plan for the environmental sustainability 
of  consumption  in  public  administration,  including  green 
public procurement and minimum environmental criteria 
(MEC),  was  adopted  in  2008  and  updated  in  2023. 
Furthermore,  Italy  has  defined  MEC  for  21  product 
categories. 

Two ministerial decrees on MEC were adopted in August 
2024  for:  (i)  design,  construction,  maintenance  and 
adaptation  services  for  road  infrastructure (15)  and  (ii) 
integrated assignment of an energy performance contract 

(10) 

ENEA,  
https://www.pubblicazioni.enea.it/download.html?task=downloa
d.send&id=708:gli-standard-tecnici-per-la-simbiosi-industriale-
atti-sun-2024&catid=3 

(11)  Ministry  of  Enterprise  and  Made  in  Italy,  ‘Piano  transizione  5.0’, 
https://www.mimit.gov.it/it/incentivi/piano-transizione-5-0. 

(12)  MASE, 

‘The  “Made  Green 

in 

Italy”  national 

scheme’, 

https://www.mase.gov.it/pagina/made-green-italy-national-
scheme#:~:text=The%20goal%20of%20%22Made%20Green,by%2
0a%20scientifically%20robust%20system. 

(13)  MASE,  Programma  Nazionale  per  la  Gestione  dei  Rifiuti,  Rome, 

2022, 
https://www.mase.gov.it/sites/default/files/archivio/allegati/PNR
R/PNGR_Finale.pdf. 
Circular Economy Network, Sesto Rapporto sull’Economia Circolare 
in 
p. 91, 
https://circulareconomynetwork.it/wp-
content/uploads/2024/05/CEN2024-Impagina-TOT-DEF.pdf. 
https://gpp.mase.gov.it/CAM-strade. 

Rome, 

Italia, 

2024, 

(14) 

(15) 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Italy 

 
 
for energy services for building and plant systems (16). The 
MEC for the latter contribute to the reduction of energy 
consumption  and  greenhouse  gas  (GHG)  emissions  by 
supporting  a  change  in  the  energy  production  mix, 
improving  the  energy  efficiency  of  buildings  and 
promoting  more 
responsible  energy  consumption 
patterns.  The  MEC  for  the  award  of  design  services  and 
construction  works  for  building  interventions  are  under 
revision  for  the  fourth  time  since  their  first  adoption  in 
January 2016. Other MEC are under review, such as those 
for  information  and  communications  technology  (ICT) 
appliances and for green public areas (17). 

The Ministry of Environment and Energy Security (MASE) 
also prepared several training modules related to some of 
the MEC adopted, to strengthen the skills of contracting 
improve  and  knowledge  of  all 
authorities  and 
stakeholders (18). The obligation to ‘buy green’ applies to 
all  contracting  authorities.  Italy  plans  to  introduce  a 
monitoring system, but no official data are yet available. 
The  RRP  further  supports  MEC  under  green  public 
procurement, as part of the national strategy for circular 
economy. There are also activities at the regional level (19), 
although  these  are  more  prevalent  in  the  north  of  the 
country. 

The EU Ecolabel and the eco management and audit 
scheme 

The  number  of  EU  Ecolabel  product  groups  and  the 
number  of  eco-management  and  audit  scheme  (EMAS)-
licensed  organisations  in  each  country  provide  some 
indication  of  the  extent  to  which  the  private  sector  and 
national stakeholders in that country are actively engaged 
in the transition to a circular economy. The EU Ecolabel is 
awarded  to  products  with  best-in-class  environmental 
is  a  voluntary  environment 
performance.  EMAS 
the 
at 
scheme 
management 
environmental impacts of organisations. 

reducing 

aimed 

As  of  September  2024,  Italy  had  15 399  products  out  of 
98 977 and 515 licences out of 2 983 registered in the EU 
Ecolabel scheme, showing one of the highest take-ups of 
licences (20).  Moreover,  1 152 
both  products  and 
organisations in Italy are currently registered in EMAS (21). 
This represents an increase of 118 organisations compared 
with October 2021. 

(16) 
(17) 

https://gpp.mase.gov.it/CAM-prestazione-energetica-EPC. 
https://gpp.mase.gov.it/sites/default/files/2024-05/DD-CAM-
MASE-EC-REGISTRO-DECRETI%28R%29-0000027-04-04-2024.pdf.  
https://gpp.mase.gov.it/CAM.  

(18) 
(19)  Green Procurement Observatory 

(https://www.appaltiverdi.net/presentazione-del-vii-rapporto-
dellosservatorio-appalti-verdi-2024/). 
European  Commission,  ‘EU  Ecolabel  facts  and  figures’,  European 
website, 
Commission 

(20) 

Italy  6 

The  Institute  for  Environmental  Protection  and  Research 
(ISPRA)  has  prepared  a  report  on  Ecolabel  criteria  for 
cleaning services and their synergy with MEC (22). A best-
practice example is how the marble industry in Carrara has 
embraced  EMAS  to  promote  sustainable  quarrying 
practices (23). 

Furthermore,  there  are  many  activities  relevant  to  the 
Ecolabel  and  EMAS  ongoing  in  Italy:  communication, 
information and training events for the Ecolabel and EMAS 
aimed  at  potential  applicants  and  local  stakeholders; 
initiatives  to  increase  the  visibility  of  the  Ecolabel  in  the 
tourism  sector;  participation  in  EU  Ecolabel  and  EMAS 
forums  and  roundtables;  and  the  EMAS  Italy  Award 
presented  at  the  Ecomondo  exposition  held  annually  in 
November in Rimini (24). 

2025 priority action 

• 

Speed  up  the  transition  to  a  circular  economy  by 
implementing the updated national strategy and the 
EU framework and recommendations, in particular to 
complement it with upstream circularity measures. 

Waste management 

Turning waste into a resource is supported by: 

(i)  addressing  the  full 

life  cycle  of  products,  from 
conception to end of life, by setting requirements on 
the design of products to ensure that they are more 
sustainable; 

(ii)  fully 

implementing  EU  waste 

legislation,  which 
includes the waste hierarchy, the obligation to ensure 
separate collection of waste, landfill diversion targets, 
etc.; 

(iii)  reducing waste generation per capita and in absolute 

terms; 

(iv)  increasing  the  recycling  rates  of  waste  containing 
critical raw materials (CRMs), with a view to reducing 
dependencies and building resilient value chains, and 
in  all 
stimulating  demand  for  recycled  content 
products; 

(v)  limiting energy recovery to non-recyclable materials; 

and 

(vi)  phasing  out  landfilling  of  recyclable  or  recoverable 

waste. 

https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/circular-economy/eu-
ecolabel/businesses/ecolabel-facts-and-figures_en. 
As  of  October  2024.  European  Commission,  ‘EMAS  register’, 
European 
website, 
Commission 
https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/emas2/public/registration/list. 
https://www.isprambiente.gov.it/en/publications/reports/eu-
ecolabel-indoor-cleaning-services-in-italy. 
https://www.marmidivara.com/en/. 
https://www.isprambiente.gov.it/en/ispra-events/emas-italy-
award-2024. 

(21) 

(22) 

(23) 
(24) 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Italy 

 
 
Italy  7 

One of the main objectives of EU waste law is to decouple 
economic growth from its environmental impacts.  

The EU’s approach to waste management is based on the 
waste  treatment  hierarchy:  prevention,  preparing  for 
reuse,  recycling,  recovery  and,  as  the  least  preferred 
option,  disposal 
landfilling  and 
includes 
incineration without energy recovery). 

(which 

All legislative proposals in the field of waste management 
put forward by the Commission since 2021 are intended to 
encourage  Member  States  to  promote  better  product 
design,  to  require  producers  to  cover  the  costs  of 
managing the waste resulting from their products and to 
ensure that waste is managed at the higher levels of the 
waste hierarchy.  

Figure 3: Generation  of  waste  (total  and  excluding  major 
mineral wastes), population and GDP, 2010–2022 

There is an urgent need to promote technologies aimed at 
replacing CRMs with  materials that can be reused at the 
end  of  their  life  and  at  using  secondary  raw  materials. 
Following  the  adoption  of  the  CRM  Act,  the  main  Italian 
regulatory  framework  related  to  CRMs  is  the  recent 
Legislative Decree 84/2024, which governs the secure and 
sustainable  supply  of  strategic  raw  materials.  It  is  a  first 
step towards a clear, up-to-date regulatory framework to 
govern  CRMs,  including  the  use  of  new  mining  activities 
conducted  in  accordance  with  environmental  and  social 
sustainability criteria. 

Law No 206 of 27 December 2023 set up a National Made 
in Italy Fund to invest in national strategic supply chains, 
including those related to the supply, recycling and reuse 
of strategic raw materials. The fund had an initial allocation 
of EUR 700 million for the year 2023 and EUR 300 million 
for the year 2024. 

accessed 

15 October 

nama_10_gdp, 

Sources: Eurostat, ‘GDP and main components (output, expenditure and 
income)’, 
2024, 
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/nama_10_gdp__custo
m_9301905/default/table;  Eurostat,  ‘Generation  of  waste  by  waste 
category,  hazardousness  and  NACE  Rev. 2  activity’,  env_wasgen,  last 
updated 
2024, 
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/env_wasgen/default/
table?lang=en; Eurostat, ‘Population change – Demographic balance and 
crude  rates  at  national  level’,  demo_grind,  accessed  15 October  2024, 
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/demo_gind/default/t
able?lang=en&category=demo.demo_ind. 

30 September 

22 October 

accessed 

2024, 

Italy  has  seen  a  significant  increase  in  waste  generation 
over  the  past  12 years,  mainly  driven  by  mineral  waste 
from  construction  and  demolition.  Despite  Italy’s  GDP 
stagnating throughout this period (except for a decrease in 
2020 due to the COVID-19 outbreak), waste generation has 
continued  to  increase,  with  no  clear  sign  of  decoupling 
from economic growth (Figure 3). 

Critical raw materials 

Italy set  up a  CRMs  working  group in 2022. The group is 
structured on four themes: CRMs needs analysis, mining, 
eco-design  and  urban  mining.  In  2023,  the  Ministry  of 
Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation joined with 
a  dedicated  working  group  on  international  cooperation 
aspects. 

line  with  the  RepowerEU  plan,  the  RRP 

In 
includes 
EUR 50 million for the sustainable, circular and safe supply 
of CRMs.  The investment aims at estimating the potential 
of  urban  mining  activities,  including  from  abandoned 
extractive  waste,  by  mapping  and  characterising  all 
potential secondary sources in terms of CRMs, analysing the 
future  needs  of  CRMs  and  the  potential  of  eco-design  to 
reduce  demand  and 
favour  their  recyclability.  The 
investment  also  finances  research  and  development 
projects  on  ecodesign  and  urban  mining, 
for  the 
sustainable, circular and secure supply of CRMs. 

The  Directorial  Decree  of  14 June  2024  of  the  Ministry  of 
Enterprises and Made in Italy on net zero, renewables and 
batteries  provides  development  programmes  to  support 
investments  for  the  recovery  of  CRMs  necessary  for 
production  of  certain  products,  and  related  components 
such  as  batteries,  solar  panels,  wind  turbines,  carbon 
capture and storage devices. 

Legislative  Decree 21/2022  (codified  by  Law 51/2022) 
indicates that a list of CRMs subject to export notification 
obligations needs to be established. It also includes ferrous 
scrap  as  a  CRM  subject  to  the  obligation  of  prior 
notification to the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy 
and  the  Ministry  of  Foreign  Affairs  and  International 
Cooperation if the quantity is higher than 250 t, or the sum 
of operations in the calendar month is greater than 500 t. 

Furthermore,  the  national  strategy  for  the  circular 
economy includes a CRM action plan. 

Construction and demolition waste 

Construction  and  demolition  waste  accounts  for  almost 
40 % of all waste generated in the EU. A study (25) by the 

(25) 

European Commission: Joint Research Centre, Cristóbal García, J., 
Caro, D. et al., Techno-economic and environmental assessment of 
construction and demolition waste management in the European 
Union,  Publications  Office  of  the  European  Union,  Luxembourg, 

2024, 
https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC1354
70. 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Italy 

 
 
 
European Commission’s Joint Research Centre shows that 
preparing for reuse and recycling operations are preferred 
over  incineration  and  landfilling  from  an  environmental 
perspective  for  most  of  the 
individual  fractions  of 
the 
construction  and  demolition  waste.  However, 
economics are often unfavourable for preparing for reuse 
and recycling compared with incineration and landfilling. If 
available  technology  were  to  be  applied,  it  is  estimated 
that  the  increase  in  preparing  for  reuse  and  recycling 
would  lead  to  additional  33 million t  of  GHG  emission 
savings  annually  (more  than,  for  example,  the  combined 
annual GHG emissions of Estonia, Latvia and Luxembourg). 

The  preparing  for  reuse  and  recycling  rate  of  mineral 
construction  and  demolition  waste  in  Italy  in  2022  was 
97.8 % compared with the EU average of 79.8 % (26). 

Measures to further increase the preparing for reuse and 
recycling  rate  of  construction  and  demolition  waste 
include separate collection at source, for instance through 
digitalised 
(‘resource 
assessments’); EPR and other economic instruments; and 
upstream  measures  such  as 
increasing  the  recycled 
content 
in  construction  products  and  the  circular 
design (28) of construction works. 

pre-demolition 

audits (27) 

Boosting 
Warning Report 

implementation –  the  2023  Waste  Early 

This  section  focuses  on  the  management  of  municipal 
law  sets  mandatory  recycling 
waste,  for  which  EU 
targets (29).  In  June  2023,  the  Commission  published  the 
Waste  Early  Warning  Report (30)  identifying  the  general 
trends  in  waste  management  and  the  Member  States  at 
risk of missing 2025 waste targets (see Figure 4). Italy is not 
considered at risk of missing the municipal waste target or 
the packaging waste target. 

Under  certain  conditions,  EU  waste  legislation  enables 
some  Member  States  to  postpone  the  deadlines  for 
reaching certain waste management targets for municipal 
and packaging waste. Member States that want to use this 

(26) 

(27) 

(28) 

2024, 

Rome, 

The recovery rate, excluding backfilling operations, stood at 79.8 % 
in  2022.  ISPRA,  Rapporto  Rifiuti  Speciali  Edizione  2024,  Report 
No 402/2024, 
p.216, 
https://www.isprambiente.gov.it/en/publications/reports/report-
on-waste-from-economic-activities-2024?set_language=en. 
European  Commission:  Directorate-General  for  Internal  Market, 
Industry,  Entrepreneurship  and  SMEs,  EU  Construction  & 
Demolition  Waste  Management  Protocol  including  guidelines  for 
pre-demolition and pre-renovation audits of construction works – 
Updated edition 2024, Publications Office of the European Union, 
Luxembourg,  2024,  https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-
/publication/d63d5a8f-64e8-11ef-a8ba-01aa75ed71a1/language-
en. 
European  Commission,  Circular  Economy –  Principles  for  building 
2020, 
Brussels, 
design, 
https://ec.europa.eu/docsroom/documents/39984. 

(29)  Municipal  waste  consists  of  (i)  mixed  waste  and  separately 
collected waste from households, including paper and cardboard, 

Italy  8 

possibility  must  notify  the  Commission  24 months  in 
advance  of  the  deadline  and  submit  an  implementation 
plan  laying  down  the  steps  they  envisage  to  reach  the 
postponed targets within a new time frame. Regarding the 
2025 targets, 11 Member States, not including Italy, have 
used this prerogative. 

the 

to  speed  up 

In  the  Waste  Early  Warning  Report,  the  Commission 
recommended that Member States accelerate their efforts 
to improve their recycling performance. The Commission 
is, on one hand, working with the national authorities and 
stakeholders 
implementation  of 
appropriate  measures  to  meet  the  targets,  including 
through  dedicated  financing.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
Commission is pursuing enforcement actions against those 
Member  States  that,  based  on  data  submitted  to  the 
Commission,  do  not  achieve  the  targets  of  the  Waste 
Framework  Directive(31),  the  Packaging  and  Packaging 
Waste  Directive(32)  and  the  Directive  on  Waste  Electrical 
and Electronic Equipment(33).  

Figure 4:  Member  States’  prospects  of  meeting  the 
preparing  for  reuse  and  recycling  targets  for  municipal 
waste and packaging waste  

glass, metals, plastics, biowaste, wood, textiles, packaging, waste 
electrical  and  electronic  equipment,  waste  batteries  and 
accumulators, and bulky waste, including mattresses and furniture; 
and  (ii)  mixed  waste  and  separately  collected  waste  from  other 
sources, where such waste is similar in nature and composition to 
waste from households (Directive 2008/98/EC, Article 3.2b).  
https://environment.ec.europa.eu/publications/waste-early-
warning-report_en. 

(30) 

(31)      Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council 
of 19 November 2008 on waste and repealing certain Directives, 
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2008/98/oj/eng. 

(32)     Directive 94/62/EC of the  European Parliament and Council of 20 
December  1994  on  packaging  and  packaging  waste,  https://eur-
lex.europa.eu/legal-content/en/ALL/?uri=celex%3A31994L0062.  

(33)     Directive 2012/19/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council 
of  4 July  2012  on  waste  electrical  and  electronic  equipment 
(WEEE),  https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2012/19/oj/eng. 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Italy 

 
 
 
Italy  9 

Figure 5:  Municipal  waste  management  and  recycling 
(including preparation for reuse), 2010–2022 

Source:  Eurostat,  ‘Municipal  waste  by  waste  management  operations’, 
env_wasmun, 
2024, 
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/ENV_WASMUN/defau
lt/table. 

22 October 

accessed 

The landfill rate decreased from 46 % in 2010 to 18.1 % in 
2022,  primarily  due  to  the  increase  in  recycling.  The 
incineration rate has remained relatively stable and was at 
19.1  %  in  2022.  Figure  5  shows  municipal  waste  by 
treatment, in terms of kg per inhabitant. 

The provisional data reported by the Italian authorities to 
show  compliance  with  the  preparing  for  reuse  and 
recycling  target  of  55 %  for  2025  is  in  the  range  of  1–
5 percentage points below the data shown in Figure 6 for 
reference  years  2021  and  2022.  The  situation  varies  by 
region, but managing waste efficiently at the national level 
remains  an  important  challenge  for  Italy,  with  separate 
collection rates in 2023 ranging from 77.7 % in Veneto to 
54.8 % in  Calabria(39);  Lazio  (55.4%)  and  Sicily  (55.2%) 
performed  relatively  poorly,  whereas  Emilia-Romagna 
(77.1%) and Sardinia (76.3%) performed rather well. 

 Member  States  not  at  risk  of  missing  the  55 % 
preparing for reuse and recycling target for municipal 
waste  and  the  65 %  recycling  target  for  packaging 
waste 
 Member  States  at  risk  of  missing  the  preparing  for 
reuse and recycling target municipal waste but not at 
risk  of  missing  the  recycling  target  for  packaging 
waste 

 Member States at risk of missing both targets 
 Outside coverage 

Source: European Environment Agency (EEA), ‘Many EU Member States 
not on track to meet recycling targets for municipal waste and packaging 
waste’, briefing No 28/2022, Copenhagen, 2023. Reference data © ESRI. 

The  data  submitted  by  Italy  show  that  it  had  missed  its 
2020  target  for  preparing  for  reuse  and  recycling  of 
municipal  waste  and  missed  the  2020  target  for  the 
collection of waste electrical and electronic equipment (34), 
and  hence,  an  infringement  procedure  was  launched  in 
July 2024 (35). On the positive side, a large recycling plant 
for  recuperating  precious  metal  sand  raw  material  has 
been opened in Tuscany in December 2024(36). 

In September 2020, the Italian government published four 
legislative  decrees  that  are  expected  to  impact  waste 
management,  especially  for  EPR  schemes,  municipal 
waste, packaging and packaging waste(37). Italian regions 
can  issue  environmental  regulations  to  regulate  waste 
management activities, such as the separate collection of 
municipal waste, including hazardous waste. 

Municipal waste 

An estimated 14 % of the Italian population is covered by 
different  types  of  pay-as-you-throw  systems,  while  the 
majority  pays  waste  taxes  based  on  the  surface  area  of 
housing and the number of occupants (38). Similar systems 
apply to commercial activities. 

Italy  has  seen  a  significant 
in  waste 
management, with an increase in reuse and recycling. The 
municipal waste recycling rate went from 31 % in 2010 to 
53.3 % in 2022, close to the 49.1 % EU-27 average.  

improvement 

(34)  Directive  2012/19/EU  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) (OJ 
L 197, 
https://eur-
p. 
24.7.2012, 
lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2012/19/oj/eng. 
INFR(2024)2142. 

(35) 
(36)          Italian  Alliance  for  Sustainable  Development  (ASVIS),  2025, 

38), 

https://asvis.it/home/4-23036/focus-riuso-e-riciclo-quattro-
sfide-che-leuropa-e-non-solo-dovra-affrontare-nei-prossimi-anni 
(37)        Legislative  Decree  116  of  3  September  2020  on  packaging  and 
packaging waste; Legislative Decree 118 of 3 September 2020 on 

(38) 

(39) 

batteries  and  electronic  and  electrical  waste;  Legislative  Decree 
119 of 3 September 2020 on end of life vehicles; Legislative Decree 
121 of 3 September 2020 on landfills.  
Information  provided  during 
the  European  Environment 
Information and Observation Network (Eionet) review of the draft 
EEA country profile on waste management for Italy. 
2024, 
ISPRA, 
https://www.isprambiente.gov.it/files2024/pubblicazioni/rapport
i/rapportorifiutiurbani_ed-2024_n406_versione_integrale.pdf, 
p.49  

Rapporto 

Edizione 

Urbani 

Rifiuti 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Italy 

 
 
 
 
Figure 6: Recycling (including preparation for reuse) and 
landfill rates (%), 2010–2022 

Figure 7: Packaging waste generation, 2010–2022 

Italy  10 

NB: From reference year 2020, new reporting rules apply for calculating 
recycled  municipal  waste,  pursuant  to  the  targets  set  out 
in 
Article 11.2(c–e) of Directive 2008/98/EC. However, the data in Figures 5 
and 6 do not comply with these new reporting rules. 

Source:  Eurostat,  ‘Municipal  waste  by  waste  management  operations’, 
env_wasmun, 
2024, 
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/ENV_WASMUN/defau
lt/table. 

22 October 

accessed 

Italy  also  has  a  65 %  separate  collection  target  by  2012, 
which  was  reached  for  the  first  time  at  national  level  in 
2023 with 66.6% (northern regions: 73.4%; central regions 
62.3%; southern regions 58.9%)(40).  Municipalities that do 
not reach the target will have to pay an additional 20 % in 
landfill tax (41).  

Packaging waste 

Italy’s  packaging  waste  generation  has  significantly 
increased since 2010 (see Figure 7). The overall packaging 
waste  recycling  rate  has  also 
increased  from  2010, 
reaching 71 % in 2022. This is mainly driven by paper and 
cardboard and glass packaging waste, which represent the 
highest shares of packaging waste (Figure 8). 

(40) 

Rifiuti 

Rapporto 

2024, 
ISPRA, 
https://www.isprambiente.gov.it/files2024/pubblicazioni/rapport
i/rapportorifiutiurbani_ed-2024_n406_versione_integrale.pdf,  
pp.33-35. 

Edizione 

Urbani 

Source:  Eurostat,  ‘Packaging  waste  by  waste  management  operations’, 
env_waspac, last updated 23 October 2024, accessed 28 October 2024, 
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/ENV_WASPAC__custo
m_842634/default/table?lang=en. 

Figure 8: Packaging waste recycling rates (%), 2010–2022 

NB: From reference year 2020 the rules for calculating recycled packaging 
waste have changed, pursuant to Article 6a of Directive 94/62/EC. Italy 
has applied the new calculation rules since reference year 2020. 

Source:  Eurostat,  ‘Packaging  waste  by  waste  management  operations’, 
env_waspac, last updated 23 October 2024, accessed 28 October 2024, 
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/ENV_WASPAC__custo
m_842634/default/table?lang=en. 

The 
Italian  EPR  system  for  packaging  covers  both 
household and non-household packaging. A well-designed 
eco-modulated fee system is used for paper and cardboard 
packaging,  cellulose-based  composite  packaging  and 
plastics  packaging,  while  only  basic  fee  modulation  is 
applied to ferrous metals, aluminium and glass packaging. 

(41) 

Paragraph 3, Article    205  of  Legislative  decree  n. 152/2006,  thus 
replaced by Article 32, paragraph 1, letter b), 28 December 2015, 
Law number  221.  

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Italy 

 
 
 
  
 
 
Currently Italy has no mandatory deposit-return system in 
place,  but  a  voluntary  deposit-return  system  for  glass 
packaging  promotes  the  return  of  empty  mineral  water 
and  beer  bottles  to  manufacturers  for  reuse. 
Italy 
established a  EUR 0.45/kg tax on non-recycled single-use 
plastic packaging, which will enter into force in July 2026. 

Policies to encourage waste prevention 

Waste  management  plans  and  waste  prevention 
programmes are instrumental to the full implementation 
of  EU  waste  legislation.  They  set  out  key  provisions  and 
investments to ensure compliance with existing and new 
legal requirements (e.g. on waste prevention, on separate 
collection for certain waste streams, on recycling and on 
landfill targets). 

In June 2022, Italy adopted a national waste management 
programme.  Italy  has  19  regional  plans  and  two  at  the 
autonomous province level. Eight regions also have special 
waste plans for special or hazardous wastes, making a total 
of 29 plans. A few  regional plans  are still to be updated in 
line with the revised Waste Framework Directive in order 
satisfy  the  enabling  condition  under  the  2021–2027 
European 
(ERDF) 
programmes,  which  is  necessary  before  expenditure  can 
be reimbursed. A national platform has been established 
for monitoring waste management plans(42). 

Development 

Regional 

Fund 

Italy’s first national waste prevention programme covered 
2013 to 2020 (43). There is no information about how this 
programme  was  monitored  or  evaluated,  but  a  new 
national waste prevention programme is in development. 

Policies to encourage separate collection and recycling 

Italy’s  separate  collection  system  shows  room  for 
improvement.  The  gaps  between  the  separate  collection 
rates  in  different  regions  have  narrowed;  nevertheless, 
poor  performance  in  certain  regions  lowers  the  national 
average (44). 

The Italian government’s intention with regard to its waste 
policy  is  to  increase  recycling  capacity,  which,  in  turn, 

(42) 
(43) 

(44) 

(45) 

(46) 

Italy,  2023, 

 https://www.monitorpiani.it/piani-regionali 
EEA,  Waste  Prevention  Country  Profile – 
https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/waste/waste-
prevention/countries/2023-waste-prevention-country-fact-
sheets/italy_waste_prevention_2023. 
EEA,  Waste  Prevention  Country  Profile – 
https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/waste/waste-
prevention/countries/2023-waste-prevention-country-fact-
sheets/italy_waste_prevention_2023.  
ISPRA, 
2024 , 
https://www.isprambiente.gov.it/files2024/pubblicazioni/rapport
i/rapportorifiutiurbani_ed-2024_n406_versione_integrale.pdf) 
pp.262-3.. 
EEA,  Early  warning  assessment  related  to  the  2025  targets  for 
municipal waste and packaging waste – Italy, Copenhagen, 2022, 

Italy,  2023, 

Rapporto 

Edizione 

Urbani 

Rifiuti 

Italy  11 

should reduce the demand for new incineration plants. The 
RRP  also  contains  investments  for  new  waste  plants  and 
upgrading existing plants. 

In  terms  of  economic  instruments,  the  use  of  quantity-
based pricing is becoming more widespread, especially in 
the  northern  regions (45),  butt  is  lacking  in  the  centre-
south. The OECD has carried out  a  review  exploring  the 
implications  of  using  taxes  on 
opportunities  and 
construction  aggregates  and  reduced  VAT  rates  to 
support the use of recycled materials in Italy. 

Policies to discourage landfilling or incineration 

Italy  has  a  nationwide  tax  on  the  landfilling  of  residual 
waste. However, each region decides annually the amount 
of tax that is applied in its territory, and this varies between 
EUR 5.17/t  and  EUR 25.82/t,  which  is  considerably  lower 
than the EU average. The upper value of this range has not 
changed  since  1995  and  there  is  no  increase  mechanism 
(escalator) in place (46). The 2022 timetable addendum for 
the circular economy strategy states that the lower  bound 
for landfill taxes will be reviewed, but so far this has not 
been  done.  The  European  Commission  identified  a  need 
for Italy to harmonise and increase the regional landfill tax 
rates  as  a  priority  action  in  all  previous  Environmental 
Implementation Reviews (EIRs) (2017, 2019 and 2022). 

Italy  has  a  tax  on  incineration  of  municipal  solid  waste 
without  energy  recovery (47).  This  tax,  at  a  level  of 
EUR 5.16/t,  is  the  lowest  of  the  ten  Member  States 
applying waste incineration taxes (48). 

Italy  continues to pay fines for gaps in waste management 
in Campania, following a Court of Justice of the European 
Union  (CJEU)  ruling  with  regard  to 
its  past  waste 
management  policies (49).  So  far  EUR 325.8 million  has 
been  paid,  including  the  initial  lump  sum  payment (50). 
However, fines have been significantly reduced over time 
to recognise the progress made. 

Italy was fined by the CJEU on 2 December 2014 for over 
200 irregular landfills (51), and, after an intensified effort in 
recent years, only 8 irregular landfills were still the subject 
of  fines.  So  far  EUR 270 million  has  been  paid  in  fines, 

https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/many-eu-member-
states/italy/view. 
EEA,  Early  warning  assessment  related  to  the  2025  targets  for 
municipal waste and packaging waste – Italy, Copenhagen, 2022, 
https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/many-eu-member-
states/italy/view. 
EEA,  Early  warning  assessment  related  to  the  2025  targets  for 
municipal waste and packaging waste – Italy, Copenhagen, 2022, 
https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/many-eu-member-
states/italy/view.  
Judgment of 16 July 2015, European Commission v Italian Republic, 
C-653/13, EU:C:2015:478.  
As of 27 January 2025.  
Judgment  of  2 December  2014,  European  Commission  v  Italian 
Republic, C-196/13, EU:C:2014:2407. 

(47) 

(48) 

(49) 

(50) 
(51) 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Italy 

 
 
Italy  12 

including  the  lump  sum  payment (52).  In  its  judgment 
issued on 21 March 2019 for a separate case (53), the CJEU 
ruled that Italy had failed to ensure the definitive closure 
and  rehabilitation  of  a  further  44  landfills  that  did  not 
comply  with  the  requirements  of  the  Landfill  Directive. 
Since then, the Commission has ascertained that Italy has 
closed  35  of  those  landfills,  but  still  needs  to  close  and 
rehabilitate the nine remaining. The Commission therefore 
called on Italy to comply with EU rules on landfills (54) and 
is carefully monitoring progress on compliance. 

Italy  notified  the  Commission  of  its  transposition  of  the 
2018 waste package (55). A conformity assessment showed 
Italy  has  not  properly  transposed  the  Waste 
that 
Framework 
An 
2018/851). 
(Directive 
infringement was therefore opened in July 2024 (56). 

Directive 

The  conformity  assessment  of  Italy’s  transposition  of 
Directive 2019/904 on single-use plastics determined that 
this also had not been not properly transposed. Therefore, 
an infringement was opened in May 2024 (57). In February 
2025, an infringement was opened on transposition of the 
Landfills Directive(58)(59).  

Italy  has  not  yet  ratified  the  Hong  Kong  International 
Convention  for  the  Safe  and  Environmentally  Sound 
Recycling of Ships. 

In the 2022 EIR, Italy had three priority actions in the field 
of waste. It has made no progress on harmonising the low-
level  regional  landfill  taxes  across  the  country.  Italy  has 
made some progress on implementing the national waste 
management  programme  and  ensuring  regional  waste 
management  plans  are  in  line  with  the  revised  Waste 
Framework Directive. Some progress has also been made 
on  the  2019  and  2022  action  to  complete  the  closure  of 
non-compliant  landfills. However, this  has yet  to be fully 
completed. Finally, no progress has been made on ratifying 
the Hong Kong Convention, regarding which Italy received 
a priority action in the 2017, 2019 and 2022 EIRs. 

2025 priority actions 
• 

Increase  reuse  of  products  and  scale  up  waste 
recycling  infrastructure  associated  with  the  higher 
steps  of  the  waste  hierarchy.  In  particular,  improve 
collection  and  increase  treatment  capacity  for  bio-
waste. 

(52) 
(53) 

(54) 

As of 27 January 2025.  
Judgment  of  21 March  2019,  European  Commission  v  Italian 
Republic, C-498/17, EU:C:2019:243. 
European  Commission, 
decisions’, 
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/inf_22_
1769?msclkid=240d7077c24b11eca3f8b0c6ba5a4f12. 

infringements  package:  Key 
2022, 

Brussels, 

6 April 

‘April 

(55)  Directive 

(EU) 

2018/851 

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-

content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32018L0851&from=EN, 
Directive 
content/EN/TXT/?qid=1529413058624&uri=CELEX:32018L0852, 
Directive 

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-

2018/850, 

2018/852 

(EU) 

(EU) 

• 

• 

• 

Invest  in  waste  prevention  measures  to  reduce  the 
total amount of waste generated. 
Improve  municipal  waste  preparation  for  reuse  and 
recycling. 
Increase  the  collection  and  recycling  rate  of  waste 
electronic and electric equipment (WEEE). 
•  Complete the closure of non-compliant landfills. 
• 

Implement, harmonise and gradually increase landfill 
taxes  to  phase  out  landfilling  of  recyclable  and 
recoverable waste. 

•  Ratify international conventions on ship recycling. 

content/EN/TXT/?qid=1529413058624&uri=CELEX:32018L0850  
and  Directive  (EU)  2018/849  https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/?qid=1529413058624&uri=CELEX:32018L0849,   
amend  the  previous  waste  legislation  and  set  more  ambitious 
recycling targets up to 2035. 
INFR(2024)2097. 
INFR(2024)2053. 
Council  Directive  1999/31/EC  of  26  April  1999  on  the  landfill  of 
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
waste, 
content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:31999L0031 

(56) 
(57) 
(58) 

(59)      INFR(2024)2268. 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Italy 

 
 
 
 
 
Italy  13 

2. Biodiversity and natural capital 

Global and EU biodiversity frameworks 

Biological  diversity  and  healthy  ecosystems  are  critical 
for our societies, underpin our economies and well-being 
and  are  essential  for  climate  change  adaptation  and 
mitigation.  The  Kunming–Montreal  global  biodiversity 
framework  (GBF),  adopted  in  December  2022,  sets 
comprehensive  and  measurable  targets  to  tackle 
biodiversity  loss  by  2030.  To  implement  this  global 
framework and integrate biodiversity considerations into 
national decision-making, the EU – as well as all Member 
States –  had  to  submit  national  biodiversity  strategies 
and action plans (NBSAPs), or to communicate national 
targets  aligned  with  the  global  targets,  by  the  end  of 
2024. 

The EU biodiversity strategy for 2030 (BDS) aims to put 
EU  biodiversity  on  a  path  to  recovery  by  2030.  It  sets 
quantified targets intended to protect and restore nature 
and manage ecosystems in a sustainable manner, as well 
and 
as  measures 
commitments  to  support  global  biodiversity.  A  BDS 
actions  tracker (60)  and  a  dashboard  of  indicators (61) 
provide information on implementation progress. 

implementation 

enable 

to 

recently 

adopted 

The 
EU  Nature  Restoration 
Regulation (62) is the first EU-wide, comprehensive law of 
its kind and a key instrument for the EU to deliver on the 
global  biodiversity  targets  for  2030.  It  lays  down  an 
overarching  objective  at  the  EU  level  to  put  in  place 
effective  restoration  measures  on  20 %  of  EU  land  and 
sea by 2030 and for all ecosystems in need of restoration 
by  2050.  To  achieve  this,  it  sets  binding  targets  for 
Member States to restore and maintain ecosystems, as 
well as an effective implementation framework based on 
national restoration plans. 

The BDS is the main instrument used by the EU to deliver 
on  its  obligation  under  the  GBF.  The  Commission  has 
submitted  to  the  Convention  on  Biological  Diversity  its 
report on GBF-aligned EU targets that stem from the BDS 

(60) 

(61) 

(62) 

Actions 

Tracker 

Strategy 

Strategy 

Dashboard 

Biodiversity 

Biodiversity 

EU 
https://dopa.jrc.ec.europa.eu/kcbd/actions-tracker/. 
EU 
https://dopa.jrc.ec.europa.eu/kcbd/EUBDS2030-
dashboard/?version=1. 
Regulation (EU) 2024/1991 of the European Parliament and of the 
Council  of  24 June  2024  on  nature  restoration  and  amending 
(OJ  L,  2024/1991,  29.7.2024), 
Regulation 
the 
http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1991/oj; 
Commission 
law 
on 
web 
https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/nature-and-
biodiversity/nature-restoration-law_en. 

(EU)  2022/869 

page 

also 

see 

the 

and from other policy instruments under the European 
Green Deal. 

Member  States’  NBSAPs  need  to  provide  coherent 
frameworks  for  national  delivery  on  the  global  and  EU 
2030  biodiversity  targets. 
line  with  the  global 
obligations,  NBSAPs  should  also  include  a  biodiversity 
financing  plan  and  a  capacity-building  plan,  based  on 
needs  assessments,  as  well  as  an  overview  of  the 
national indicators used to measure progress. 

In 

Italy’s  national  biodiversity  strategy  for  2030 (63)  was 
adopted  by  ministerial  decree  in  August  2023 (64).  The 
strategy  was  developed  through  a  broad  consultative 
process  and  its  final  draft  was  approved  at  a  state–
regions conference in July 2023. It builds on the EU and 
global biodiversity targets for 2030 and sets two strategic 
objectives on (i) a coherent network of protected areas 
and  (ii)  restoring  marine  and  terrestrial  ecosystems, 
supported  by  18  actions  and  161  sub-actions.  The 
strategy’s  2023–2030 
implementation  programme 
defines the administrations in charge, the implementing 
bodies,  the  financial  sources  and  the  timetable  for  the 
161 sub-actions. A mid-term progress check is envisaged 
in 2026. 

The EU aims to allocate to biodiversity objectives at least 
7.5 % of annual spending under the EU budget in 2024, 
rising  to  10 %  in  2026  and  2027.  Details  on  the  Italian 
situation  with  regard  to  biodiversity  financing  are  in 
Chapter 5. 

Nature protection and restoration – Natura 
2000 

Natura  2000 (65),  the  largest  coordinated  network  of 
protected areas in the world, is key to the achievement 
of  the  objectives  set  out  in  the  Birds  and  Habitats 
Directives. These objectives are to ensure the long-term 
protection,  conservation  and  survival  of  Europe’s  most 

(63) 

https://www.mase.gov.it/pagina/strategia-nazionale-la-
biodiversita-al-2030. 

(64)https://www.mase.gov.it/sites/default/files/archivio/allegati/biodive

rsita/decr_252_3.8.2323.pdf. 

(65)  Natura  2000  comprises  sites  of  community  importance  (SCIs), 
designated  pursuant  to  the  Habitats  Directive,  as  well  as  special 
protection areas (SPAs), classified pursuant to the Birds Directive. 
A  special  area  of  conservation  (SAC)  is  an  SCI  designated  by  a 
Member State. 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Italy 

 
 
 
valuable  and  threatened  species  and  habitats  and  the 
ecosystems  they  underpin.  Key  milestones  towards 
meeting  the  objectives  of  the  Birds  and  Habitats 
Directives  are  (i)  the  setting  up  of  a  complete  and 
coherent  Natura  2000  network;  (ii)  the  designation  of 
sites of community importance (SCIs) as special areas of 
conservation (SACs) (66); and (iii) effective management 
of  all  Natura  2000  sites  through  the  setting  of  site-
specific conservation objectives and measures. 

Setting up a complete and coherent network of Natura 
2000 sites 

The  setting  up  of  a  complete  and  coherent  network  of 
Natura  2000  sites 
is  a  cornerstone  of  the  EU’s 
international commitments, under the BDS and GBF, to 
legally  protect  a  minimum  of  30 %  of  its  land  area  and 
30 % of its sea area. 

the 

these 

requires 

commitments 

Meeting 
full 
implementation of Article 3 of the Habitats Directive. The 
Natura 2000 network should represent  a complete and 
coherent  ecological network composed of sites hosting 
natural habitat types and species of community interest. 
The  Natura  2000  network  enables  the  natural  habitat 
types  and  the  species’  habitats  concerned  to  be 
maintained  or,  where  appropriate,  restored  to  a 
favourable conservation status in their natural range. 

Italy  hosts  132  habitat  types (67)  and  340  species (68) 
covered by the Habitats Directive. The country also hosts 
populations of 124 bird taxa listed in Annex I to the Birds 
Directive (69). 

In 2023, 19.1 % of the terrestrial area of Italy was covered 
by Natura 2000 sites (EU average: 18.6 %); see Figure 9. 
Special protection areas (SPAs) classified under the Birds 
Directive  covered  13.4 %  of  the  territory  (EU  average: 
12.8 %)  and  SCIs  under  the  Habitats  Directive  covered 
14.3 % (EU average: 14.3 %). 

(66) 

(67) 

(68) 

SCIs are designated pursuant to the Habitats Directive, whereas 
SPAs are designated pursuant to the Birds Directive. Figures of 
coverage do not add up because some SCIs and SPAs overlap. 
EEA,  ‘Number  of  habitats  and  species  per  Member  State’, 
total,  19 December  2019, 
Article 17  dashboard,  Annex I 
https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/analysis/maps-and-
charts/general-information-on-habitats-and-species-article-17-
national-summary-dashboards-archived.  NB: 
Italian 
authorities indicate that the most up-to-date figure is 131, based 
on  data  submitted  by  MASE  to  the  European  Commission  in 
December 2023. 
EEA,  Number  of  habitats  and  species  per  Member  State’, 
Article 17 
2019, 
19 December 
https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/analysis/maps-and-
charts/general-information-on-habitats-and-species-article-17-
national-summary-dashboards-archived.  NB: 
Italian 
authorities indicate that the most up-to-date figure is 351, based 

dashboard, 

The 

The 

Italy  14 

Figure 9:  Natura  2000  terrestrial  protected  area 
coverage per Member State (%), 2023 

Source:  EEA,  ‘Natura  2000  Barometer’,  2023  data,  accessed  March 
2025, 
https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-
maps/dashboards/natura-2000-barometer. 

The latest assessment of the Italian Natura 2000 network 
shows  that  insufficiencies  remain  in  designations  for 
several  species  and  habitat  types  under  the  Habitats 
Directive as well as for a  number of bird species under 
the Birds Directive. Therefore, Italy must still complete its 
Natura 2000 network, in particular the marine network. 
An infringement is open so that the national authorities 
take  the  measures  needed  to  comply  with  the 
requirements of these two directives. 

Considering  both  areas  covered  by  Natura  2000  and 
other nationally designated protected areas, Italy legally 
protects  21.4 %  of  its  terrestrial  areas  (EU-27  average: 
26.1 %)  and  about  9.7%  of  its  marine  areas  (EU-27 
average: 12.3 %) (70). This is below the EU 2030 target of 
30%. 

Designating special areas of conservation and setting 
site-specific conservation objectives and measures 

In order to ensure that SCIs contribute to the objectives 
of the Habitats Directive, Member States must designate 

(69) 

(70) 

into  account  bird  taxa  for  which 

on the Article 17 checklist published on the reference portal on 
24 May 2023.  
EEA,  ‘Number  of  bird  species/populations  per  Member  State’, 
Article 12 dashboard, Annex I total, last updated 11 May 2023, 
https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/analysis/maps-and-
charts/general-information-on-bird-species-populations-article-
12-national-summary-dashboards-archived.  This  counting  only 
takes 
information  was 
requested. 
EU Biodiversity Strategy Dashboard 
https://dopa.jrc.ec.europa.eu/kcbd/EUBDS2030-
dashboard/?version=1#COHERENT%20NETWORK%20OF%20PR
OTECTED%20AREAS. National data from ISPRA use a different 
methodology and show that 11.20 % of marine areas and 
21.68 % of terrestrial areas are protected 
https://indicatoriambientali.isprambiente.it/it/aree-
tutelate/superficie-nazionale-protetta-terrestre-e-marina. 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Italy 

 
 
 
them  as  SACs,  setting  site-specific  conservation 
objectives based on the ecological needs of the species 
and  habitats  present  on  the  sites.  The  site-specific 
conservation  objectives  must  be  defined  in  terms  of 
attributes  and  targets  that  cover  the  properties  of  the 
feature  of  interest  that  are  necessary  to  describe  its 
condition  as  either  favourable  or  unfavourable.  These 
objectives  must  address  the  key  pressures  and  threats 
present  on  the  site.  Article 6  of  the  Habitats  Directive 
requires  Member  States  to  establish  and  implement 
conservation  measures  for  the  realisation  of  the 
objectives of the site. 

The six-year deadline set under the Habitats Directive to 
designate SCIs as SACs and set appropriate conservation 
objectives and measures has expired for the majority of 
sites in Italy. At the moment almost all the expired SCIs 
have been designated as SACs. 

Site-specific conservation objectives and measures have 
not been adopted for all designated SACs, and the quality 
of  many  of  those  adopted  does  not  fulfil  the  required 
standards.  An  infringement  procedure  is  ongoing  to 
address  these  problems (71).  Currently,  site-specific 
conservation  objectives  and  measures  have  been 
identified  but  not  fully  adopted  for  around  half  of  the 
SACs, according to an applicable MASE methodology (72). 
Furthermore,  2019  national  guidelines  need  to  be  fully 
adhered to  for  appropriate assessment  in line with  the 
Habitats Directive (73). 

Italy needs to fully implement the adopted national and 
regional  provisions  and  guidelines  on  the  appropriate 
assessment of plans and projects for Natura 2000 sites. 

2025 priority actions 

of 

the 

•  Complete the Natura 2000 site designation process. 
• 
Finalise 
site-specific 
establishment 
conservation objectives and measures for all Natura 
2000 sites (including by adopting their management 
plans) and ensure their effective implementation. 
Ensure the effective implementation of Natura 2000 
management  plans  and  sufficient  administrative 
capacity and financing for both Natura 2000 and the 
implementation  of 
the  Nature  Restoration 
Regulation.  Ensure  the  implementation  of  2021–
2027 prioritised action frameworks (PAFs). 

• 

Italy  15 

Recovery of species 

One  objective  set  by  the  BDS  is  that,  by  2030,  there 
should be no further deterioration in conservation trends 
or  the  status  of  any  protected  species.  The  BDS  also 
states  that  Member  States  should  ensure  that  at  least 
30 % of species not currently in favourable conservation 
status  achieve  that  status  or  show  progress  towards 
doing so (e.g. by exhibiting positive population dynamics 
or stable or increasing range and habitat size), by 2030. 
According  to  the  European  Environment  Agency  (EEA), 
based  on  reporting  required  under  Article 17  of  the 
Habitats Directive, a quarter of species in the EU were of 
good conservation status as of 2018 (74). 

One of the primary objectives of the Habitats Directive is 
the  maintenance  of  or  restoration  to  favourable 
conservation status of all species of community interest. 
Moreover, the Birds Directive also aims to ensure that all 
wild  birds  in  the  EU  enjoy  a  secure  status.  In  order  to 
achieve these objectives, it will be necessary to address 
key  pressures  and  threats.  The  Birds  Directive  and  the 
Habitats  Directive  lay  down  a  framework  of  species 
protection rules and rules on the conservation of habitats 
and species in order to combat these threats. 

The  Commission  receives  many  complaints  about  poor 
implementation of the Nature Directives in Italy, namely 
the lack of effective protection of designated sites (from 
several types of development projects and activities) and 
of protected species (e.g. poaching of wild birds). In order 
to improve effective protection of designated sites from 
projects and activities, in December 2019 Italy adopted 
national  guidelines  on  the  correct  application  of 
Article 6(3) and (4) of the Habitat Directive. Furthermore, 
all Italian regions have also transposed these guidelines 
(cited in footnote 73). 

Moreover, in February 2024, the Commission opened an 
infringement (75)  against 
Italy  because  of  changes 
introduced in the Italian hunting legislation that are not 
in  conformity  with  the  Birds  Directive  and  the 
Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of 
Chemicals (REACH) Regulation, which restricts the use of 
in  or  near  wetlands.  An 
lead-containing  gunshot 
additional  infringement  was  opened  against  Italy  in 
February 2024 for poor implementation of the Habitats 
Directive  as  regards  protected  species  becoming 
bycatch (76). 
anti-poaching 
Furthermore,  national 

INFR(2015)2163. 

(71) 
(72)  MASE, ‘Documenti di riferimento per l'individuazione di 

obiettivi e misure di conservazione’, last updated 28 July 2023, 
https://www.mase.gov.it/pagina/documenti-di-riferimento-
lindividuazione-di-obiettivi-e-misure-di-conservazione. 
(73)  MASE, ‘Linee guida nazionali per la valutazione di incidenza 

(VIncA) – Direttiva 92/43/CEE “Habitat” articolo 6, paragrafi 3 e 
4’, last updated 3 February 2020, 
https://www.mase.gov.it/pagina/linee-guida-nazionali-la-

valutazione-di-incidenza-vinca-direttiva-92-43-cee-habitat-
articolo. 
EEA, State of Nature in the EU: Results from reporting under the 
Nature Directives 2013–2018, Publications Office of the 
European Union, Luxembourg, 2020, 
https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/state-of-nature-in-
the-eu-2020. 
INFR(2023)2187.  
INFR(2023)2181. 

(74) 

(75) 
(76) 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Italy 

 
 
 
measures need to be implemented. Under Article 17 of 
the  Habitats  Directive,  Member  States  are  required  to 
report on the conservation status of habitats and species 
every six years. The current reporting cycle, covering the 
years 2019 to 2024, is due for submission in July 2025. 
Figures 10 and 11 show the latest available conservation 
status data for habitats and species (these figures were 
also included in the 2022 EIR). 

Figure 10:  Assessments  of  conservation  status  of 
habitats  for  the  2007–2012  and  2013–2018  reporting 
periods 

NB:  The  values  shown  for  2007–2012  and  2013–2018  are  not 
necessarily directly comparable because changes in area conservation 
status in a Member State may result from changes to methods or use 
of  better  data,  rather  than  reflecting  genuine  changes.  Unknown 
status: 2007-2012 – 10.34%, 2013-2018 – 4.18%. 

Source: EEA, ‘Conservation status and trends of habitats and species’, 
19 December  2019,  https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/analysis/maps-
and-charts/conservation-status-and-trends-article-17-national-
summary-dashboards-archived. 

Figure 11:  Assessments  of  conservation  status  of 
species  for  the  2007–2012  and  2013–2018  reporting 
periods 

Italy  16 

NB:  The  values  shown  for  2007–2012  and  2013–2018  are  not 
necessarily directly comparable because changes in area conservation 
status in a Member State may result from changes to methods or use 
of  better  data,  rather  than  reflecting  genuine  changes.  Unknown 
status: 2007-2012 – 8.96%, 2013-2018 – 3.85%. 

Source: EEA, ‘Conservation status and trends of habitats and species’, 
19 December  2019,  https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/analysis/maps-
and-charts/conservation-status-and-trends-article-17-national-
summary-dashboards-archived. 

As  part  of  its  RRP,  Italy  is  introducing  administrative 
simplifications  and  will  develop  digital  services  for 
visitors to national parks and marine protected areas as 
well  as  supporting  the  re-naturification  of  the  River  Po 
area. 

(ii) 

In the 2022 EIR, Italy had three priority actions, on all of 
which there has been some progress: (i) the completion 
its  marine 
of  the  Natura  2000  network,  namely 
site-specific 
component; 
setting  appropriate, 
conservation  objectives  and  measures  and 
fully 
implementing them, in line with the specific needs and 
priorities  identified  in  the  updated  prioritised  action 
frameworks  adopted  by  the  regions;  and  (iii)  more 
the  nature  protection 
effective  enforcement  of 
provisions,  greater  administrative 
capacity,  and 
improved management of designated sites. 

2025 priority actions 

• 

Strengthen  the  implementation  of  national  anti-
poaching measures. 

•  Reinforce  action 

for  habitats  and  species 

in 
unfavourable  conservation  status,  for  example 
through 
increased 
restoration  measures, 
connectivity,  better  policy 
coordination  and 
integration, and increased funding. 

Recovery of ecosystems 

Agricultural ecosystems 

The BDS works alongside the common agricultural policy 
(CAP) to support the transition to sustainable agriculture.  

The  strategy  has  set  five  common  agriculture-  related 
targets for 2030, namely to: 

—  reduce by 50 % the overall use of – and risk from – 

chemical pesticides; 

—  reduce  by  50 %  the  use  of  more  hazardous 

pesticides; 

—  reduce  by  50 %  losses  of  nutrients  from  fertilisers 
(which  will result in a  20 % reduction in the use of 
fertilisers)  while  ensuring 
is  no 
deterioration of soil fertility; 

there 

that 

—  restore  at  least  10 %  of  agricultural  area  to  have 

high-diversity landscape features; and 
increase the area under organic farming to at least 

— 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Italy 

 
 
 
25 %. 

The  “Vision  for  agriculture  and  food”,  adopted  by  the 
European Commission in February 2025, sets a roadmap 
to  an  agri-food  system  that  is  attractive,  competitive, 
sustainable and fair for current and future generations. 
To  ensure  a  sustainable  future  for  EU  agriculture,  it  is 
crucial  that  these  four  priority  areas  are  pursued 
together,  and  that  public  and  private  support  are 
adequately targeted toward this objective(77). 

The  CAP  and  national  CAP  strategic  plans  (SPs)  are  key 
instruments  to  facilitate  and  strengthen  the  efforts  of 
European  farmers  to  protect  biodiversity  and  the 
environment  at 
large.  The  Commission  approved 
Member  States’  CAP  SPs  in  2022  for  the  2023–2027 
programming  period.  CAP  is  a  significant  source  of 
implementation  of  EU 
funding  contributing  to  the 
environment  policy  including  biodiversity.  SPs  should 
continue  playing  a  key  role  in  the  protection  of  soil, 
water, air quality and biodiversity.  

While  certain  result  indicators  focus  on  a  range  of 
interventions  favouring sustainable agriculture practices 
that  regenerate  ecosystems,  the 
impact  of  these 
measures  is  difficult  to  assess.  The  uptake  of  the  eco-
schemes is voluntary for farmers. 

The  utilised  agricultural  area  in  Italy  increased  from  12 
548  100  hectares  in  2012  to  13    078  500  hectares    in 
2023(78).  

Landscape  features  are  fragments  of  non-productive 
typically – but not exclusively – semi-natural vegetation 
present in or adjacent to agricultural land. They provide 
ecosystem  services  and  support  for  biodiversity.  The 
indicator 
land  covered  with 
landscape  features’  is  the  ratio  between  the  area 
covered  by  non-productive  landscape  features  and  the 
area  covered  by  agricultural  land.  Based  on  the  Land 
Use/Cover  Area  Frame  Survey (79)  landscape  features 
estimates, the share of agricultural land covered by non-

‘share  of  agricultural 

(77) 

(78) 

(79) 

(80) 

European 

Commission, 

2025, 

by 

area 

‘Utilised 

agricultural 

https://agriculture.ec.europa.eu/overview-vision-agriculture-
food/vision-agriculture-and-food_en. 
Eurostat, 
categories’ 
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/tag00025/de
fault/table?lang=en, accessed 19.12.2024. 
also 
https://esdac.jrc.ec.europa.eu/projects/lucas; 
European  Commission:  Joint  Research  Centre, 
‘Landscape 
features in agricultural land: What is the extent?’, 30 September 
2024, 
Figure 14, 
https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC135
966. 
Regulation (EU) 2024/1468 of the European Parliament and of 
the  Council  of  14 May  2024  amending  Regulations  (EU) 
2021/2115 and (EU) 2021/2116 as regards good agricultural and 
environmental  condition  standards,  schemes  for  climate, 
environment  and  animal  welfare,  amendment  of  the  CAP 

p. 34, 

see 

Italy  17 

productive landscape features in Italy at 8% is above the 
EU  average  (5.6%),  ranging  from  12 %  in  the  central 
Italian Apennines to under 3 % in Puglia. At the EU level, 
landscape features cover 5.6 % of agricultural land. 

In  2024,  the  CAP  basic  regulations  were  amended (80) 
regarding, inter alia, the standards for good agricultural 
and  environmental  condition  (GAEC)  of  land.  These 
changes  removed  the  obligation  for  farmers  benefiting 
from CAP area-related support to have a minimum share 
of 3–4 % of non-productive area or landscape features in 
their farms. The amended regulations do not remove the 
obligation  under  GAEC 8  to  retain  existing  landscape 
features, but they do set out an obligation for Member 
States to establish and provide support for eco-schemes 
for  the  maintenance  of  non-
covering  practices 
productive areas, such as land lying fallow, and for the 
establishment of new landscape features, on arable land. 

The recently adopted Nature Restoration Regulation (81) 
focuses on the restoration of agricultural ecosystems and 
requires  Member  States  to  put  in  place  measures  that 
aim to achieve an increasing trend at the national level 
of  at  least  two  out  of  three  indicators  for  agricultural 
ecosystems (82). One of these indicators is the ‘share of 
agricultural land with high-diversity landscape features’. 

Organic  farming  practices  are  highly  beneficial  to 
biodiversity. As shown in  Figure 12, it is estimated that 
18.14 % of Italy’s land area is used for organic farming. 
This is among the best results in the EU and higher than 
the EU average of 10.50 % (83). Italy is contributing above 
average  to  achieving  the  target  of  25 %  of  the  EU’s 
agricultural land being used for organic farming by 2030. 

(81) 

(82) 

(83) 

strategic plans, review of the CAP strategic plans and exemptions 
from  controls  and  penalties  (OJ  L,  2024/1468,  24.5.2024), 
http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1468/oj. 
Regulation (EU) 2024/1991 of the European Parliament and of 
the Council of 24 June 2024 on nature restoration and amending 
Regulation  (EU)  2022/869  (OJ  L,  2024/1991,  29.7.2024), 
http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1991/oj. 
The  three  indicators  are  ‘grassland  butterfly  index’,  ‘stock  of 
‘share  of 
organic  carbon 
agricultural land with high-diversity landscape features’.  
This is based on the latest available information from Eurostat, 
which 
is  currently  under  review;  European  Commission, 
Agriculture biologique au sein de l’union européenne, factsheet, 
2024, 
Brussels, 
https://agriculture.ec.europa.eu/document/download/c67458e
d-ec50-4762-ae68-341763ab93c2_fr?filename=factsheet-
organic-farning_en.pdf&prefLang=en. 

in  cropland  mineral  soils’  and 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Italy 

 
 
Figure 12:  Share  of  total  utilised  agricultural  area 
occupied  by  organic  farming  per  Member  State  (%), 
2022 

Italy  18 

—  taking action for ecosystem restoration. 

The  proposed  directive  on  soil  monitoring  and 
resilience (84) aims to introduce the first comprehensive 
legislation on the protection of all soils in the EU. Should 
the  directive  be  adopted,  Member  States  will  have  to 
transpose  it  into  national  legislation  and  implement  it, 
starting  with  putting  in  place  the  governance  systems 
and a sound monitoring framework building on existing 
national  soil  monitoring  frameworks.  The  objective  of 
the  proposed  directive  is  to  provide  better  and  more 
comparable  soil  health  data  with  the  view  of  attaining 
healthy soils by 2050. 

Source:  Eurostat,  ‘Area  under  organic  farming’,  sdg_02_40,  accessed 
5 December 
2024, 
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sdg_02_40/default/
table?lang=en.  

2025 priority action 
• 

Implement  eco-schemes  and  agri-environmental 
the 
practices 
and 
measures 
environmental needs of Italy. 

address 

to 

 Soil ecosystems 

Soil is an essential, finite and extremely fragile resource. 
Its  increasing  degradation  poses  a  threat  to  EU  food 
security  and  climate 
resilience,  adaptation  and 
mitigation. 

The EU soil strategy, adopted in November 2021, aims to 
support  soil  protection,  sustainable  soil  management 
and  the  restoration  of  degraded  soils  to  achieve  the 
Green  Deal  objectives  as  well  as  land  degradation 
neutrality by 2030. 

This entails: 

—  preventing further soil degradation; 
—  making  sustainable  soil  management  the  new 

normal; 

(84) 

(85) 

of 

final 

5 July 

2023, 

Proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the 
Council on soil monitoring and resilience (Soil Monitoring Law), 
https://eur-
COM(2023) 416 
lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2023:0416:FIN. 
Commission  staff  working  document –  Impact  assessment 
report: Annexes – Accompanying the proposal for a directive of 
the European Parliament and of the Council on soil monitoring 
and  resilience  (Soil  Monitoring  Law),  SWD(2023) 417  final  of 
5 July 
2023, 
https://environment.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2023-

Degradation  of  soil  ecosystems  encompasses  several 
aspects. The proposed directive requires Member States 
to  assess  soil  health  according  to  a  set  of  common 
indicators  and  to  define  the  necessary  regeneration 
measures. The area of soil that is sealed is an important 
factor in monitoring land-use change and represents an 
important pressure on nature and biodiversity. Other soil 
issues  related  to  land degradation  are  soil  erosion,  soil 
compaction, 
soil 
contamination, soil salinisation and the presence in soil 
of nitrogen and phosphorus in excess.  

soil  organic 

loss  of 

carbon, 

The  impact  assessment  accompanying  the  proposal, 
which  builds  on  the  data  available  in  the  EU  Soil 
Observatory,  points  to  the  following  soil  degradation 
issues  in  Italy (85).  Unsustainable  soil  erosion  by  water, 
wind,  tillage  and  harvest  affects  23 %  of  the  national 
territory and 80 % of cropland area. 19 % of the land area 
experiences  loss  of  soil  organic  carbon  in  mineral 
soils (86),  and  14 %  of  the  national  territory  consists  of 
soils containing copper concentrations above 50 mg/kg. 

National  statistics  show  that  20 ha/day  of  soil  was 
converted to artificial land cover (land take) in 2023. The 
estimated  total  costs  of  the  loss  of  ecosystem  service 
flows due to land consumption in 2006–2023 range from 
EUR 8.22 billion 
to  EUR 10.06 billion  annually.  The 
highest  losses  are  associated  with  the  hydrological 
regime regulation service, namely the increase in surface 
run-off  produced  by  land  consumption,  for  which  flow 
loss values for 2006–2023 range from EUR 7.6 billion to 
EUR 8.9 billion per year (87). At the same time, a law on 
controlling  soil  consumption  has  been  pending  since 

07/IMPACT 
REPORT_ANNEXES_SWD_2023_417_part4.pdf. 

ASSESSMENT 

(86)   De  Rosa,  D.,  Ballabio,  C.,  Lugato,  E.  et  al.,  ‘Soil  organic  carbon 
stocks in European croplands and grasslands: How much have we 
lost in the past decade?’, Global Change Biology, Vol. 30, No 1, 
2023, e16992, https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16992. 

(87)  National System for Environmental Protection (SNPA), Consumo 
di Suolo, Dinamiche Territoriali e Servizi Ecosistemici – Edizione 
2024, 
p. 343, 
https://www.snpambiente.it/temi/suolo/consumo-di-suolo-
dinamiche-territoriali-e-servizi-ecosistemici-edizione-2024/. 

No 43/2024, 

Report 

Rome, 

2024, 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Italy 

 
 
 
2012 in parliament (88). On 19 December 2024, the Italian 
Environment  Minister  signed  a  decree  for  160  million 
EUR for dealing with soil degradation in urban and peri-
urban areas(89). Italy is also using the RRP to invest tree 
(the 
planting 
RiforestAzione project). 

in  urban  and  peri-urban  areas 

use  constitute  only  3 %  of  the  EU’s  utilised  agricultural 
area. At the same time, they are responsible for 25 % of 
the  GHG  emissions  from  the  EU’s  agricultural  sector. 
Restoring  peatlands  brings  multiple  benefits,  as 
peatlands  improve  water  retention  and  quality,  store 
carbon, reduce GHG emissions and increase biodiversity. 

Italy  19 

2025 priority actions 

•  Reduce the excessive area of sealed and artificialised 
soil  and  remediate  degraded  areas  of  soil.  If 
appropriate, consider formally committing to targets 
for  land-degradation  neutrality  under  the  relevant 
United 
Combat 
Desertification agreement. 

Convention 

Nations 

to 

Grasslands 

Grasslands  are  among  the  most  diverse  ecosystems  in 
the EU; they can contain as many as 80 different  plant 
species per square metre and are home to a large variety 
of animals, ranging from small insects, birds and rodents 
to 
for 
large  herbivores.  Grasslands  are  essential 
agriculture and livestock herding. Natural grasslands also 
play  an  important  role  in  storing  carbon.  However, 
changes  in  agricultural  practices  and  land  uses  have 
caused  grasslands  to  disappear  at  an  alarming  rate, 
making  them  one  of  Europe’s  most  threatened 
ecosystems. 

Italy  hosts  15  grassland  habitat  types  covered  by  the 
Habitats  Directive.  According  to  the 
latest  report 
produced  in  accordance  with  Article 17  of  the  Habitats 
Directive,  all  such  habitat  types,  except  one,  have  an 
unfavourable  conservation  status,  and  most  of  them 
show a negative trend. The main pressures and threats 
identified  by  the  report  for  these  habitat  types  are 
related  to  agriculture,  natural  processes  (i.e.  natural 
succession  following  abandonment)  and  infrastructure 
development. 

Wetlands/peatlands 

Wetlands act as water sources and purifiers; they are the 
planet’s  greatest  natural  carbon  stores  and  they  are 
crucial  to  agriculture  and  fisheries.  Peatlands  are  a 
special  type  of  wetlands  dominated  by  peat-forming 
plants such as Sphagnum mosses. Nearly all peatlands in 
the EU are habitat types listed in Annex I to the Habitats 
Directive. Drained peatlands under intensive agricultural 

(88) 

Italian  Chamber  of  Deputies,  ‘Disposizioni  per  il  contenimento 
del consumo di suolo e la rigenerazione urbana – AC 1179’, 2023, 
https://documenti.camera.it/leg19/dossier/pdf/Am0040.pdf. 

(89)  MASE,  soil decree, https://www.mase.gov.it/comunicati/suolo-

pichetto-firma-decreto-ripartire-fondo-da-160-milioni-contro-
degrado-urbano-e. 

Italy  hosts  15  freshwater  habitat  types  covered  by  the 
Habitats  Directive  and  eight  habitat  types  belonging  to 
the group bogs, mires and fens’. According to the latest 
report  produced  in  accordance  with  Article 17  of  the 
Habitats  Directive,  none  of  them  has  a  favourable 
conservation  status.  The  main  pressures  and  threats 
identified by the report for freshwater habitat types are 
agriculture,  human-induced  changes 
in  the  water 
regime,  infrastructure  development  and  invasive  alien 
species;  for  bogs,  mires  and  fens  the  pressures  and 
threats are human-induced changes in the water regime, 
natural  processes,  agriculture  and 
infrastructure 
development. 

Forest ecosystems 

Forests are important carbon sinks and conserving them 
is vital if the EU is to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. 
The EU forest strategy for 2030, adopted in July 2021, is 
a  plan  of  actions  to  promote  the  many  services  that 
forests  provide.  Its  key  objective  is  to  ensure  healthy, 
forests  that  contribute 
diverse  and  resilient  EU 
significantly to the achievement of the EU’s biodiversity 
and climate ambitions. About 27 % of the forest area in 
the EU is covered by habitat types listed in Annex I to the 
Habitats  Directive.  Moreover,  forests  host  several 
species  protected  under  the  Birds  and  Habitats 
Directives, 
is  a 
requirement  to  designate  Natura  2000  sites  and  to 
protect breeding sites and resting places. 

including  those  for  which  there 

Several Commission guidelines on forestry management 
were  published  in  2023.  They  covered  biodiversity-
friendly  afforestation,  reforestation  and  tree  planting; 
closer-to-nature  forest  management;  and  defining, 
mapping, monitoring and strictly protecting primary and 
old-growth  forests.  Further  guidance  on  payment 
schemes 
for  ecosystems  services  has  also  been 
published. 

In  2023,  the  Commission  proposed  a  new  forest 
monitoring law (90) that aims to create a comprehensive 
forest  knowledge  base,  address  information  gaps  and 

(90) 
 Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and 
of  the  Council  on  a  monitoring  framework  for  resilient  European 
2023, 
COM(2023)728, 
forests, 
https://ec.europa.eu/transparency/documents-
register/detail?ref=COM(2023)728&lang=en 

November 

22 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Italy 

 
 
 
 
 
enable  a  better  response  to  growing  pressures  on 
forests. 

Assessments  show  that,  of  the  27 %  of  EU  forest  area 
protected under the Habitats Directive, less than 15 % is 
of  favourable  conservation  status (91).  The  share  of 
forested areas in the EU with a bad conservation status 
increased from 27 % in 2015 to 31 % in 2018. 

In  Italy,  forests  covered  32.5 %  of  the  land  area  in 
2020 (92),  and  93 000 ha  were  covered  by  primary 
forests (93).  Assessments  reveal  that  over  90 %  of  the 
areas have a bad to poor status (94); see Figure 13. 

Figure 13:  Conservation  status  of  forests  protected 
under  the  Habitats  Directive  per  Member  State  (% 
assessments), 2013–2018 

Source: Commission staff working document – New EU forest strategy 
for  2030,  SWD(2021) 652 
final  of  16 July  2021,  p. 24,  eur-
lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52021SC0652. 

(91) 

(92) 

(93) 

(94) 

(95) 

EEA, State of Nature in the EU: Results from reporting under the 
Nature  Directives  2013–2018,  Publications  Office  of  the 
European 
2020, 
https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/state-of-nature-in-
the-eu-2020. 

Luxembourg, 

Union, 

EEA,  forest  information  system  for  Europe,  ‘Countries –  FISE 
country  factsheets’,  forest  information  system  for  Europe 
website, https://forest.eea.europa.eu/countries. 
European  Commission:  Joint  Research  Centre,  Mapping  and 
assessment  of  primary  and  old-growth  forests  in  Europe, 
Publications  Office  of  the  European  Union,  Luxembourg,  2021, 
p 13, 
https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC124
671. 
Commission staff working document – Stakeholder consultation 
document 
evidence 
and 
Communication 
from  the  Commission  to  the  European 
Parliament,  the  Council,  the  European  Economic  and  Social 
Committee and the Committee of the Regions – New EU forest 
strategy  for  2030,  SWD(2021) 652  final  of  16 July  2021, 
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/NL/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52021SC0652. 
San-Miguel-Ayanz, J., Durrant, T., Boca, R. et al., Forest Fires in 
Europe, Middle East and North Africa 2023, Publications Office 

Accompanying 

base: 

the 

Italy  20 

Among forest disturbances contributing to loss of forest 
integrity  and 
loss,  wildfires 
related  biodiversity 
constitute a particular  reason for concern. In 2022, the 
EU  saw  a  record  number  (2 700)  of  wildfires  affecting 
more  than  30 ha,  which  led  to  the  destruction  of 
785 605 ha  of  forest,  the  second  highest  annual  figure 
recorded.  Recent  years  have  also  witnessed  the 
occurrence of widespread uncontrollable fires (so-called 
megafires), which are associated with loss of life and an 
enormous cost in terms of damage to the environment, 
businesses and society (over EUR 2 billion annually) and 
carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Megafires are practically 
beyond suppression capacity and can be prevented only 
by  an  integrated  risk  management  approach.  Wildfires 
prevention is also essential to preserve resources for the 
bioeconomy. 

In  2023,  Italy  was  the  second  most  affected  Member 
State after Greece in terms of burnt area, with a total of 
4 265 forest fires and 88 805 ha burnt. Especially in Sicily, 
but  also  in  Calabria,  the  fires  affected  large  areas  and 
caused  casualties  among  citizens (95).  The  Commission 
has  supported    a  peer-review  process  in  dealing  with 
wildfires in Italy(96). 

The  EU  Timber  Regulation  (EUTR) (97)  prohibits  the 
placing  on  the  EU  market  of  illegally  harvested  timber. 
According  to  the  EUTR,  Member  States’  competent 
authorities  must  conduct  regular  checks  on  operators 
and traders and apply penalties for non-compliance. 

On  29 June  2023,  the  Regulation  on  Deforestation-free 
(99).  The 
Products 
regulation  seeks  to  guarantee  that  products  in  the  EU 
that  are  made  using  any  of  seven  listed  commodities 

(EUDR) (98)  entered 

force 

into 

of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2024, 
https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC139
704.  

(96)      Verde,  J.  C.,  Torres,  J.S.,  Marques,  R.,  Franc,  R.,  Flores,  E., 
Casartelli,     V., Marengo, A., Melinato, S., Mysiak, J., Salpina, D., 
Brăilescu, C., Marteil, E., Sørensen, J., Spitoni, G. (2024). UCPM  
2024. 

            Wildfire 

review 

Peer 

(97) 

(98) 

Italy 

report: 
https://doi.org/10.25424/cmcc-xx3k-we21 
Regulation (EU) No 995/2010 of the European Parliament and of 
the  Council  of  20 October  2010  laying  down  the  obligations  of 
operators who place timber and timber products on the market 
(OJ  L 295,  12.11.2010,  p. 23),  https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32010R0995. 
Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 of the European Parliament and of 
the Council of 31 May 2023 on the making available on the Union 
market and the export  from the Union of certain commodities 
and  products  associated  with  deforestation  and 
forest 
degradation  and  repealing  Regulation  (EU)  No 995/2010  (OJ 
L 150,  9.6.2023,  p. 206),  https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32023R1115&qid=1687867231
461.  

(99)     The law will apply to large and medium-sized companies starting 
on  December  30,  2025,  and  to  micro  and  small  enterprises 
starting on June 30, 2026. 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Italy 

 
 
 
 
have  no  links  to  deforestation.  The  EUDR  repeals  the 
EUTR.  

Marine ecosystems 

The  Marine  Strategy  Framework  Directive  (MSFD) 
requires Member States to achieve good environmental 
status  (GES)  for  their  marine  waters.  To  that  end, 
Member States must draw up marine strategies for their 
marine waters and cooperate with other Member States 
sharing  the  same  marine  region  or  subregion.  These 
marine  strategies  comprise  different  steps  to  be 
developed and implemented over six-year cycles. 

Since the 2022 EIR report, no additional data regarding 
Member  States’  set  of  GES  characteristics  for  each 
in  the  MSFD  have  become  available. 
descriptor 
Nevertheless, Member States had to report updates by 
October  2024.  In  the  context  of  this  next  round  of 
reporting, 
in  accordance  with  the  MSFD  and  the 
Commission  GES  decision (100),  Member  States  must 
include  as  part  of  their  set  of  GES  characteristics  any 
threshold  values  for  the  descriptors  in  the  MSFD  that 
may  have  been  established  in  cooperation  with  other 
Member  States  at  the  EU  or  regional  level (101).  Italy 
reported  the  data  relating  to  Articles 8,  9  and  10  as 
required  by  Article 17  of  the  MSFD  at  the  end  of 
November  2024;  these  data  are  now  under  the 
assessment of the Commission. 

The  Commission  assessed  the  updated  monitoring 
programme reported by Member States in 2020 (102). At 
that  time  their  updates  on  the  elements,  features  and 
parameters identified monitoring gaps. The Commission 
recommended  that  Member  States  should  prioritise 
work 
levels  of 
implementation of the MSFD. 

those  gaps  at  all 

to  address 

Member States also reported their updated programmes 
of measures, which are required under Article 13 of the 
MSFD and  which  must  be updated every  six years. The 
Commission has assessed Member States’ programmes 
of measures. 

the  assessment  of 

While  progress  has  been  made  in  relation  to  some 
descriptors, 
Italy’s  updated 
programme of measures revealed that significant areas 
for improvement remain with regard to most descriptors 
(see Figure 14). 

Italy  21 

Progress can be noted regarding non-indigenous species 
(D2), with new measures such as biofouling management 
and  control  guidelines  for  vessels  aimed  at  preventing 
the 
the 
introduction  of  non-indigenous  species; 
establishment  of  comprehensive  monitoring  and 
surveillance programmes; and the promotion of catching 
non-indigenous species identified as edible, such as blue 
crabs and rabbit fish. 

Figure 14: Level of adequacy of Italy’s updated 
programme of measures under Article 13 of the MSFD 
(2022 reporting exercise) 

Source: Technical assessment carried out by the European Commission, 
pursuant to Article 16 of the MSFD, based on the data reported by Italy 
in March 2022. 

Most  other  pressures,  however,  are 
insufficiently 
covered;  measures  lack  detailed  descriptions  of  their 
anticipated  impact  and  descriptors  show  no  MSFD-
specific measures. 

Italy received three priority actions in the 2022 EIR, two 
of  which  cannot  be  evaluated  as  no  new  data  are 
available. The third 2022 priority action was for Italy to 
ratify the Offshore Protocol to the Barcelona Convention 
and  the  Integrated  Coastal  Zone  Management Protocol 
to the Barcelona Convention, which it still has not done, 
so the action is repeated for 2025. 

2025 priority action 

•  Ratify  the  Offshore  Protocol  to  the  Barcelona 
Convention  and  ICZM  Protocol  to  the  Barcelona 
Convention. 

(100)  Commission  Decision  (EU) 2017/848  of  17 May  2017  laying 
down  criteria  and  methodological  standards  on  good 
environmental  status  of  marine  waters  and  specifications  and 
standardised  methods  for  monitoring  and  assessment,  and 
repealing  Decision 2010/477/EU  (OJ  L 125,  18.5.2017,  p. 43), 
http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2017/848/oj. 

(101)  Communication  from  the  Commission  of  11 March  2024 – 
Commission notice on the threshold values set under the Marine 

Strategy  Framework  Directive 
(Directive 2008/56/EC)  and 
Commission  Decision  (EU) 2017/848  (OJ  C,  C/2024/2078, 
11.3.2024), http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2024/2078/oj. 

(102)  https://environment.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2023-

04/C_2023_2203_F1_COMMUNICATION_FROM_COMMISSION
_EN_V5_P1_2532109.PDF. 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Italy 

 
 
 
Prevention and management of invasive alien 
species 

Invasive  alien  species  (IAS)  are  a  major  cause  of 
biodiversity  loss  in  the  EU.  Besides  inflicting  direct  and 
indirect damage on nature and the economy, some IAS 
also carry and spread infectious diseases, posing a threat 
to  humans  and  wildlife.  Regulation  (EU)  No 1143/2014 
(the  IAS  Regulation)  aims  to  prevent,  minimise  and 
mitigate  the  adverse  impacts  of  IAS  on  biodiversity.  It 
focuses action on a list of IAS of EU concern (the ‘Union 
list’), which is regularly updated (103). 

The third update of the Union list entered into force on 
2 August 2022 (104). The fourth update is in preparation. 

The IAS Regulation (105) currently lists 88 species subject 
to  restrictions  on  keeping,  importing,  selling,  breeding, 
growing  and  releasing  into  the  environment.  Member 
States are required to take measures to (i) prevent the 
introduction of IAS, (ii) ensure early detection and rapid 
eradication  of  IAS  and  (iii)  manage  species  that  are 
already widespread on their territory. 

This  aligns  with  target 6  of  the  GBF  to  reduce  the 
introduction of IAS by at least 50 % by 2030 and minimise 
their impact. 

Preventing  the  introduction  and  spread  of  IAS,  and 
including  through  eradication  and 
managing  them, 
control,  can  result  in  a  substantial  cost  saving.  Studies 
estimate  that  the  total  cost  of  IAS  in  Europe  (damages 
and  management)  amounted  to  EUR 116.61 billion 
between 1960 and 2020 (106). More recent studies have 
put  this  cost  at  USD 28 billion  per  year  in  the  EU, 
increasing  to  USD 148.2 billion  by  2040 (107),  and  at 
USD 423 billion annually at the global level (108). 

The total number of IAS of EU concern in the country is 
54. This includes 39 species recorded in the previous EIR 
(2021)  and  15  additions.  Of  these  additions,  5  were 

(103)  Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/1141 of 13 July 
2016 adopting a list of  invasive alien species of Union concern 
pursuant  to  Regulation  (EU)  No 1143/2014  of  the  European 
Parliament  and  of  the  Council  (OJ  L 189,  14.7.2016,  p. 4),  as 
Implementing  Regulations  (EU) 
amended  by  Commission 
2017/1263,  (EU)  2019/1262  and  (EU)  2022/1203,  https://eur-
lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:02016R1141-
20220802&from=EN. 

(104)  Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1203 of 12 July 
2022  amending  Implementing  Regulation  (EU)  2016/1141  to 
update  the  list  of  invasive  alien  species  of  Union  concern  (OJ 
L 186,  13.7.2022,  p. 10),  https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32022R1203. 

(105)  Regulation (EU) No 1143/2014 of the European Parliament and 
of  the  Council  of  22 October  2014  on  the  prevention  and 
management  of  the  introduction  and  spread  of  invasive  alien 
species 
https://eur-
4.11.2014, 
lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32014R1143. 

p. 35), 

L 317, 

(OJ 

Italy  22 

already  on  the  EU  concern  list  in  2021,  and  10  were 
added later under Commission Implementing Regulation 
(EU) 2022/1203. The spread can be seen in Figure 15. 

Figure 15: Number of IAS of EU concern, based on 
available georeferenced information for Italy, 2024 

An  infringement  case  is  ongoing  against  Italy  for  not 
having reported without delay the detection of the fire 
ant in Sicily, the measures taken to eradicate it and their 
effectiveness,  and  for  not  having  taken  all  necessary 
measures to prevent its spread (109). 

Italy is involved in the EU-wide financial instrument  for 
the environment (LIFE) Stop Vespa project, which aims to 
use  radar  to  trace  the  route  of  the  Vespa  velutina. 
Meanwhile, the LIFE alien species awareness programme 
(ASAP)  aims  to  increase  the  awareness  of  IAS  and  to 
promote the correct and efficient management of IAS by 
public  entities  in  the  EU (110).  Research  on  invasive 
species in Rome could be applied nationally(111). 

(106)  Haubrock, P. J., Turbelin, A. J., Cuthbert, R. N. et al., ‘Economic 
costs of invasive alien species across Europe’, NeoBiota, Vol. 63, 
2021, pp. 153–190. 

(108) 

(Intergovernmental 

(107)  Henry, M., Leung, B., Cuthbert, R. N. et al., ‘Unveiling the hidden 
economic  toll  of  biological  invasions  in  the  European  Union’, 
Environmental Sciences Europe, Vol. 35, No 1, 2023, p. 43. 
Platform 
IPBES 
Biodiversity 
Summary 
Policymakers – 
https://www.ipbes.net/document-library-catalogue/summary-
policymakers-invasive-alien-species-assessment. 
INFR(2024)2226. 
LIFE ASAP https://www.lifeasap.eu/index.php/en/project/asap-
project. 

on 
Science-Policy 
for 
Services), 
Invasive  alien  species  assessment,  2023, 

Ecosystem 

(109) 
(110) 

and 

(111)  Montaldi  A,  Iamonico  D,  Del  Vico  E,  Valeri  S,  Lasinio  G  L, 
infrastructure  design  for  the 
Capotorti  G  (2024),  Green 
containment of biological invasions.  Insights from a peri-urban 
case  study 
Journal  of  Environmental 
Italy, 
Management, 365 (August 2024). 

in  Rome, 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Italy 

 
 
 
Italy has not yet ratified the International Convention for 
the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and 
Sediments, for which it received a priority action in the 
2017, 2019 and 2022 EIRs. 

2025 priority actions 

• 

Step  up  implementation  of  the  IAS  Regulation, 
including  with  regard  to  enforcement  and  the 
capacity of inspection authorities. 

•  Ratify the International Convention for the  Control 
and  Management  of  Ships’  Ballast  Water  and 
Sediments of 2004 (BWM Convention). 

Ecosystem assessment and accounting 

The  BDS  calls  on  Member  States  to  better  integrate 
biodiversity  considerations  into  public  and  business 
decision-making  at  all  levels  and  to  develop  natural 
capital accounting. 

Similarly, target 14 of the GBF (112) aims to ensure the full 
integration  of  biodiversity  and  its  multiple  values  into 
policy  and  planning  and,  as  appropriate,  national 
accounting.  This  requires  effective  and  coherent 
biodiversity  observation  and  reporting  on  ecosystem 
condition in the EU (113). 

The amended Regulation (EU) No 691/2011 on European 
environmental  economic  accounts (114)  introduces  new 
requirements  for  Member  States  to  report  on  the 
condition  of  ecosystems  including  urban  ecosystems, 
croplands,  grasslands,  forest  and  woodlands,  coastal 
beaches,  dunes  and  wetlands.  Data  reported  by  the 
Member  States  will  feed  into  the  second  European 
ecosystem assessment, due in 2027, and can also be used 
to support policy decisions. 

An ecosystem assessment is an analysis of the condition 
of ecosystems and the pressures acting on them, as well 
as  the  benefits  that  they  provide  to  people,  either 
directly or indirectly through the economy. 

An 
increasing  number  of  platforms,  networks  and 
communities of practice involve businesses in protecting 

(112)  Decision 15/4 adopted by the Conference of the Parties to the 
Convention  on  Biological  Diversity:  Kunming–Montreal  global 
biodiversity 
framework 
https://www.cbd.int/doc/decisions/cop-15/cop-15-dec-04-
en.pdf. 

Assessment – 

(113)  European  Commission:  Joint  Research  Centre  and  EEA,  EU 
Ecosystem 
policymakers, 
Publications  Office  of  the  European  Union,  Luxembourg,  2021, 
https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-
/publication/81ff1498-b91d-11eb-8aca-
01aa75ed71a1/language-en. 

Summary 

for 

Italy  23 

biodiversity,  including  the  EU  Business  &  Biodiversity 
Platform (115). These platforms and communities are key 
tools  for  promoting  and  facilitating  natural  capital 
assessments  among  businesses  and  financial  services 
providers. 

Natural  capital  assessments  help  private  businesses  to 
better  understand  both  the  negative  and  positive 
impacts that they have on nature, and to appreciate how 
nature contributes to their success. Such understanding 
contributes to the implementation of the EU’s BDS. 

There  is  one  Italian  business  and  biodiversity  network 
member  of  the  EU  Business  &  Biodiversity  Platform.  It 
was  established  in  2023  at  the  European  Business  and 
in  Milan (116).  Furthermore,  a 
Nature  Summit  held 
nature-based solutions hub has been established in Italy, 
with its first meeting held in Palermo in November 2024. 

of 

(ISTAT); 

Statistics 

involving 

the 
institutions: 

Moreover, an interinstitutional working group was set 
following  national 
up 
in  2024 
organisations  and 
Italian 
ISPRA;  the 
the 
Institute 
National 
Interuniversity  Centre  for  Biodiversity,  Ecosystem 
Services and Sustainability; the Institute of Research on 
Terrestrial  Ecosystems  of  the  National  Research 
Council;  the  Agricultural  Payments  Agency;  and  the 
Council 
for  Agricultural  Research  and  Economic 
Analysis. The group was tasked with implementing the 
conceptual  and  application  framework  for 
Italy’s 
in  accordance  with  EU  (i.e. 
ecosystem  accounts 
Eurostat) methodologies. 

Italy has not yet ratified the Nagoya Protocol on Access 
to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing 
of  Benefits  Arising  from  Their  Utilization  to  the 
Convention  on  Biological  Diversity,  for  which  it  had  a 
priority action in 2019. 

2025 priority action 

•  Ratify  the  Nagoya  Protocol  on  Access  to  Genetic 
Resources  and  the  Fair  and  Equitable  Sharing  of 
Benefits  Arising  from  Their  Utilization  to  the 
Convention on Biological Diversity. 

(114)  Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the 
Council  amending  Regulation  (EU)  No 691/2011  as  regards 
introducing  new  environmental  economic  accounts  modules, 
https://eur-
COM(2022) 329 
lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM:2022:329:FIN. 

11 July 

2022, 

final 

of 

(115)  The  EU  Business  &  Biodiversity  Platform  (https://green-
business.ec.europa.eu/business-and-biodiversity_en)  aims  to 
promote  the  business  case  for  biodiversity  to  businesses  and 
financial institutions through workshops, seminars, reports and 
a cross-media communication strategy.  

(116)  https://green-business.ec.europa.eu/business-and-

biodiversity/european-business-nature-summit-2023_en. 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Italy 

 
 
Italy  24 

3. Zero pollution 

Clean air

EU  clean  air  policies  and  legislation  have  successfully 
reduced  emissions  of  key  air  pollutants  and  significantly 
improved  air  quality,  which  is  now  moving  towards  the 
levels  recommended  by  the  World  Health  Organization 
(WHO).  This  has  resulted  in  clear  health  benefits  and 
reduced adverse impacts on ecosystems and biodiversity. 
However, to achieve the WHO-recommended levels, more 
efforts  are  needed,  including  full  compliance  with  EU 
legislation.  To  guide  these  efforts,  the  EU  zero  pollution 
action plan sets targets for 2030 relative to  2005.  These 
are to reduce the health impacts of air pollution by 55 % 
and  to  reduce  the  EU  ecosystems  threatened  by  air 
pollution by 25 %. 

The EU has developed a comprehensive suite of air quality 
policies (117).  These  set  health-based  EU  air  quality 
standards (118)  and  stipulate  Member  States’  national 
emission  reduction  commitments (119)  for  several  air 
pollutants. 

The air quality in Italy continues to give cause for concern 
in some parts of its territory. 

The  latest  available  annual  estimates  (for  2022)  by  the 
EEA (120)  for  Italy  attribute  48 600  deaths  each  year  (or 
425 200 years of life lost (YLL)) to fine particulate matter 
(PM2.5) (121);  9 600  deaths  each  year  (or  84 200 YLL)  to 
nitrogen dioxide (NO2) (122); and 13 600 deaths each year 
(or 119 700 YLL) to ozone (123). 

The  emissions  of  several  air  pollutants  have  decreased 
significantly  in  Italy  since  2005,  while  GDP  growth  has 
continued  (see  Figure 16).  According  to  the  inventories 
submitted  under  Article 10(2)  of  the  National  Emission 
Reduction  Commitments  Directive  (NECD) (124)  in  2024, 
Italy  has  met  its  emission  reduction  commitments  for 
2020–2029 for air pollutants  nitrogen oxides (NOx), non-
methane  volatile  organic  compounds  (NMVOC),  sulphur 

(117)  European  Commission,  ‘Air’,  European  Commission  website, 

https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/air_en. 

(118)  European  Commission,  ‘EU  air  quality  standards’,  European 
website, 

Commission 
https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/air/air-quality/eu-air-
quality-standards_en. 

(119)  European  Commission,  ‘Reducing  emissions  of  air  pollutants’, 
website, 

European 
https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/air/reducing-
emissions-air-pollutants_en. 

Commission 

(120)  EEA, Harm to human health from air pollution in Europe: Burden of 
disease  2024,  briefing  No 21/2024,  Copenhagen,  2024, 
https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/analysis/publications/harm-to-
human-health-from-air-pollution-2024. 

(121)  Particulate matter (PM) is a mixture of aerosol particles (solid and 
liquid) covering a wide range of sizes and chemical compositions. 
PM10  refers  to  particles  with  a  diameter  of  10 µm  or  less.  PM2.5 

dioxide (SO2), ammonia (NH3) and PM2.5. According to the 
latest  projections  submitted  under  Article 10(2)  of  the 
NECD,  Italy  is  projected  to  meet  its  emission  reduction 
commitments  for  2030  onwards  for  NOx,  NMVOC,  SO2, 
NH3 and PM2.5. 

Figure 16 Emission trends of main air pollutants / GDP in 
Italy (%), 2005–2022 

150%

100%

50%

0%

NH₃

PM2.5
PM2.5

NMVOC

SO₂

NOₓ

GDP

Source: EEA, ‘National air pollutant  emissions data viewer 2005–2022’, 
https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/topics/in-depth/air-
25 June 
pollution/national-air-pollutant-emissions-data-viewer-2005-2022. 

2024, 

Emissions by source are shown in Figure 17. 

Italy  submitted  its  first  national  air  pollution  control 
programme (NAPCP) to the Commission on 22 September 
2020.  An  update  was  due  in  2024  but  has  not  yet  been 
received (situation 2 April  2025). 

The  value  of  the  health  benefits  of  implementing  the 
NAPCP is estimated to total EUR 29.7 billion by 2030 (using 

refers to particles with a diameter of 2.5 µm or less. PM is emitted 
from many human sources, including combustion. 

(122)  Nitrogen  dioxide  (NO2)  here  pertains  to  a  group  of  gases  called 
NOx, which also comprises nitrogen monoxide (NO). NOx is emitted 
during fuel combustion –for example, from industrial facilities and 
the road transport sector. 
Low-level  ozone 
is  produced  by  photochemical  action  on 
pollution.  This  year,  for  the  first  time,  the  impact  of  long-term 
exposure to ozone has also been taken into account. In previous 
analysis by the EEA, only the impact of short-term exposure was 
estimated. 

(123) 

(124)  Directive (EU) 2016/2284 of the European Parliament and of the 
Council  of  14 December  2016  on  the  reduction  of  national 
emissions of certain atmospheric pollutants, amending Directive 
2003/35/EC  and  repealing  Directive  2001/81/EC  (OJ  L 344, 
17.12.2016, 
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv:OJ.L_.2016.344.01.0001.01.ENG. 

p. 1), 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Italy 

 
 
 
a 2010 baseline) or 1.84 % of 2010 GDP, reaching 3.4 % of 
regional GDP in Lombardy in the Po river basin (125). 

Figure 17: PM2.5 and NOx emissions by sector in Italy (%), 
2022 

Italy  25 

In  2023,  exceedances  above  the  limit  values  set  by  the 
Ambient Air Quality Directive (AAQD) (126) were registered 
for  NO2  in  10  air  quality  zones (127),  for  PM10  in  19  air 
quality zones (128) and for PM2.5 in 1 air quality zone (129) in 
Italy.  Furthermore, 
for  ozone 
concentrations  have  not  been  met  in  several  air  quality 
zones, as well as target values for nickel concentration in 
one air quality zone and for benzo(a)pyrene concentration 
in 13 air quality zones (130). 

target  values 

the 

Persistent  breaches  of  air  quality  requirements,  which 
have  severe  negative  effects  on  health  and  the 
environment,  are  being  followed  up  by  the  European 
Commission through infringement procedures covering all 
Member States concerned, including Italy for exceedances 
of  PM10,  PM2.5 (131)  and  NO2  limit  values.  The  CJEU  has 
delivered two judgments confirming non-compliance with 
Directive  2008/50/EC,  in  2020  for  exceedances  of  PM10 
limit values (132) and in 2022 for exceedances of NO2 limit 
values (133). The aim is that appropriate measures be put 
in place to bring all air quality zones into compliance. 

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%

Waste

Transport

Residential,
commercial &
institutional

Manufacturing
and extractive
industry

Energy supply

Agriculture

PM2.5
PM2.5
3,87%

15,78%

NOₓ

0,32%

63,78%

63,83%

12,52%

13,68%

0,34%

2,50%

9,22%

7,06%

7,11%

Source: EEA, ‘National air pollutant  emissions data viewer 2005–2022’, 
25 June 
https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/topics/in-depth/air-
pollution/national-air-pollutant-emissions-data-viewer-2005-2022. 

2024, 

Italy  has  not  yet  ratified  the  amended  Gothenburg 
Protocol,  the  Heavy  Metals  Protocol  and  the  Persistent 
Organic  Pollutants  Protocol  under  the  United  Nations 
Economic  Commission 
(UNECE)  Air 
for 
Convention.  However, 
Italy  ratified  the  Stockholm 
Convention  on  persistent  organic  pollutants  in  2022, 
which 
is  a  separate  convention  to  the  UNECE  Air 
Convention (134). 

Europe 

In the 2022 EIR, Italy received three priority actions. The 
first priority action was to further reduce emissions in the 
context of the NAPCP. Italy has made substantial progress 
on this, as the latest reported data show that the 2020–

(125)  Piersanti,  A.,  D’Elia,  I.,  Gualtieri,  M.,  Briganti  G.,  Cappelletti  A., 
Zanini  G.  and  Ciancarella  L..  ‘The  Italian  national  air  pollution 
impact  and  cost 
control  programme:  Air  quality,  health 
assessment’,  Atmosphere,  Vol 12,  No 2, 
2021,  p. 196, 
https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos12020196.  

(129) 

(OJ 

L 152, 

(126)  Directive  2008/50/EU  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council of 21 May 2008 on ambient air quality and cleaner air for 
Europe 
https://eur-
lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32008L0050. 
In the regions of Piedmont (IT0118), Lombardy (IT0306, IT0308), 
Liguria (IT0711), Emilia-Romagna (IT0890), Tuscany (IT0906), Lazio 
(IT1219), Campania (IT1507) and Sicily (IT1911, IT1912).  
In  the  regions  of  Piedmont  (IT0118,  IT0119),  Lombardy  (IT0306, 
IT0520, 
IT0308, IT0309, IT0310), Veneto (IT0517, IT0518, IT0519, 

11.6.2008, 

p. 1), 

(127) 

(128) 

IT0521,  IT0522,  IT05123),  Friuli-Venezia  Giulia  (IT0608),  Tuscany 
(IT0909),  Lazio  (IT1217,  IT1218),  Molise  (IT1403)  and  Campania 
(IT1507). 
In the region of Campania (IT1507). The situation has improved for 
PM2.5 and the 2024 report does not show any exceedances.  
Central 

Eionet 
https://cdr.eionet.europa.eu/. 
INFR (2020)2299. 
Judgment of 10 November 2020, European Commission  v Italian 
Republic, C-644/18, EU:C:2020:895. 
Judgment  of  12 May  2022,  European  Commission  v  Italian 
Republic, C-573/19, EU:C:2022:380. 
Law 93/2022 of 12 July 2022. 

Repository 

Data 

(130)  EEA, 

(131) 
(132) 

(133) 

(134) 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Italy 

 
 
 
 
 
 
2029  emission  reduction  commitments  have  been  met 
and  that  the  emission  reduction  commitments  for  2030 
onwards are projected to be reached. The second priority 
action  was  to  ensure  full  compliance  with  EU  air  quality 
standards  and  to  maintain  downward  emission  trends. 
Based on the latest data, Italy has made some progress in 
this regard. Since 2019, downward emission trends have 
been  reported 
for  all  main  pollutants.  However, 
exceedances above limit values and target values remain 
for  NO2,  PM10,  ozone,  nickel  and  benzo(a)pyrene, 
requiring further action. The third priority action received 
by Italy was to ratify the amended Gothenburg Protocol, 
the  Heavy  Metals  Protocol  and  the  Persistent  Organic 
Pollutants Protocol. Italy has made some progress, but still 
has not ratified the protocols mentioned. 

2025 priority actions 

•  As part of the NAPCP, take action to reduce emissions 

• 

of air pollutants. 
Ensure  full  compliance  with  the  current  AAQD 
standards, also in light of future stricter requirements 
under the revised AAQD. 

•  Accelerate  the  ratification  of  relevant  international 

conventions and protocols. 

Industrial emissions 

The  main objectives of EU policy on industrial emissions 
are to: 

(i)  protect  air,  water  and  soil  and  to  prevent  harmful 

effects on human health and the environment; 

(ii)  prevent and manage waste; 
(iii) improve  energy  and  resource  efficiency,  including 

water; 

(iv) contribute to decarbonisation. 

The  cornerstone  of  the  policy  is  the  Industrial  Emissions 
Directive  (IED),  which  was  revised  in  2024 (135).  The 
revision improves the directive’s contribution to the zero 
pollution  objective.  It  has  a  strong  focus  on  innovation, 
depollution, 
and 
decarbonisation, and circularity, making it a key regulatory 
tool  to  accompany  the  green  transformation  of  EU 
industry by 2050. 

between 

builds 

solid 

links 

Italy  26 

The overview of industrial activities regulated by the IED 
below  is  based  on  data  reported  to  the  EU  Registry  in 
2022 (136) . 

In  Italy,  there  were  about  6 700  installations  covered  by 
the  IED  in  2022,  around  one  third  of  them  (33 %)  being 
installations  for  intensive  rearing  of  poultry  or  pigs.  The 
other  main  sectors  are  the  waste  management  sector 
(21 %), the  metals sector (14 %) and the chemical sector 
(6 %). 

Figure 18  shows  the  damage  to  health  and  the 
environment due to the main industrial air pollutants. As 
this  depends  on,  among  other  factors,  the  size  of  the 
industrial  sector  in  each  Member  State,  the  figure  also 
shows  the  ratio  between  the  damage  and  the  industrial 
activity  (expressed  in  gross  value  added  (GVA)),  which 
gives an indication of the emissions  ‘intensity’. Although 
Italy has the fourth highest damage in the EU, it ranks 19th 
intensity,  below  the  EU  average  of 
for  emissions 
EUR 27.5/EUR 1 000  GVA. 
industrial 
contributors  to  emissions  to  air  (137)  are  the  energy  and 
mineral  industries  for  NOX  and  SO2  emissions  and  the 
metals sector and waste management for dust emissions 
and heavy metals. 

The  main 

Figure 18: Industrial air pollution damage and intensity 
per Member State, 2021 

Source: EEA, ‘Industrial pollution intensity indicators – EU large industry 
air  pollution  damage  costs  intensity’,  European  Industrial  Emissions 
Portal, 
https://industry.eea.europa.eu/analyse/industrial-
emissions-indicator. 

2024, 

Overall, the industrial emissions to water in the EU have 
decreased  over  time  for  all  the  main  pollutants.  On 
average  in  the  EU,  they  appear  to  be  decoupled  from 
industrial  activity,  which  has  increased  over  the  same 
period (expressed in GVA), as shown in Figure 19. 

(135)  Directive  2010/75/EU  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council of 24 November 2010 on industrial and livestock rearing 
emissions (integrated pollution prevention and control) (OJ L 334, 
17.12.2010, p. 17), as amended by Directive (EU) 2024/1785 of the 
European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  24 April  2024, 
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A02010L0075-
20240804&qid=1725983863299. 

(136)  EEA, 

European 

Portal, 
Industrial 
https://industry.eea.europa.eu/, 2022 being the baseline year for 
all reports. 

Emissions 

(137) 
European  Environment  Agency,  LRTAP,  Air  pollutant 
emissions data viewer (Gothenburg Protocol, LRTAP Convention) 1990-
2022,  https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/topics/in-depth/air-pollution/air-
pollutant-emissions-data-viewer-1990-2022. 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Italy 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 19: Industrial releases of pollutants to water and 
industrial activity in the EU-27 

Figure 21: Relative releases to water from industry in 
Italy (%), 2022 

Italy  27 

NB: Cd, cadmium; Hg, mercury; Ni, nickel; Pb, lead; total N, total nitrogen; 
total P, total phosphorous. 

Source:  EEA,  ‘Industrial  pollutant  releases to  water  in  Europe’,  30 May 
2024, 
https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/analysis/indicators/industrial-
pollutant-releases-to-water. 

Italy 

Concerning 
in  particular,  Figure 20  shows  the 
industrial emissions of heavy metals to water, taking into 
account the human toxicity of each metal, as well as  the 
emissions intensity, based on its ratio with the industrial 
activity (expressed in GVA). Italy has the highest amount 
of emissions of heavy metals to water (weighted by human 
toxicity  factor)  in  the  EU  and  ranks  third  for  emissions 
intensity  (well  above  the  EU  average 
intensity  of 
0.864 kg/EUR 1 billion  GVA).  As  shown  in  Figure 21,  the 
main industrial contributors to emissions to water in Italy 
are  ‘other  manufacturing’  (mainly  surface  treatment  of 
metals  and  plastics)  for  heavy  metals  and  the  chemical 
industry 
for  nitrogen, 
and  waste  management 
phosphorous and total organic carbon. 

Figure 20: Industrial releases and intensity of heavy 
metals to water per Member State, 2022 

Source: EEA, ‘Industrial pollution intensity indicators – EU large industry 
water  pollution  intensity’,  European  Industrial  Emissions  Portal,  2024, 
https://industry.eea.europa.eu/analyse/industrial-emissions-indicator. 

100%

75%

50%

25%

0%

Heavy Metals
Ecotoxicity

Heavy Metals
Human
Toxicity

Polycyclic
aromatic
hydrocarbons
(PAHs)

Total nitrogen Total organic
carbon (TOC)

Total
phosphorus

Chemicals
Ferrous metal
Fuel processing
Landfill
Non-metallic minerals
Other waste management
Refineries

Electricity and heat production
Food and drink
Incineration with energy recovery
Non-ferrous metal
Other manufacturing
Pulp, paper and wood

Source: EEA, ‘Industrial reporting under the Industrial Emissions Directive 
2010/75/EU  and  European  Pollutant  Release  and  Transfer  Register 
Regulation (EC)  No 166/2006 –  ver. 12.0  Sep.  2024  (tabular  data)’,  EEA 
Geospatial 
2024, 
Catalogue, 
https://doi.org/10.2909/cf5e54c1-be99-4426-bcad-baa26c4f27a0. 

13 September 

Data 

IED  provisions  on  public  information  and  participation 
require Member States to adopt transposition legislation 
enabling members of the public to have access to relevant 
information  and  participate  in  the  approval  process  for 
potentially  polluting  installations.  Thus,  the  public  and 
non-governmental  organisations 
(NGOs),  alongside 
competent authorities, play a role in ensuring compliance 
of  these  permits  with  EU  legislation.  The  IED  contains 
mandatory  requirements  on  environmental  inspections, 
requiring a site visit to take place at least every 1–3 years, 
using  risk-based  criteria.  In  addition,  IED  enforcement 
provisions require Member States to determine effective, 
proportionate,  and  dissuasive  penalties  applicable  to 
infringements  of  IED-based  national  provisions.  In  the 
revised  directive, 
that  worst 
infringements can be sanctioned by fines of at least 3% of 
the annual EU turnover of the legal person. The revised IED 
also introduces a right to compensation for people whose 
health has been harmed by such infringements. 

the  provisions  set 

The development of best available techniques (BATs), BAT 
reference  documents  and  BAT  conclusions  ensures 
effective collaboration between stakeholders and enables 
better implementation of the IED. 

Since  the  2022  EIR,  the  Commission  has  adopted  BAT 
conclusions on (i) ferrous metal processing, (ii) the textiles 
industry,  (iii)  common  waste  gas  management  and 
treatment  systems 
in  the  chemical  sector  and  (iv) 
smitheries and foundries. 

The  Commission  relies  on  the  efforts  of  national 
competent  authorities  to  implement  the  legally  binding 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Italy 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Italy  28 

quantity  of  hazardous  substances  likely  to  be  present. 
UTEs are subject to more stringent requirements. Changes 
in  the  number  of  Seveso  establishments  in  Italy  are 
illustrated in Figure 22. 

Figure 22: Number of Seveso establishments in Italy, 
2018, 2022 and 2024 

NB: LTE, lower-tier establishment. 

2022, 

Sources:  European  Commission:  Directorate-General  for  Environment, 
Assessment and summary of Member States’ implementation reports for 
(implementing  Directive 
Implementing  Decision 
2014/896/EU 
2012/18/EU  on  the  control  of  major  accident  hazards 
involving 
dangerous  substances),  Publications  Office  of  the  European  Union, 
https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-
Luxembourg, 
/publication/94d57d74-735b-11ec-9136-01aa75ed71a1/language-
en/format-PDF/source-search;  eSPIRS  data,  extractions  from  2022  and 
2024;  Analysis  and  summary  of  Member  States'  reports  on 
implementation  of  Directive  2012/18/EU  on  the  control  of  major 
accident hazards involving dangerous substances according to the format 
established  by  Commission  Implementing  Decision  2014/896/EU  - 
Publications  Office  of  the  EU,  https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-
detail/-/publication/9bd73087-e9b8-11ef-b5e9-
01aa75ed71a1/language-en 

According to the Italian authorities, in 2022, all 507 UTEs 
had an  external  emergency plan (EEP), and 127 of these 
EEPs had been tested in the last three years. The summary 
is  shown  in  Figure 23.  The  establishment  of  EEPs  is 
essential to  enable the proper preparation and effective 
implementation  of  the  necessary  actions  to  protect  the 
environment and the population  in the event of a major 
industrial accident. 

BAT  conclusions  and  associated  BAT  emission  levels  in 
environmental permits. This should result in considerable 
and continuous reductions in pollution. 

In  2022,  Italy  received  a  priority  action  to  continue 
addressing emissions to air from the steel plant in Taranto 
owned by Acciaierie d’Italia (formerly known as ILVA). Italy 
provided the Commission with updates and reports on the 
progress towards reducing the environmental and health 
impacts resulting from the activities at the Taranto steel 
plant.  The  Commission  continues  to  follow  the  situation 
and remains in contact with the authorities. 

2025 priority actions 
•  Reduce industrial air pollution and intensity. 
•  Continue addressing pollution from the ex-ILVA steel 
plant in Taranto (138), in order to bring this plant into 
compliance with EU industrial emissions legislation. 

•  Reduce 

industrial  releases  to  water  and  their 

• 

• 

intensity. 
Engage  with  industry  and  environmental  NGOs  to 
ensure proper contribution to and implementation of 
BAT conclusions and ensure timely updates to permits 
following the publication of BAT conclusions. 
Ensure  effective  public  participation  and  access  to 
justice in relation to the IED. 

Major industrial accidents prevention – Seveso 

The  main  objectives  of  EU  policy  on  the  prevention  of 
major industrial accidents are to: 

(i)  control  major-accident  hazards  involving  dangerous 

(ii) 

substances, especially chemicals; 
limit the consequences of such accidents for human 
health and the environment; 

(iii)  continuously improve the prevention of preparedness 

for and response to major accidents. 

The cornerstone of the policy is Directive 2012/18/EU (the 
Seveso III Directive) (139). 

The overview below of industrial plants regulated by the 
Seveso III Directive (‘Seveso establishments’) is based on 
data  reported  on  eSPIRS  (e-Seveso  Plants  Information 
Retrieval  System)  for  2022–2024 (140)  and  the  report  by 
Italy on the implementation of the Seveso III Directive for 
2019–2022 (141). 

In  Italy,  in  2024,  among  the  985  Seveso  establishments, 
478  were  categorised  as  lower-tier  establishments  and 
507  as  upper-tier  establishments  (UTEs),  based  on  the 

(138)   INFR(2013)2177. 
(139)  Directive  2012/18/EU  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council  of  4 July  2012  on  the  control  of  major-accident  hazards 
involving  dangerous  substances,  amending  and  subsequently 
repealing  Council  Directive  96/82/EC  (OJ  L 197,  24.7.2012,  p. 1), 
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2012/18/oj. 

(140)  https://espirs.jrc.ec.europa.eu/en/espirs/content; data extracted 
in  September  2024.  At  the  national  level,  ISPRA  provides  data 
https://indicatoriambientali.isprambiente.it/it/sostanze-o-agenti-
chimici/stabilimenti-con-pericolo-di-incidente-rilevante-
distribuzione-provinciale-e-regionale. 

(141)  As provided for by Article 21(2) of the Seveso III Directive. 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Italy 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 23: Situation regarding EEPs in Italy, 2022 

Figure 24: Share of UTEs for which information on safety 
measures and requisite behaviours was actively made 
available to the public per Member State (%), 2022 

Italy  29 

2022, 

Sources:  European  Commission:  Directorate-General  for  Environment, 
Assessment and summary of Member States’ implementation reports for 
(implementing  Directive 
Implementing  Decision 
2014/896/EU 
involving 
2012/18/EU  on  the  control  of  major  accident  hazards 
dangerous  substances),  Publications  Office  of  the  European  Union, 
Luxembourg, 
https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-
/publication/94d57d74-735b-11ec-9136-01aa75ed71a1/language-
en/format-PDF/source-search;  eSPIRS  data,  extractions  from  2022  and 
reports  on 
2024;  Analysis  and  summary  of  Member  States' 
implementation  of  Directive  2012/18/EU  on  the  control  of  major 
accident hazards involving dangerous substances according to the format 
established  by  Commission  Implementing  Decision  2014/896/EU  - 
Publications  Office  of  the  EU,  https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-
detail/-/publication/9bd73087-e9b8-11ef-b5e9-
01aa75ed71a1/language-en 

The information  for  the public referred to in  Annex V to 
the Seveso III Directive – especially about how the public 
concerned will be warned in the event of a major accident, 
the  appropriate  behaviour  in  the  event  of  a  major 
accident, and the date of the last site visit – is permanently 
available for all UTEs in Italy (142). 

The  shares  of  UTEs  for  which  information  on  safety 
measures  and  requisite  behaviours  was  actively  made 
available to the public in 2022 in the EU-27 are presented 
in Figure 24. This provision on knowledge is an important 
requirement  of  the  Seveso III  Directive,  as  awareness  by 
the  public  of 
the 
consequences of a major industrial accident. 

information  may 

reduce 

this 

(142) 

ISPRA, ‘Inventario degli stabilimenti a rischio di incidenti rilevanti 
pericolose’, 
connessi 

sostanze 

con 

NB: No data available for Greece. 

2022, 

Sources:  European  Commission:  Directorate-General  for  Environment, 
Assessment and summary of Member States’ implementation reports for 
(implementing  Directive 
Implementing  Decision 
2014/896/EU 
2012/18/EU  on  the  control  of  major  accident  hazards 
involving 
dangerous  substances),  Publications  Office  of  the  European  Union, 
Luxembourg, 
https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-
/publication/94d57d74-735b-11ec-9136-01aa75ed71a1/language-
en/format-PDF/source-search;  eSPIRS  data,  extractions  from  2022  and 
2024;  Analysis  and  summary  of  Member  States'  reports  on 
implementation  of  Directive  2012/18/EU  on  the  control  of  major 
accident hazards involving dangerous substances according to the format 
established  by  Commission  Implementing  Decision  2014/896/EU  - 
Publications  Office  of  the  EU,  https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-
detail/-/publication/9bd73087-e9b8-11ef-b5e9-
01aa75ed71a1/language-en 

In  the  2022  EIR,  Italy  received  a  priority  action  to 
strengthen 
to  ensure 
control  and  enforcement 
compliance with Seveso III Directive provisions, especially 
those  on information  for  the public and EEPs. There has 
been some improvement as regards the establishment of 
EEPs, but their testing remains insufficient. 

2025 priority actions 

• 

• 

Strengthen  compliance  with  requirements  on  safety 
measures  to  prevent  major  accidents  and  ensure 
appropriate preparedness and response in relation to 
UTEs,  in  particular  as  regards  reviewing,  testing  and 
updating  EEPs,  at  intervals  of  no  more  than  three 
years. 
Ensure  access  to  transparent  and  clear  information 
towards citizens on risks and behaviour in the event 
of an accident. 

Mercury Regulation 

The  Mercury  Regulation  establishes  measures  and 
conditions concerning the use and storage of and trade in 
mercury,  mercury  compounds  and  mixtures  of  mercury, 

https://www.rischioindustriale.isprambiente.gov.it/seveso-
query-105/Default.php. 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Italy 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
the manufacture and use of and trade in mercury-added 
products and the management of mercury waste, in order 
to ensure a high level of protection of human health and 
the  environment  from  anthropogenic  emissions  and 
releases of mercury and mercury compounds. The revision 
of the Mercury Regulation adopted in 2024 sets out rules 
to address the last intentional uses of mercury in the EU 
by  phasing  out  the  use  of  dental  amalgam  by  1 January 
2025(143)  except  when  deemed  strictly  necessary  by  the 
dental practitioner based on the specific medical needs of 
the patient and prohibiting the manufacture and export of 
additional mercury-containing lamps from 1 January 2026 
or 1 January 2027 (depending on the lamp category). 

amalgam. 

In  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  Article 10(3)  of 
Regulation (EU) 2017/852, an interministerial decree has 
defined a national plan (144) containing the measures to be 
adopted,  at  the  national  level,  to  phase  out  the  use  of 
dental 
out 
training/information activities for operators in the dental 
professional 
sector 
associations,  universities,  etc.),  as  well  as  awareness 
initiatives  for  citizens.  The  plan  also  allows  MASE  to 
collected annual data on the volumes of amalgam waste 
collected and stored. 

(manufacturers, 

distributors, 

same 

plan 

sets 

The 

In 2023, a memorandum of understanding (145) was signed 
between the Italian ministries and trade associations with 
the  aim  of  ensuring  the  phase-out  (in  marketing  and 
clinical  use)  of  dental  amalgam,  with  a  complete 
elimination envisaged by 31 December 2024. This date is 
in  line  with  the  provisions  of  Regulation  2024/1849 
amending Regulation 2017/852. 

In  order  to  guarantee  the 
implementation  of  the 
obligations under the Minamata Convention on Mercury, 
a  project  has  started  at  the  Italian  National  Research 
Council’s  Institute  of  Atmospheric  Pollution  Research  to 
ensure  the  continuation  of  the  monitoring  of  mercury 

Italy  30 

concentrations  in  air  until  30 June  2026.  These  activities 
began  with  the  establishment  of  the  national  mercury 
observatory network at the institute. 

Italy  will  also  need  to  ensure  that  the  manufacture  and 
export of mercury-containing lamps are prohibited by the 
deadlines set out in the Mercury Regulation. 

Noise 

The  Environmental  Noise  Directive (146)  requires  a 
common  approach  to  avoid,  prevent  and  reduce  the 
harmful  effects  of  noise.  The  designated  authorities  are 
responsible  for  making  and  approving  noise  maps  and 
action  plans  for  agglomerations,  major  roads,  major 
railways  and  major  airports.  Member  States  decide  on 
noise limits that are not set at the EU level. Nevertheless, 
the zero pollution action plan sets as a 2030 target a 30 % 
reduction  compared  with  2017  in  the  share  of  people 
chronically disturbed by transport noise. 

Excessive noise from aircraft, railways and roads is one of 
the main causes of environmental health‐related issues in 
the  EU.  It  can  cause  ischaemic  heart  disease,  stroke, 
interrupted sleep, cognitive impairment and stress (147). 

In Italy, environmental noise is estimated to cause around 
8 500 cases of ischaemic heart  disease annually (148) and 
some 1 million people to suffer from disturbed sleep (149). 

Based on the latest set of information analysed, Italy has 
completed noise mapping for airports and major railways, 
whereas  noise  mapping  for  agglomerations  and  major 
roads is partially complete. 

Action  plans  for  noise  management  for  agglomerations, 
roads,  railways  and  airports  must  be  updated  and 
submitted  to  the  Commission  every  five  years.  The 
deadline for reporting noise action plans under the most 

(143)    Regulation (EU) 2024/1849 of the European Parliament and of the 
Council of 13 June 2024 amending Regulation (EU) 2017/852 on 
mercury  as  regards  dental  amalgam  and  other  mercury-added 
products subject to export, import and manufacturing restrictions, 
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32024R1849. 

(144)

(145)

https://www.mase.gov.it/sites/default/files/archivio/allegati
/inquinamento_mercurio/dm_piano_amalgama_gazzetta_ufficial
e_19_2_2021.pdf. 

https://www.mimit.gov.it/images/stories/Dip_Comunicazion

i/Protocollo_dintesa_amalgama_dentale.pdf. 

(146)  Directive  2002/49/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council  of  25 June  2002  relating  to  the  assessment  and 
management  of  environmental  noise –  Declaration  by  the 
Commission  in  the  Conciliation  Committee  on  the  directive 
relating  to  the  assessment  and  management  of  environmental 
noise (OJ L 189, 18.7.2002, p. 12), https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32002L0049. 

(147)  WHO,  Environmental  Noise  Guidelines  for  the  European  Region, 
2018, 
Copenhagen, 
https://www.who.int/europe/publications/i/item/978928905356
3. 

(148)   These figures are an estimation by the EEA based on (i) the data 
reported  by  Member  States  on  noise  exposure  covered  by 
Directive 2002/49/EC for the round of noise mapping of 2022; (ii) 
European  Topic  Centre  on  Air  Pollution,  Transport,  Noise  and 
Industrial  Pollution  (ETC/ATNI),  Noise 
Indicators  under  the 
Environmental Noise Directive 2021: Methodology for estimating 
missing  data,  Eionet  report  ETC/ATNI  No 2021/06, Kjeller,  2021; 
and  (iii)  the  methodology  for  health  impact  calculations  in 
European  Topic  Centre  on  Air  Pollution  and  Climate  Change 
Mitigation  (ETC/ACM),  Implications  of  environmental  noise  on 
in  Europe,  Eionet  report  ETC/ACM 
health  and  wellbeing 
No 2018/10, 
2018, 
https://www.eionet.europa.eu/etcs/etc-atni/products/etc-atni-
reports/eionet_rep_etcacm_2018_10_healthimplicationsnoise. 

Bilthoven, 

(149)   More information on the adverse health effects of noise pollution 

is available at: 
https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/human/noise/noise-2 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Italy 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
Italy  31 

recent  reporting  cycle  was  18 January  2025;  these  plans 
have not been assessed yet. 

2025 priority action 

•  Complete noise mapping. 
•  Complete  and  implement  action  plans  on  noise 

management. 

the  end  of  2027.  Every  six  years,  Member  States  must 
report their river basin management plans (RBMPs) to the 
Commission. They should cover river basin districts in their 
countries,  some  of  which  may  be  shared  with  other 
countries. The Commission has assessed the third cycle of 
RBMPs, which were to be submitted by March 2022, and 
submitted its findings to the European Parliament and to 
the Council on 4 February 2025(153). 

Water quality and management 

EU  legislation  and  policy  requires  that  the  impact  of 
pressures on transitional waters, coastal waters and fresh 
water  (including  surface  waters  and  groundwater)  be 
significantly reduced. Achieving, maintaining or enhancing 
a  good  status  of  waterbodies  as  defined  by  the  Water 
Framework Directive will ensure that EU citizens and the 
environment benefit from good-quality and safe drinking 
and bathing water. It will further ensure that the nutrient 
cycle  (nitrogen  and  phosphorus)  is  managed  in  a  more 
sustainable and resource-efficient way. 

Water Framework Directive 

The Water Framework Directive (150) is the cornerstone of 
EU water policy (151). The Water Framework Directive and 
other  water-related  directives (152)  form  the  basis  of 
sustainable and integrated water management in the EU. 
They  aim  to  achieve  a  high  level  of  protection  of  water 
resources,  prevention  of  further  deterioration  and 
restoration  to  good  status.  These  objectives  are  very 
important 
the  EU’s  competitiveness,  strategic 
autonomy  and  security,  yet  have  become  even  more 
challenging  in  the  face  of  climate  change  affecting  our 
precious water resources. 

for 

The Water Framework Directive establishes a procedural 
framework for reaching good surface water ecological and 
chemical  status  and  good  groundwater  quantitative  and 
chemical status. This implies monitoring and classification 
of all waterbodies, assessment  of pressures and impacts 
and identification of the most cost-effective measures to 
achieve the objectives of the directive. The directive dates 
from 2000 and set an initial deadline of 2015 for achieving 
its objectives, with the option to extend the deadline to 

(150)  https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-

content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32000L0060. 

(151)  https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/water_en. 
(152)  These 

include 

the  Groundwater  Directive  https://eur-
lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A32006L0118, 
the  Environmental  Quality  Standards  Directive  https://eur-
lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2008/105/oj, 
Directive 
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32007L0060,  the  Bathing  Water 
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
Directive 
content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A32006L0007, 
Urban 
Wastewater Treatment Directive https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A31991L0271,  the  new  Drinking 

Floods 

the 

the 

Italy  has  7 773 
surface  waterbodies  and  1 007 
groundwater  bodies,  divided  among  seven  river  basin 
districts  (Eastern  Alps,  Po  River,  Northern  Apennines, 
Central  Apennines,  Southern  Apennines,  Sardinia  and 
Sicily).  Approximately  20 %  of  surface  waterbodies  are 
designated  as  heavily  modified  or  artificial.  Heavily 
modified  and  artificial  waterbodies  must  reach  good 
ecological  potential  rather  than  good  ecological  status, 
which means that all measures must be taken to mitigate 
the  adverse 
sustainable  human 
development  activities  causing  the  waterbody  to  be 
heavily  modified /  artificial,  while  not  significantly 
affecting these activities. 

impact  of 

the 

improvement 

It is evident from the assessment of the third RBMPs that 
there  has  been  only  a  minor 
in  the 
ecological status/potential and chemical status of surface 
waterbodies, as compared with the status reported in the 
second RBMPs (covering 2015–2021). However, there has 
been  good  progress 
in  the  quantitative  status  and 
chemical  status  of  groundwater  bodies  between  the 
second and third RBMPs. 

Figures 25  and  26  show  the  evolution  of  the  ecological 
status/potential  and 
surface 
chemical 
waterbodies, and of the quantitative and chemical status 
of groundwater bodies in 2010, 2015 and 2021. 

status  of 

representing 

status/potential, 

Only 43.6 % of surface waterbodies  have good or better 
ecological 
slight 
improvement  from  the  second  RBMPs.  Monitoring  has 
improved,  as  there  are  fewer  surface  waterbodies  with 
unknown status. Almost 80 % of surface waterbodies are 
expected  to  achieve  good  ecological  status/potential  by 
2027. 

a 

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
Nitrates 
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
MSFD 

the 

the 

Directive 

Water 
content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32020L2184, 
Directive 
content/EN/ALL/?uri=celex%3A31991L0676, 
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/en/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32008L0056 
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32010L0075. 

and 

the 

IED 

(153)  European 

Commission, 

2025  

https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/circabc-ewpp/ui/group/c04f478b-
d4dc-44f9-a211-087c01165b2c/library/faada4be-9fc3-4a48-
b972-f71e356019d5?p=1&n=10&sort=modified_DESC. 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Italy 

 
 
 
 
 
Figure 25:  Ecological 
waterbodies in each RBMP cycle (%) 

status/potential  of 

surface 

Italy  32 

Just  over  79 %  of  groundwater  bodies  have  good 
quantitative  status,  representing  a  significant  increase 
from  the  second  RBMPs  (see  Figure 27).  Monitoring  has 
improved,  with  considerably  fewer  groundwater  bodies 
with  unknown  status.  Over  90 %  of  groundwater  bodies 
are expected to achieve good quantitative status by 2027. 

Figure 27: Quantitative status of groundwater bodies in 
each RBMP cycle (%) 

Nutrient  pollution  from  diffuse  agricultural  and  urban 
wastewater  sources,  as  well  as  hydromorphological 
alterations,  are  the  main  reasons  for  ecological  status 
failure. Water abstraction is also a problem. 

Figure 26: Chemical status of surface waterbodies in 
each RBMP cycle (%) 

Just over 75 % of surface waterbodies have good chemical 
status,  representing  a  slight  improvement  from  the 
second  RBMPs.  Monitoring  has  improved,  as  there  are 
fewer surface waterbodies with unknown status. Just over 
80 % of surface waterbodies are expected to achieve good 
chemical status by 2027. 

Chemical  pollution,  due  to  the  presence  of  ubiquitous 
persistent,  bioaccumulative  toxins  (uPBTs),  as  well  as  to 
industrial  emissions,  remains  a  challenge.  uPBTs  are 
mostly introduced to surface waters through atmospheric 
deposition,  namely  mercury  and  polycyclic  aromatic 
hydrocarbons.  These  substances  are  most  commonly 
released  during  combustion  processes  of  fossil  fuels. 
Further  significant  substances 
leading  to  failure  are 
several metallic compounds, perfluorooctane sulfonic acid 
(from industrial emissions) and the biocide tributyltin. 

(154)  MASE,  https://www.mase.gov.it/comunicati/siccita-pichetto-con-

decreto-gli-strumenti-fronteggiare-emergenza-nazionale 

(155) 
 a measure of how much water is being used compared with the 
total  renewable  freshwater  resources  available  for  a  given  territory  and 
period, shows that, especially in summer months, the country’s total water 
consumption exceeds its renewable freshwater resources 

in 

increasing 

However, due to climate change impacts, drought events 
are 
frequency  and  magnitude,  and 
consequent  issues  of  water  scarcity  and  droughts  are 
worsening  and  are  being  felt  across  the  whole  country. 
Water  abstractions  are  another  challenge,  with  issues 
linked to unreported (or incomplete) uses and quantities. 
A special commissioner has been appointed to deal with 
drought  in  2023(154).  The  Water  Exploitation  Index+(155) 
reached 15.6 in 2022, with a value of 30.9 in summer 2022 
(Q3)  (EU  average  4.6  in  2021)156.  The  Po  Valley    was  
strongly affected in 2022 by prolonged drought. Sicily was 
hit by drought in 2024.  Agriculture is the main consumer 
of water, with a steady uptake of  10 929 million m3, i.e. 
57%  of  total  consumption  in  2022,  posing  a  significant 
strain on the country’s water resources (157). 

70 %  of  groundwater  bodies  have  good  chemical  status, 
which represents some improvement compared with the 
second  RBMP  (see  Figure 28).  Monitoring  has  improved, 
with  considerably 
fewer  groundwater  bodies  with 
unknown  status.  But  only  about  73 %  of  groundwater 
bodies  are  expected  to  achieve  good  chemical  status  by 
2027. 

Failure  of  groundwater  bodies  to  achieve  good  status  is 
caused  by  nitrates  (pointing  to  nutrient  pollution), 
trichloromethane  (industrial  emissions),  chloride  and 
electrical conductivity (indicative of saline intrusion) and 
sulphate. The highest reported pressure on groundwater 
bodies  comes  from  diffuse  agricultural  pollution  and 

EEA, 

Water 

(156) 
https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/analysis/indicators/use-of-freshwater-
resources-in-europe-1 
(157)  MASE, European Semester mission, Rome, 5 February 2025. Only 
around 80% of this volume is measured, the rest is estimated. 

Exploitation 

Index 

+,  

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Italy 

0 20 40 60 80 100 1st2nd3rdS B chemical status for ITGood ailing to achieve goodUnknown 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
urban  run-off,  followed  by  abandoned  industrial  and 
contaminated sites. 

slow pace of reform to regional operators hinders efficient 
management (159). 

Italy  33 

Figure 28: Chemical status of groundwater bodies in 
each RBMP cycle (%) 

Until the end of 2027, Member States can still apply time-
related  exemptions,  subject  to  providing  evidence  of 
compliance  with  the  strict  criteria  set  out  in  the  Water 
Framework  Directive.  After  2027,  the  possibilities  for 
applying exemptions will be much more limited. 

to 

further  reduce  nitrates  pollution 

The 2022 EIR identified the following priority actions: (i) to 
assess  new physical modifications of waterbodies in line 
with Article 4(7) of the Water Framework Directive and to 
consider  alternative  options  and  adequate  mitigation 
measures  in  assessments;  and  (ii)  to  continue  current 
efforts 
from 
agriculture in groundwater, and in this respect to review 
the  designation  of  nitrate-vulnerable  zones  and  include 
groundwater  stations  polluted  or  at  risk  as  well  as 
agricultural areas that drain into eutrophic waters. Some 
progress  has  been  made  following  these  two  priority 
actions. More details on the latter 2022 priority action are 
provided in the subsection on nitrates. 

In the Italian RBMPs, measures are planned to address all 
in  both  surface  waters  and 
significant  pressures 
groundwater,  with  at  least  one  key  type  of  measure 
assigned  to  each  pressure.  Apart  from  measures  to 
address diffuse pollution and point  source pollution, the 
include  measures  to 
programmes  of  measures  also 
address  various  hydromorphological  pressures,  IAS  and 
wastewater  treatment  (both  household  and  industrial) 
and to limit erosion. More specific action is envisaged to 
tackle  pollution  from  agriculture  and  other  sources. 
Crucial to ensure results will be properly implementing the 
planned measures with adequate funding; in this respect 
two regions (158) have yet to provide adequate details on 
their  water  investment  plans  to  satisfy  the  enabling 
condition  for  the  ERDF  2021–2027  programming  period 
allowing expenditure to be reimbursed. Furthermore, the 

(158)  Notably Basilicata and  Molise  (as of 5 Mayl 2025).  
(159)  Commission  Staff  Working  Document –  2024  Country  Report – 
p. 80, 
final 

SWD(2024) 612 

19 June 

2024, 

Italy, 

of 

2025 priority actions 

Without prejudice to the list of recommended actions in 
the Commission report to the European Parliament and to 
the  Council  on  the  assessment  of  the  third  RBMPs,  the 
following priority actions can be highlighted. 

• 

• 

Improve  river  continuity  and  ecological  flows, 
boosting efforts on nature-based solutions to reduce 
hydromorphological pressures. 
Ensure  periodic  reviews  of  permits  for  discharges, 
abstractions  and  other  water  uses, 
including 
hydropower pressures. 

•  Reduce  pollution  from  nutrients,  chemicals,  metals 

and saline discharges. 

•  Better justify exemptions to the achievement of good 

• 

status. 
Improve  the  classification  of  water  bodies  and 
strengthen monitoring systems. 

•  Develop  more  robust  programmes  of  measures, 
tackle  obstacles  identified  in  the  implementation  of 
measures  and  ensure  adequate 
for 
implementation, including through better use of the 
cost recovery and polluter pays principle. 

financing 

Floods Directive 

Every six years, following the same reporting cycle as the 
RBMPs,  all  Member  States  also  report  their  flood  risk 
management  plans  (FRMPs),  based  on  the  flood  hazard 
and risk maps and the preliminary flood risk assessments 
drawn up during the second cycle (2016–2021). 

The  Commission  assessed  the  FRMPs  and  reported  its 
findings to the European Parliament and to the Council on 
4  February  2025,  together  with  the  assessment  of  the 
RBMPs(160). 

The  main  progress  identified  by  the  assessment  of  the 
second  FRMPs  is  that  more  information  on  funding  has 
been provided, with all FRMPs giving detailed information 
on  costs  for  many  of  their  measures.  All  FRMPs  discuss 
cost–benefit  analysis,  but  do  not  clearly  indicate  that  it 
was used to prioritise measures. The FRMP for the Po river 
basin, for example, undertook a pilot test of a cost–benefit 
analysis method. Three of the five FRMPs refer to the role 
of  insurance.  Four  FRMPs  make  explicit  reference  to 
measures to address climate impacts, and three refer to 
adaptation  strategies  and  plans.  All  the  second-cycle 
FRMPs  were  prepared  at  the  river  basin  district  level, 
pointing to greater coordination within Italy, and they all 

https://economy-finance.ec.europa.eu/publications/2024-
european-semester-country-reports_en. 

(160)  See footnote 153.  

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Italy 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Italy  34 

provide detailed information on the consultation process 
and on the active involvement of stakeholders. 

Italy is highly prone to intense flooding with four extreme 
events in the Po Valley and central Italy over the last 18 
months (since the May 2023 flood).   

2025 priority actions 

• 

FRMPs  should  provide  details  on  how  the  FHRMs 
were  used  in  the  choice  of  measures  and  how  to 
consider pluvial flooding;  

•  Better explain the choice and implementation of flood 
prevention  and  protection  measures  (prioritisation, 
monitoring, costs of measures). 

Drinking Water Directive 

The  objectives  of  the  Drinking  Water  Directive  are  to 
protect human health by ensuring the quality intended for 
human  consumption,  and  to  improve  access  to  drinking 
water.  The  recast  Drinking  Water  Directive (161)  is  now 
applicable,  and  Member  States  were  required  to 
transpose its provisions into their national legal systems 
by 12 January 2023. Since the entry into force of the recast 
directive, the Commission has adopted several delegated 
and  implementing  acts  establishing:  (i)  a  watch  list  of 
substances  and  compounds  of  concern  for  drinking 
water (162), (ii) a methodology for measuring microplastics 
in drinking water (163) and (iii) an EU system for testing and 
approving materials that will be allowed to be in contact 
with drinking water (164). Member States will have to take 
these  various  Commission  acts 
into  account  when 
implementing  the  recast  directive.  The  recast  Drinking 
Water Directive also introduces a risk-based approach to 
water safety, which covers the entire supply chain, from 
the  river  basin  to  extraction,  treatment,  storage  and 
distribution. Assessments based on this approach must be 
reviewed  periodically,  in  particular  to  address  threats 
posed by extreme weather phenomena linked to climate 
change,  known  variations  in  human  activities  in  the 
extraction area, or accidents affecting the source. 

The  Commission  has  now  received  data  from  Member 
States on the quality of drinking water (supplied by large 
water  suppliers) 
the 
in  2017–2019. 
compliance for all parameter groups in Italy was at least 
97.71 % in 2017, 97.35 % in 2018 and 98.76 % in 2019. 

In  summary, 

Further  to  an  infringement  procedure  against  Italy  for 
exceeding  arsenic  and  fluoride  levels  in  Lazio,  Italy  was 
found  to  be  in  breach  of  the  directive  by  the  CJEU  on 
7 September 2023 (165). The Commission is in touch with 
the Italian authorities to assess the execution of the CJEU’s 
judgment. 

From  January  2026,  the  European  quality  standards  for 
per-  and  polyfluoroalkyl  substances  (PFAS)  in  drinking 
water  will  apply,  ensuring  harmonised  Member  States’ 
reporting of PFAS monitoring data in the future. PFAS are 
a concern across Italy(166).  

Water  leakage  remains  a  significant  problem.  In  2022, 
around 9.1 billion m3 of withdrawals were made, 81% of 
this volume measured. However, only 8 billion m3 of water 
is fed into the network  each  year, and of these only 4.6 
billion  m3/year  is  distributed  to  authorised  users  (167). 
Water losses are greater in central and southern regions. 
Campania and Apulia import the highest volume of water 
from other regions (168). 

2025 priority action 

•  Take  actions  to  ensure  full  compliance  with  the 

Drinking Water Directive. 

Bathing Water Directive 

The  Bathing  Water  Directive  requires  Member  States  to 
monitor and assess bathing water. It requires that, during 
the  bathing  season,  Member  States  disseminate  to  the 
public information on bathing water quality actively and 
promptly. In particular, notices banning or advising against 
bathing should be rapidly and easily identifiable. 

Figure 29, from the latest EEA bathing water report, shows 
that  in  2023,  of  the  5 533  Italian  bathing  waters,  4 996 
(90.3 %)  were  of  excellent  quality,  318  (5.7 %)  were  of 

(161)  Directive (EU) 2020/2184 of the European Parliament and of the 
Council of 16 December 2020 on the quality of water intended for 
human  consumption  (OJ  L 435,  23.12.2020,  p. 1),  https://eur-
lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2020/2184/oj. 

(165)  European 

Commission 

v 

Italian 

Republic, 

C‑197/22, 

https://curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document.jsf?text=&do
cid=277076&pageIndex=0&doclang=FR&mode=lst&dir=&occ=firs
t&part=1&cid=933656. 

(162)  https://environment.ec.europa.eu/publications/implementing-

(166)   ISPRA, 2018, 

decision-drinking-water-directive-watch-list_en.  

(163)  Commission Delegated Decision (EU) 2024/1441 of 11 March 2024 
supplementing  Directive  (EU)  2020/2184  of  the  European 
Parliament and of the Council by laying down a methodology to 
measure microplastics in water intended for human consumption 
(notified  under  document  C(2024) 1459)  (OJ  L,  2024/1441, 
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
21.5.2024), 
content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32024D1441. 

(164)  https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/water/drinking-

water_en. 

https://www.isprambiente.gov.it/files2023/pubblicazioni/rappor
ti/r_305_19_progettaz_pfas.pdf, p.41; MASE 
https://www.mase.gov.it/pagina/pfas-inquinamento-da-
sostanze-perfluoroalchiliche-nelle-acque;  Greenpeace, 2025 
https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/greenpeace.italy/viz/Acq
uaSenzaVeleni/Target100ngl.  

(167)   MASE, European Semester mission, Rome, 5 February 2025. 
(168)   Confindustria, 2024, Dall’emergenza all’efficienza idrica, pp.19-20, 

https://www.confindustria.it/home/policy/position-
paper/dettaglio/emergenza-efficienza-idrica. 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Italy 

 
 
 
 
 
good  quality  and  105  (1.9 %)  were  of  sufficient  quality, 
while  72  (1.3 %)  were  of  poor  quality  and  42  were  not 
classified  (0.8 %).  More  recent  data  are  available  from 
national sources (169). 

Figure 29: Bathing water quality per Member State, 
Albania and Switzerland (%), 2023 

Source:  EEA,  European  Bathing  Water  Quality 
No 04/2024, 
https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/european-bathing-water-
quality-in-2023/. 

in  2023,  briefing 
2024, 

Copenhagen, 

Nitrates Directive 

The  Nitrates  Directive (170)  aims  to  protect  water  quality 
across  Europe  by  preventing  nitrates  from  agricultural 
sources that can pollute groundwater and surface waters 
and by promoting the use of good farming practices. The 
latest  Commission  report  on  the  implementation  of  the 
Nitrates  Directive (171),  dating  back  to  2021,  warns  that 
nitrates are still causing harmful pollution to water in the 
EU. Excessive nitrates in water are harmful to both human 
health  and  ecosystems,  causing  oxygen  depletion  and 
eutrophication. Cleaning of waters by national authorities 
or  farmers,  where  it  has  been  undertaken,  has  had  a 
positive  impact  on  the  drinking  water  supply  and  on 
biodiversity.  It  has  also  benefited  the  sectors –  such  as 
fisheries and tourism – that depend on biodiversity and on 
a good supply of drinking water. Nevertheless, excessive 
fertilisation remains a problem in many parts of the EU.  

As  mentioned  earlier,  the  analysis  of  Italy’s  RBMPs  has 
identified  nutrients  from  agriculture  as  an  important 
pressure on groundwater / surface waters that is affecting 
these waters’ good status and as one of the main factors 
in not meeting the Water Framework Directive objectives. 

Measures  have  been  taken  to  reduce  nutrient  and 
pesticide pollution from agriculture. In the framework of 

(169) 

ISPRA, ‘Classification of bathing water’, last updated 31 December 
2024, 
https://indicatoriambientali.isprambiente.it/it/acque-
marino-costiere-e-transizione/classificazione-delle-acque-di-
balneazione. 

(170)  https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-

Italy  35 

infringement  remains  open,  as 

the ongoing infringement procedure (172), several regions 
list  of  nitrate-vulnerable  zones. 
have  revised  their 
Nevertheless,  the 
in 
several regions the situation of groundwater polluted by 
the  problem  of 
improved  and 
nitrates  has  not 
eutrophication in surface waters  has  worsened. In 2022, 
Italy  received  a  priority  action  on  tackling  nutrient 
pollution,  especially 
from  agriculture,  through  the 
implementation of the Nitrates Directive. Since the report 
on the implementation of the Nitrates Directive covering 
2020–2023  will  be  available  later  in  2025,  the  2022  EIR 
priority  action  cannot  be  fully  assessed  and  so  the 
message is repeated here. 

2025 priority action 

• 

Tackle  nutrients  pollution,  especially  nitrates  from 
implementation  of  the 
agriculture,  through  the 
Nitrates Directive. 

Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive 

The  Urban  Wastewater  Treatment  Directive  (UWWTD) 
aims to protect human health and the environment from 
the effects  of untreated urban waste water. It therefore 
requires Member States to collect and treat (secondary or 
biological  treatment)  waste  water  in  all  urban  areas  of 
more  than  2 000  people,  and  to  apply  a  more  stringent 
treatment 
than  secondary,  with  nitrogen  and/or 
phosphorus  removal,  to  the  waste  water  generated  in 
urban areas, also known as agglomerations, of more than 
10 000 people, before they are discharged into waters and 
their  catchments,  when  they  are  sensitive  to  nitrogen 
and/or phosphorus (i.e. eutrophic or tending to become 
eutrophic). 

In Italy, the overall compliance rate with the UWWTD was 
only 56 % in 2020. According to the 2020 data assessment 
by the EEA (173), the rates of compliance with the current 
UWWTD  in  Italy  are  92 %  for  Article 3  (requiring  sewer 
systems),  79 % 
(requiring  secondary 
treatment)  and  93 %  for  Article 5  (requiring  nutrient 
removal). See Figure 30. 

for  Article 4 

Four infringement proceedings are currently open against 
Italy  for  non-compliance  with  the  requirements  of  the 
UWWTD (174),  covering  at  present  more  than  850 
population 
agglomerations 
equivalent of urban waste water, mainly in Sicily, Calabria, 
Campania  and  Lombardy.  Most  of  these  agglomerations 
are  affected  by  a  breach  of  Article 4  (obligation  to 

25 945 352 

generating 

(171)  https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/water/nitrates_en. 
(172) 
(173)  https://circabc.europa.eu/ui/group/65764c73-4a57-45dc-8199-

INFR(2018)2249. 

473014cf65bf/library/b179972c-ac03-402c-8820-
b31109b9ad13?p=1&n=10&sort=modified_DESC. 
INFR(2004)2034, 
INFR(2017)2181. 

INFR(2009)2034, 

INFR(2014)2059, 

and 

content/EN/TXT/?qid=1561542776070&uri=CELEX:01991L0676-
20081211. 

(174) 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Italy 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Italy  36 

correctly treat the waste water collected) and a significant 
proportion  are  also  affected  by  an  Article 3  breach 
(obligation to ensure that wastewater collection systems 
are in place). Two of the infringements has led to a CJEU 
sentence and fines (175)(176). So far EUR 210.5 million has 
been  paid,  including  the  lump  sum  payment (177).  It  is 
essential  that  Italy  take  the  necessary  measures  to  fully 
comply with the requirements of the directive. The ERDF, 
the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) and loans from 
the European Investment Bank (EIB), along with national 
funds, provide significant financing for this purpose. Italy 
has  repeatedly  received  a  priority  action  since  the  2017 
EIR  to  complete  the  implementation  of  the  UWWTD. 
Despite  some  progress  made, 
fully 
implemented the UWWTD. 

Italy  has  not 

Figure 30:  Proportion  of  urban  waste  water  that  fully 
complies with the UWWTD (%), 2020 

This  is  all  the  more  important  as  the  UWWTD  has  been 
revised.  The  revised  directive  strengthens  existing 
treatment  standards  and  establishes  an  additional 
treatment  of  micropollutants  in  urban  waste  water (178). 
Other  new  requirements  relate  to  moving  towards  the 
energy neutrality of the sector, establishing an EPR system 
to  ensure  sustainable 
financing  of  micropollutant 
treatment  by  the  most  polluting  industries  and  ensuring 
access  to  sanitation,  especially  for  vulnerable  and 
marginalised  groups.  Considering  its  high  water  stress, 
Italy needs to reuse treated waste water for agricultural 
irrigation whenever possible, taking into account criteria 
referred to in Article 2(2) of Regulation (EU) 2020/741 on 
reuse (179)  and 
minimum 
Article 15(1) of the recast UWWTD. Italy has until 31 July 
2027 to transpose the new directive into its national legal 
system. 

requirements 

for  water 

2025 priority actions 
• 

the  necessary  measures 

Take 
full 
implementation  of  the  current  Urban  Wastewater 
Treatment  Directive,  taking  into  account  the  new 
requirements of the recast directive. 

to  ensure 

Chemicals 

The EU seeks to ensure that chemicals are produced and 
used  in  a  way  that  minimises  any  significant  adverse 
effects on human health and the environment. In October 
2020, the Commission published its chemicals strategy for 
sustainability  towards  a  toxic-free  environment (180), 
which  led  to  some  systemic  changes  in  EU  chemicals 
legislation. The strategy is part of the EU’s zero pollution 
ambition –  a  key  commitment  of  the  European  Green 
Deal. 

The  EU’s  chemicals  legislation (181)  provides  a  baseline 
protection for human health and the environment. It also 

substances  and  mixtures,  amending  and  repealing  Directives 
67/548/EEC  and  1999/45/EC,  and  amending  Regulation  (EC) 
p. 1), 
L 353, 
No 1907/2006 
https://publications.europa.eu/resource/cellar/c6b6a31d-8359-
11ee-99ba-01aa75ed71a1.0004.02/DOC_2. 

31.12.2008, 

(OJ 

(181)  Namely,  Regulation 

(EC)  No 1907/2006  of  the  European 
Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  18 December  2006  concerning 
the  registration,  evaluation,  authorisation  and  restriction  of 
chemicals  (REACH),  establishing  a  European  Chemicals  Agency, 
amending Directive 1999/45/EC and repealing Council Regulation 
(EEC) No 793/93 and Commission Regulation (EC) No 1488/94 as 
well as Council Directive 76/769/EEC and Commission Directives 
91/155/EEC,  93/67/EEC,  93/105/EC  and  2000/21/EC  (OJ  L 396, 
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
30/12/2006, 
content/en/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32006R1907; and Regulation (EC) 
No 1272/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 
16 December  2008  on  classification,  labelling  and  packaging  of 
substances  and  mixtures,  amending  and  repealing  Directives 
67/548/EEC  and  1999/45/EC,  and  amending  Regulation  (EC) 
No 1907/2006 
L 353,  31.12.2008,  p. 1),  https://eur-
(OJ 
lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A02008R1272-20221217. 

p. 1), 

Source:  European  Commission:  Directorate-General  for  Environment, 
Fribourg-Blanc,  B.,  Dhuygelaere,  N.,  Berland,  J.  and  Imbert,  F.,  12th 
technical  assessment  of  UWWTD  implementation  –  Final  version, 
Publications 
2024, 
the 
https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2779/318637. 

European 

Union, 

Office 

of 

(175)  Action brought  on  12 May  2017,  European  Commission  v  Italian 

Republic, C-251/17. 

(176)      Action  brought  on  1  June  2023,  European  Commission  v.  Italian  

Republic, C-515/23. 

(177)  As of 27 January 2025.  
(178)  Directive (EU) 2024/3019 of the European Parliament and of the 
Council  of  27  November  2024  concerning  urban  wastewater 
L,  2024/3019,  12.12.2024),  https://eur-
treatment 
lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=OJ:L_202403019. 
(179)  Regulation (EU) 2020/741 of the European Parliament and of the 
Council of 25 May 2020 on minimum requirements for water reuse 
(OJ 
https://eur-
lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2020/741/oj. 

5.6.2020, 

177, 

32), 

(OJ 

p. 

L 

(180)  Communication 

to 

from 

the  Commission 

the  European 
Parliament,  the  Council,  the  European  Economic  and  Social 
Committee  and  the  Committee  of  the  Regions –  Chemicals 
strategy  for  sustainability:  Towards  a  toxic-free  environment, 
COM(2020) 667 
final  of  14 October  2020,  https://eur-
lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM%3A2020%3A667%3AFIN;  Regulation 
(EC) No 1272/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council 
of 16 December 2008 on classification, labelling and packaging of 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Italy 

 
 
 
 
 
 
ensures  stability  and  predictability 
operating in the internal market. 

for  businesses 

the 

reports (182)  on 

Since 2007, the Commission has gathered information on 
the  enforcement  of  the  REACH  Regulation  and  the 
Classification, Labelling and Packaging (CLP) Regulation. In 
December  2020,  the  Commission  assessed  the  Member 
States’ 
implementation  and 
enforcement of these regulations (183). It is apparent from 
the  Commission’s  report  that  there  are  still  many 
disparities  in  the  implementation  of  the  REACH  and  CLP 
Regulations,  notably  in  the  area  of  law  enforcement. 
Recorded compliance levels in  Member States, generally 
quite stable over time, appear to be getting slightly worse. 
This  may  be  because  (i)  enforcement  authorities  are 
becoming  more  effective  in  detecting  non-compliant 
products/companies;  and 
(ii)  more  non-compliant 
products are being placed on the EU market. 

In August 2021, the Commission published a measurable 
assessment  of the enforcement (184) of the two main EU 
regulations  on  chemicals  using  a  set  of  indicators  on 
different  aspects  of  enforcement.  Since  2021,  the  list  of 
chemicals  subject  to  restrictions  has  been  expanded  as 
new entries have been added to Annex XVII to the REACH 
Regulation (185). 

In  2023,  new  hazard  classes  were  added  to  the  CLP 
Regulation, and the revision of the regulation was tabled 
(published  on  20 November  2024)  (186).  The  new  hazard 
classes  cover  endocrine  disruptors  and  persistence-
related  hazards  while  the  revision  of  the  regulation 
encompasses  new  rules  on  online  sales  to  better  tackle 
non-compliances  observed  over  the  years.  Also  in  2023, 
the  Conference  of  the  Parties  of  the  Stockholm 

(182)  European Commission, Technical assistance to review the existing 
Member  States  reporting  questionnaire  under  Articles 117(1)  of 
REACH and 46(2) of CLP – Final report, Publications Office of the 
European 
2020, 
https://circabc.europa.eu/ui/group/8ee3c69a-bccb-4f22-89ca-
277e35de7c63/library/a4abce8c-8425-455f-b7e6-
0ead917bde6b/details. 
In 
Article 46(2) of the CLP Regulation. 

line  with  Article 117(1)  of  the  REACH  Regulation  and 

Luxembourg, 

Union, 

(183) 

the 

European 

(184)  European  Commission:  Directorate-General  for  Internal  Market, 
Industry,  Entrepreneurship  and  SMEs,  REACH  and  CLP 
Enforcement: EU-level enforcement indicators, Publications Office 
of 
2021, 
Union, 
https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-
/publication/e5c3e461-0f85-11ec-9151-01aa75ed71a1/. 
(185)  These are substances in tattoo inks and permanent make-up, N,N-
dimethylformamide, formaldehyde (and formaldehyde releasers), 
lead in PVC (polyvinyl chloride), siloxanes (D4, D5, D6) and, finally, 
microplastics. 

Luxembourg, 

(186)  Regulation (EU) 2024/2865 of the European Parliament and of the 
Council  of  23  October  2024  amending  Regulation  (EC)  No 
1272/2008 on classification, labelling and packaging of substances 
and mixtures, OJ L, 2024/2865, 20.11.2024, p.1 (Regulation - EU - 
2024/2865 - EN - EUR-Lex) 

(187)  These are methoxychlor, dechlorane plus and UV-328. In the case 
of the pesticide methoxychlor, there are no exemptions from the 

Italy  37 

Convention (COP) decided to include, in its Annex A (which 
lists  banned  substances),  three  new  chemicals (187).  The 
Commission  is  working  on  the  delegated  acts  to  include 
these  substances  in  Annex I  to  the  Persistent  Organic 
Pollutants Regulation by 2025 at the latest. 

Responsibility  for  checking  compliance  with  both  the 
REACH and CLP Regulations in Italy rests with the Ministry 
of Health Directorate General Health Prevention and with 
the regions and autonomous provinces. 

Italy  has  devised  and  fully  implemented  enforcement 
strategies  for  both  the  REACH  and  CLP  Regulations (188) 
and annual reports are issued (189). 

In  Italy,  there  were  200  inspectors  (also  responsible  for 
other regulations) distributed among 21 regions in 2019. 
A coordination agreement on  the REACH Regulation was 
made  between  the  national  and  regional  authorities  on 
12 July  2023  to  renew  participation (190).  In  2015,  an 
agreement of the state–regions conference enabled local 
enforcement  authorities 
their  own 
laboratories for the execution of official analytical checks 
of chemicals. 

to  establish 

The  Member  States’  reporting  exercise  set  out 
in 
Article 117 of the REACH Regulation and Article 46 of the 
CLP Regulation is conducted every five years. The results 
of  the  coming  one  are  expected  in  2025,  hence  the 
absence  of  new  country-specific  data  on  enforcement 
since 2022. 

Italy  participated 

In  2020, 
in  an  EU-coordinated 
enforcement  project  on  products  sold  online,  called  the 
REACH-EN-FORCE 
also 
participated in the project on enforcement of compliance 

(REF)-8  project (191). 

Italy 

ban. However, for the two plastic additives, dechlorane plus and 
lists  some  time-limited  specific 
UV-328,  the  COP  decision 
exemptions. 

(188)  European Commission, Technical assistance to review the existing 
Member  States  reporting  questionnaire  under  Articles 117(1)  of 
REACH and 46(2) of CLP – Final report, Publications Office of the 
pp. 75–76, 
Luxembourg, 
European 
https://circabc.europa.eu/ui/group/8ee3c69a-bccb-4f22-89ca-
277e35de7c63/library/a4abce8c-8425-455f-b7e6-
0ead917bde6b/details. 

Union, 

2020, 

(189)      Ministry  of  Health,  Piano  nazionale  delle  attività  di  controllo  sui 
2025 

prodotti 
https://www.salute.gov.it/portale/documentazione/p6_2_2_1.js
p?id=3506. 

chimici 

(190)  Act 

number 156/CSR 

of 

12 

July 

2023, 

https://www.statoregioni.it/it/conferenza-stato-regioni/sedute-
2023/seduta-del-12-luglio-2023/atti-12-luglio-2023/repertorio-
atto-n-156csr/. 

(191)  European Chemicals Agency, REF-8 project report on enforcement 
of the CLP, REACH and BPR duties related to substances, mixtures 
and 
p. 20, 
https://echa.europa.eu/documents/10162/17088/project_report
_ref-8_en.pdf/ccf2c453-da0e-c185-908e-
3a0343b25802?t=1638885422475. 

Helsinki, 

articles 

online, 

2021, 

sold 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Italy 

 
 
 
 
 
Italy  38 

Figure 32: Number of REF-8 checks performed per 
100 000 inhabitants (EU average = 1.24) 

with  REACH  Regulation  authorisation  obligations  (REF-9) 
led  by  the  Forum  for  Exchange  of  Information  on 
Enforcement. Italy took part in a harmonised enforcement 
pilot project (192). 

A  risk  approach  was  used  for  the  targeting  of  control 
measures in order to maximise the chances of identifying 
non-compliance.  Therefore,  the  non-compliance  rates 
presented below cannot be considered the average non-
compliance rates of products in the EU (see Figures 31 and 
32).  However,  the  proportion  of  non-compliance  cases 
found in the REF-8 project are of concern. 

Figure 31: Compliance of imported products – results of 
the REF-8 project (%) 

Online sales have been proved to correspond consistently 
to  higher  non-compliance  rates  in  checks  performed 
across  the  EU,  especially  when  related  to  imported 
products. 

Italy received a general priority action in 2019 on signing 
and ratifying outstanding international agreements.  Italy 
ratified the  Stockholm  Convention on  Persistent  Organic 
Pollutants  on  29 September  2022,  which  entered  into 
force on 28 December 2022. This constitutes progress in 
the implementation of chemicals legislation. 

In  2022,  Italy  received  another  priority  action  related  to 
upgrading  administrative  capacities  in  implementation 
and  enforcement  to  move  towards  a  policy  of  zero 
tolerance  of  non-compliance.  In  the  absence  of  formal 
reporting since 2022, no progress has been reported. 

2025 priority actions 

• 

•  Upgrade administrative capacities in implementation 
and enforcement  towards a policy of zero tolerance 
of non-compliance. 
Increase involvement in the activities of the Forum for 
Exchange  of  Information  on  Enforcement  of  the 
European  Chemicals  Agency, 
the 
coordinated  enforcement  projects,  called  REF 
projects. 
Increase  customs  controls  and  controls  of  products 
sold online with regard to compliance with chemicals 
legislation. 

including 

in 

• 

(192)  European  Chemicals  Agency,  ‘ orum  enforcement  projects’, 

https://echa.europa.eu/it/about-us/who-we-are/enforcement-
forum/forum-enforcement-projects. 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Italy 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Italy  39 

4. Climate action 

the  EU  has  demonstrated 

The  impacts  of  climate  change  have  continued  to 
increase in recent years, inflicting damage and suffering 
in the EU and around the world. Globally, 2023 was the 
hottest year on record, while Europe has been warming 
twice  as  quickly  as  the  global  average  and  is  now  the 
fastest-warming  continent.  The  frequency  and  severity 
of  extreme  climate  events  are  also  increasing.  Against 
this  backdrop, 
its 
determination  to  implement  the  European  Green  Deal 
and  to  become  climate  neutral  and  resilient  by  2050, 
ensuring sustainable competitiveness and supporting EU 
industry in the net-zero transition. The European Climate 
Law is the EU’s response to the need for action. It sets 
the objective of achieving climate neutrality by 2050 and 
a midterm target of a reduction in GHG emissions of at 
least  55 %  by  2030  and  outlines  the  adaptation  efforts 
necessary  to  adjust  to  climate  change’s  present  and 
future impacts. Almost  all the  ‘Fit for 55’ proposals set 
out in the European Green Deal have been agreed in law, 
and  the  European  Commission  recommended  a  new 
intermediate  climate  target  of  a  90 %  reduction  in 
In  2024,  the  Member  States 
emissions  by  2040. 
submitted updated national energy and climate plans for 
2021–2030,  reflecting  the  increased  ambition  of  the 
revised EU legislation. In 2024, the European Commission 
jointly  with  the  EEA,  the  first-ever 
also  released, 
European climate risk assessment(193). 

Over  the  last  three  decades,  since  1990,  the  EU  has 
achieved  steady  decreases  in  its  emissions,  reaching  a 
running total in 2022 of – 32.5 % (194). However, the EU 
and 
its  Member  States  need  to  step  up  their 
implementation  efforts  and  accelerate  emissions 
reduction to stay on track to reach their targets of a 55 % 
reduction  in  net  greenhouse  gas  (GHG)  emissions  by 
2030 and climate neutrality by 2050. Between 1990 and 
2022,  net  GHG  Italy‘s  emissions  decreased  by  25 %, 
making  it  one  of  the  countries  with  below-average 
decrease (see Figure 33). 

(ii) increasing targets under the effort sharing regulation; 
and (iii) a revised regulation for land use, land use change 
and  forestry (195).  The  package  has  been  almost  fully 
adopted,  and 
the  Member  States  have  been 
implementing the legislation. 

The  key  strategic  document  at  country  level  is  the 
National  Energy  and  Climate  Plan  (NECP) (196).  Italy 
submitted  its  updated  plan  in July  2024  few  days  after 
the  deadline  set  by  the  regulation.  The  European 
Commission assessed the plan and the extent to which 
Italy  has  followed  the  recommendations  for  the  draft 
version. The findings from the assessment are: 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Emissions  under  the  Effort  Sharing  Regulation  will 
decrease  by  41%  in  2030  compared  to  2005,  and 
Italy  will  have  to  use  flexibilities  or  additional 
measures to meet its target of 44%. 
The  latest  projections  show  a  gap  to  the  LULUCF 
target, meaning that current levels of removals have 
been insufficient.  
Italy  is  in  line  with  its  target  for  the  share  of 
renewable energy. 
There are still gaps in energy efficiency targets that 
must be closed. 

To minimise the impacts of climate policies on vulnerable 
people and sectors, Italy is using the Just Transition Fund 
(JTF) and will use the Social Climate Fund (SCF) from 2026 
(for more information, see Chapter 5 Finance). Important 
to note is that the JTF concerns only two Italian regions 
(Province of Taranto in Puglia and Iglesiente-Sulcis area 
in  Sardinia)  whereas  the  SCF  has  national  coverage 
focusing on transport and energy poverty. 

transition. 

the  green 

The  ‘Fit  for  55’  legislative  package  reflects  the  need  to 
speed  up 
(i) 
strengthening  and  expanding  the  EU  emissions  trading 
system (ETS), with the creation of a new, second, ETS for 
transport  and  buildings  together  with  the  dedicated 
Social Climate Fund to help citizens during the transition; 

includes: 

It 

(193)  Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the  European 
Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee 
and the Committee of the Regions, Managing climate risks - protecting 
people 
https://eur-
lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52024DC0091 
(194)  EU net domestic emissions, including the land use, land-use 
change and forestry (LULUCF) sector and excluding 
international aviation. 

COM/2024/91 

prosperity, 

final, 

and 

(195)  A full overview of the Fit for 55 package is available at: 

https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/priorities-
2019-2024/european-green-deal/delivering-european-green-
deal/fit-55-delivering-proposals_en. 

(196)  More information about NECP is on the dedicated website: 

https://energy.ec.europa.eu/topics/energy-strategy/national-
energy-and-climate-plans-necps_en 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Italy 

 
 
 
 
 
Figure 33: Total GHG emissions (excluding 
international aviation) (%), 1990–2022 

The EU emissions trading system 

The EU ETS is the key tool for reducing  GHG emissions 
cost-effectively across all Member States. It is the world’s 
biggest carbon market, covering around 40 % of the EU’s 
total  GHG  emissions 
from  electricity  and  heat 
generation, the manufacturing industry, aviation within 
Europe (197) and, from 2024, maritime transport also. 

The  system  sets  a  limit  or  cap  on  the  total  amount  of 
GHGs  that  can  be  emitted  at  the  EU  level.  Within  this 
(one 
limit,  companies  buy  emissions  allowances 
allowance  gives  the  right  to  emit  1 tonne  of  CO2  eq. 
(carbon  dioxide  equivalent)),  in  auctions  or  through 
trading  allowances  with  others.  The  cap  is  reduced 
annually to ensure that overall emissions in the sectors 
covered decrease over time. 

The  emissions  under  the  ETS  decreased  by  53 %  from 
2005 to 2023. 

52 %  of  GHG  emitted  by  Italian  ETS  installations  came 
from  power  generation,  a  bit  below  the  EU  average 
(57 %). Of the total emissions from all industrial sectors, 
29 % came from refineries, 23 % from cement and lime 
production, 16 % from the metals industry, 5 % from the 
chemical industry, and 28 % from other industries. Since 
2019,  the  power  sector  has  reduced  its  emissions  by 
22 %;  the  industry  sectors  have  seen  a  14 %  decrease. 
The metals industry saw the largest decrease (25 %). 

From 2027, a new emissions trading system, called ETS2, 
for  buildings,  road  transport  and  additional  sectors 
(mainly  industry  not  covered  by  the  current  ETS)  will 
become  fully  operational (198).  Member  States  should 
have  notified  full  transposition  of  the provisions  of the 

Italy  40 

revised  ETS  Directive  related  to  the  new  ETS2  into 
national  law  by  30 June  2024  The  monitoring  and 
reporting  requirements  and  the  obligation  to  hold  a 
permit  to  carry  out  activities  under  ETS2  apply  from 
1 January 2025. 

Effort sharing 

The  effort  sharing  regulation (ESR) (199)  covers  GHG 
emissions  from  domestic  transport  (excluding  CO₂ 
emissions  from  aviation),  buildings,  agriculture,  small 
industry  and  waste.  Emissions  from  these  sectors 
account for around 60 % of the EU’s domestic emissions. 
The  regulation  sets  the  EU-wide  target  to  reduce 
emissions  from  the  effort  sharing  sectors  by  40 %  by 
2030 compared to 2005 levels. This overall target for the 
EU  translates  to  binding  national  emission  reduction 
targets for each Member State. Italy‘s target is –43.7 %. 

In  addition  to  the  2030  targets,  Member  States  have 
(annual  emission 
annual  GHG  emissions 
allocations), reducing every year until 2030. 

limits 

Italy has flexibility to take account of annual fluctuations 
in emissions, by trading emissions and transfers from the 
ETS and LULUCF. 

Based  on  historical  emissions  and  the  most  updated 
projections, Italy will need to implement new measures 
and/or use available flexibilities to achieve its 2030 ESR 
target.  The  projected  gap  is 3.1  percentage  to  its  2030 
target. 

The largest contributor is the domestic transport sector, 
which accounted for 39 % of all effort sharing emissions 
in 2022 (see Figure 34). Sustainable transport has yet to 
take off in Italy. Road transport is the dominant transport 
mode, trains provide only 4 % of freight transport which 
is way below EU average of 16 %. Only 0.4 % of car fleet 
were  battery  electric  vehicles  in  2023  (EU  average  is 
1.2 %) and Italy is massively supporting the deployment 
of  conventional  company  cars  (see  chapter 5  on 
financing);  Italy  has  about  39  000  publicly  accessible 
charging points, or 1 for every 9 e-vehicles (above the EU 
average of 1:10). 

The  buildings  sector  accounted  for  27 %  of  emissions. 
Reduction  of  1.3 %  of  final  energy  consumptions 
between  2020  and  2022  is  in  line  with  a  long-term 
renovation strategy which envisages a 12 % reduction of 
energy consumption by buildings by 2030, compared to 
2020. 

(197)  Flights between the EU Member States including departing 

(199)  Regulation 

(EU) 

2018/842 

https://eur-

flights to Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. 

lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2018/842. 

(198)  Directive (EU) 2023/959 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-

content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv:OJ.L_.2023.130.01.0134.01.ENG 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Italy 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 34: Effort-sharing emissions by sector (%), 2022 

Adaptation to climate change 

Italy  41 

Halting  all  greenhouse  gas  emissions  would  still  not 
prevent  climate  impacts  that  are  already  occurring. 
Therefore,  adaptation  to  climate  change  is  also  a  key 
component of climate policy. 

Italy is in two out of three regions identified as a hotspots 
of  climate  risks  most  affected  by  climate  change – 
southern Europe and low-lying coastal regions (201). 

Italy  is  vulnerable  to  climate  change-related  extreme 
events  such  as  floods  (including  coastal  flooding), 
droughts,  heatwaves  and  wildfires.  It  also  has  a  high 
climate  protection  gap.  Between  1980  and  2023,  Italy 
recorded 21 822 fatalities and almost EUR 134 billion in 
economic losses caused by weather and climate-related 
extreme  events.  However,  only  4%  of  the  economic 
damages over the same period were insured, compared 
to  62%  in  Denmark  (202).  The  annual  costs  of  climate 
change  for  infrastructure  are  estimated  to  be  around 
EUR 2 billion (203). Projections suggest  an impact on  the 
GDP  per capita of 3.7% in 2050 and 8.5% in 2080 (204). 
The  climate  change  impacts  in  Emilia-Romagna  have 
been studied as one of 12 case studies (205) 

Italy  adopted  its  National  Climate  Change  Adaptation 
Strategy (NAS) (206) in 2015 and subsequently, in 2023, 
its National Adaptation Plan (NAP) (207). The NAS has not 
been revised since its adoption.  Italy highlights specific 
including 
challenges 
insufficient  coordination,  disparities 
in  subnational 
adaptation planning, and delays in the planning process, 
despite  good  practices  of  involving  stakeholders  and 
is  crucial  to 
adopting  nature-based  solutions. 
overcome these challenges in climate adaptation action. 

its  adaptation 

strategy, 

in 

It 

At regional level there are several adaptation strategies 
(Emilia  Romagna  Region,  Sardinia  Region,  Veneto 
Region, Piedmont Region, Valle d’Aosta Region, Liguria 
Region)  and  two  regional  adaptation  plans  (Lombardy 
Region and Marche Region). 

(204)    Ronchi,  E.  2019,  ed.,  p.30,  Relazione  sullo  stato  della  green 
https://italyforclimate.org/wp-
economy 
content/uploads/2019/12/Relazione_sullo_stato_della_green_
economy_2019.pdf. 

(205)  European  Commission,  2024,  Transformative  Innovation  for 
better Climate Change Adaptation - Case Study: Emilia-Romagna, 
Italy 
https://place-based-
innovation.ec.europa.eu/publications/transformative-
innovation-better-climate-change-adaptation-case-study-
emilia-romagna-italy_en. 

(206)  MASE  https://www.mase.gov.it/pagina/strategia-nazionale-di-

adattamento-ai-cambiamenti-climatici. 

(207)  The NAP was adopted on 21st December 2023 by a ministerial 
https://www.mase.gov.it/notizie/clima-approvato-il-

decree 
piano-nazionale-di-adattamento-ai-cambiamenti-climatici. 

Land use, land-use change and forestry 

The LULUCF sector plays a significant role in achieving the 
EU’s climate neutrality goal. In the EU, this sector absorbs 
more GHGs than it emits, removing significant volumes 
of carbon from the atmosphere. Thus, it is the only sector 
with negative emissions. 

Italy  is  facing  significant  challenges  in  enhancing  the 
carbon-absorbing  capacity  of  its  land-use  sector,  as 
carbon  removals  are  declining  at  a  worrying  speed  in 
recent years. 

Italy‘s  target  in  2030  is  to  enhance  land  removals  by 
additional  –3.2  Mt  of  CO2  equivalent  compared  to  the 
yearly average of the period 2016–2018 as submitted in 
the  2020  national  GHG 
inventory.  The  projections 
submitted in the NECP show a substantial gap to target 
in  2030 (200);  thus,  Italy  needs  to  apply  additional 
measures to reach its 2030 target. 

(200)  European  Commission,  2024,  Climate  Action  Progress  Report, 
COM/2024/498 
(https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/ALL/?uri=COM:2024:498:FIN).  Updated projections 
taking  into  account  methodological  adjustments  have  been 
submitted by Italy in its most  recent NECP Reporting in March 
2025.  

Risk 

Climate 

Assessment 

(201)  European 

(EUCRA) 
https://climate-adapt.eea.europa.eu/en/eu-adaptation-
policy/key-eu-actions/european-climate-risk-assessment. 
(202)      EEA,  2024,  Economic  losses  from  weather-  and  climate-related 
Europe 

extremes 
https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/analysis/indicators/economic-
losses-from-climate-related. 

2024 

in 

(203)  Ministry  of  Infrastructure  and  Sustainable  Mobility  2022, 
infrastrutture  e  mobilita,  p.17, 

Cambiamenti 
https://www.mit.gov.it/nfsmitgov/files/media/notizia/2022-
02/Rapporto_Carraro_Mims.pdf. 

climatici, 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Italy 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
four 

therefore 

It  provides 

The main objective of the NAP is to provide Italy with a 
framework for the implementation of actions aimed at i) 
reducing  the  risks  associated  to  climate  change;  ii) 
improving the adaptive  capacity of socio-economic and 
iii)  taking  advantage  of  any 
natural  systems  and 
opportunities  that  may  arise  with  the  new  climate 
conditions. 
systemic 
actions (208), aimed at: i) the establishment of a national 
governance  structure  for  adaptation  (Action  1);  ii)  the 
definition of ways to include climate change adaptation 
principles, measures and actions in national, regional and 
local Plans and Programs, enhancing synergies with other 
national Plans (Action 2); iii) the definition of sectoral and 
cross-sectoral  ways  and  means  of  implementing  NAP 
measures at different levels. This action includes defining 
possible  sources  of  funding,  as  well  as  identifying 
potential  barriers  to  adaptation  (Action  3);  iv)  the 
improvement  and  systematization  of  the  knowledge 
framework  on  climate  change  impacts,  vulnerabilities, 
and risks in Italy through the development of a research 
program (Action 4). 

Italy  received  five  priority  actions  regarding  climate 
action in the 2022 EIR related to enhancing sustainable 
transport,  the  update  of  renewable  energy,  improving 
energy efficiency in buildings, decarbonising industry and 
improving railway connections. 

There  is  still  limited  progress  in  decarbonisation  of 
transport  sector,  notably  through  zero-emission  road 
transport  solutions  addressing  at  the  same  time  the 
endemic  air  pollution  and  in  renovation  of  buildings 
stock. 

Italy  42 

Uptake of renewables is on the good track, but Italy still 
falls behind Member States of comparable size in terms 
of total new installed capacity, especially due to the slow 
deployment of wind. 

Reduction of energy consumption in buildings is in line 
with  long-term  renovation  strategy,  but  Italy  needs  to 
keep  up  the  pace  and  increase  share  of  renewables  in 
heating  and  cooling.  MASE  has  established  a  national 
technical  working  group  on  the  transposition  of 
Directives 2024/1275 and 2023/1791. 

Emissions from the industry sector have been decreasing 
since 2012 (with exception of the covid pandemic and its 
rebound  effect)  and  emission  intensity  of  industry  is 
below EU average. Italy remains one of the leading clean 
technology  markets,  hosting  a  substantial  number  of 
solar PV and wind energy manufacturing facilities. 

is  some  progress 

There 
connections in enhancement of the railway network.  

improving 

intermodal 

in 

2025 priority action 

In the next period Italy should: 
• 

implement all polices and measures that are needed 
to  achieve  targets  laid  down  in  the  Effort  Sharing 
Regulation  (ESR)  and  the  Land  Use  and  Land-Use 
Change  and  Forestry  (LULUCF)  Regulation.  More 
detailed  priority  actions  are  set  out 
in  the 
assessment of the final National Energy and Climate 
Plan (NECP)(209).

(208)  Four relevant annexes are part of the NAP: i) a methodological 
document for the definition of regional strategies and plans; ii.) 
a methodological document for the definition of local strategies 
and plans; iii.) a descriptive document on sectoral impacts and 
vulnerabilities and iv.) a database of 361 adaptation actions (76% 
soft  measures,  13%  green  measures  and  11%  grey  measures). 
The database provides a portfolio of possible actions which will 

be  selected  by  the  different  authorities 
implementation according to their territorial needs. 

in  charge  of 

(209)   European  Commission,    National  energy  and  climate  plans, 

https://commission.europa.eu/energy-climate-change-
environment/implementation-eu-countries/energy-and-
climate-governance-and-reporting/national-energy-and-
climate-plans_en. 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Italy 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Part II: Enabling framework – implementation tools 

5. Financing 

Italy  43 

The EU budget supports climate investment in  Italy with 
significant amounts in 2021–2027, with revenues from the 
ETS  also  feeding  into  the  national  budget.  During  2020–
2022, Italy’s revenues from auctioning reached EUR 7 015 
million  in  total,  with  50 %  of  it  spent  on  climate  and 
energy, corresponding to EUR 3 368 million. 

In  addition,  the  annual  investment  needed  to  meet  its 
environmental  objectives 
in  the  areas  of  pollution 
prevention and control, the circular economy and waste, 
water protection and management, and biodiversity and 
ecosystems is estimated to be EUR 39.7 billion per year in 
Italy. 

These  four  environmental  areas  currently  receive  total 
funding of around EUR 31.4 billion per year; thus, there is 
a gap of EUR 8.3 billion per year. 

Of  the  environmental  investment  gap,  EUR 3.28 billion 
concerns  circular  economy,  EUR 2.24 billion  water, 
EUR 1.81 billion  pollution  prevention  and  control  and 
EUR 0.96 billion biodiversity and ecosystems. 

Climate finance landmarks 

EU funding for climate action 

The EU budget supports climate action in the EU-27 with 
EUR 657.8 billion  in  the  2021–2027  budgetary  period 
across  the  various  programmes  and  funds,  representing 
an  overall  34.3 %  contribution  level.  Of  this,  cohesion 
policy provides EUR 120 billion (over half of it through the 
CAP 
RRF 
the 
ERDF), 
EUR 145.9 billion (210). 

EUR 275.7 billion 

and 

In  Italy,  the  EU  cohesion  policy  (considering  the  EU 
contribution amount) provides EUR 11.8 billion for climate 

(210)  European  Commission,  Statement  of  Estimates  of  the  European 
Commission –  For  the  financial  year  2025, Publications  Office  of 
pp. 94–96, 
the 
https://commission.europa.eu/document/download/7a0420e1-
599e-4246-9131-ccb7d505d6d9_en?filename=DB2025-
Statement-of-Estimates_1.pdf. 

European  Union, 

Luxembourg, 

2024, 

(211)  See 

the 

Cohesion 

Open 

Data 

Platform 

(https://cohesiondata.ec.europa.eu/). 

(212)  European Commission datasets and the Recovery and Resilience 
(https://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/recovery-

Scoreboard 
and-resilience-scoreboard/index.html). 

(213)  A 

list  of 

financed  projects 

is  provided  by 

the  EIB 

(https://www.eib.org/en/projects/loans/index.htm). 

(214)  Directive 2023/958 of the European Parliament and of the Council 
of  10  May  2023  amending  Directive  2003/87/EC  as  regards 
aviation’s  contribution  to  the  Union’s  economy-wide  emission 
reduction target and the appropriate implementation of a global 

action in 2021–2027 (with 72 % of this via the ERDF), with 
a  further  EUR 290 million  from  the  European  Maritime, 
Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (211). 

The  RRF  contributes  to  climate  finance  in  Italy  with 
EUR 75.9 billion  up  to  2026,  representing  39 %  of  the 
RRP (212). 

The  EIB  provided  EUR 109.9 billion  financing  across  the 
EU-27  between  2021  and  mid  2024  to  support  energy, 
transport and industry projects that are aligned with the 
EU’s  climate  objectives.  Of  this  amount,  EUR 16.1 billion 
was assigned to Italy in the reference period (213). 

National financing, including EU emissions trading 
system revenues 

to  EUR 1291 million 

Revenues  from  the  auctioning  of  emission  allowances 
under  the  EU  ETS,  which  feed  directly  into  national 
budgets,  amounted 
in  2020, 
EUR 2 521 million in 2021 and EUR 3 203 million in 2022, 
in  Italy,  totalling  EUR 7 015 million  in  the  three-year 
the 
law,  as  amended 
period. 
(EU)  2023/958 (214)  and 
transposition  of  Directive 
Directive  (EU)  2023/959 (215),  requires  that  auction 
revenues  or  the  equivalent  in  financial  value  of  those 
revenues  be  used  for  the  climate  and  energy  purposes 
listed in the same directives (216). 

following 

Italian 

From the remaining part of the EU ETS revenues that feed 
into  the  Innovation  Fund  and  the  Modernisation  Fund, 
further  support  is  available  to  climate  action  at  the  EU 
level. 

the  environment 

It should be noted that investment in climate action also 
the 
supports 
environmental  investments  described  in  the  following 
sections  cannot  be  regarded  as  entirely  additional  to 
climate investment (217). 

therefore, 

and, 

market-based measure (OJ L 130, 16.5.2023, p. 115), https://eur-
lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32023L0958. 

(215)  Directive 2023/959 of the European Parliament and of the Council 
of  10  May  2023  amending  Directive  2003/87/EC  establishing  a 
system for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the 
Union and Decision (EU) 2015/1814 concerning the establishment 
and  operation  of  a  market  stability  reserve  for  the  Union 
greenhouse  gas  emission  trading  system  (OJ  L 130,  16.5.2023, 
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
p. 134), 
content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32023L0959. 

(216)  European  Commission:  Directorate-General  for  Climate  Action, 
Progress Report 2023 – Climate action, Publications Office of the 
European 
2023, 
https://climate.ec.europa.eu/news-your-voice/news/climate-
action-progress-report-2023-2023-10-24_en. 

Luxembourg, 

Union, 

(217)  NB:  Indirect  investments  (from  climate  and  other  policies)  in 

support of the environment are accounted for via the tracking. 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Italy 

 
 
 
 
 
Environmental financing and investments 

Table 1: Key environmental allocations from EU funds to 
Italy (million EUR), 2021–2027 

Italy  44 

This  section  describes  Italy’s  investment  needs,  current 
financing  and  gaps  as 
four 
environmental  objectives  beyond  climate  objectives, 
namely  tackling  pollution,  the  circular  economy  and 
waste,  water  protection  and  management,  and 
biodiversity and ecosystems (218). 

relate 

they 

the 

to 

The environment overall 

Investment needs 

The  overall  environmental 
investment  needs  to  be 
sufficient to enable Italy to meet its objectives in the areas 
of pollution prevention and control, the circular economy 
and  waste,  water  protection  and  management,  and 
biodiversity  and  ecosystems.  The  required  investment  is 
estimated to be EUR 39.7 billion per year (in 2022 prices). 

A  significant  part  of  the  estimated  requirement,  around 
EUR 17.6 billion per year, can be attributed to the need to 
support  the  circular  economy.  For  pollution  prevention 
and control, the annual investment  needs are estimated 
to  be  EUR 9.2 billion;  for  water,  they  are  EUR 8.1 billion 
and  for  biodiversity  and  ecosystems  EUR 4.8 billion  (in 
2022 prices). 

Current investments 

To implement the environmental investments needed, the 
available  financing  is  estimated  to  currently  reach  an 
annual  EUR 31.4 billion  in  Italy  from  EU  and  national 
sources combined (in 2022 prices). 

Total  environmental  funding  from  the  multiannual 
financial  framework  (MFF)  is  estimated  to  reach  around 
EUR 14.5 billion  for  Italy  in  total,  during  2021–2027  (or 
EUR 2.1 billion  per  year).  See  Table 1  for  the  key 
allocations of the EUR 14.5 billion for Italy. 

Italy, 
in  addition  to  receiving  EU  funds  earmarked 
specifically  for  it  in  2021–2027,  can  also  benefit  from 
funding programmes that can be accessed at the EU level 
and which are open to all Member States. These include 
the  LIFE  programme (219) 
(EUR 5.4 billion),  Horizon 
Europe (220)  (EUR 95.5 billion),  the  Connecting  Europe 
Facility (221)  (EUR 33.7 billion)  and  funds  that  can  be 
mobilised through the InvestEU programme (222). 

(218)  Research,  development  and  innovation  is  accounted  for  under 
each environmental objective. The financing needs, baselines and 
gap  estimates  are  based  on  the  Directorate-General  for 
Environment’s 
internal  analysis  (of  2024).  Throughout  this 
chapter,  specific  references are  provided to  the  most  important 
data sources used. 

(219)  https://cinea.ec.europa.eu/programmes/life_en. 
(220)  European  Commission,  Horizon  Europe,  https://research-and-
innovation.ec.europa.eu/funding/funding-opportunities/funding-
programmes-and-open-calls/horizon-europe_en. 

Instrument 

Cohesion policy 
ERDF 
Just Transition Fund 

CAP 
European Agricultural Guarantee Fund 
European  Agricultural  Fund  for  Rural 
Development 

European  Maritime,  Fisheries  and 
Aquaculture Fund 

Other MFF 

RRF (d) (2021–2026) 

Allocations 

7 074.0 (a) 
6 832.3 
241.7 
5 569.2 (b) 
3 591.5 
1 977.7 

172.1  

1 699.2 (c) 

 45 504 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

European  Commission,  2021-2027  cohesion  policy  (planned) 
allocations in EU amount excluding national co-financing, based on 
the  tracking  in  the  Common  Provisions  Regulation  (CPR,  2021) 
Annex I. Please note potential data changes that may have arisen 
between the EIR preparation cut-off date (31 October 2024) and 
its publication date. Note that Italy is not eligible for the Cohesion 
information: 
further 
Fund. 
https://cohesiondata.ec.europa.eu/2021-2027-
Categorisation/2021-2027-Planned-finances-detailed-
categorisation/hgyj-gyin/about_data. 

Source 

and 

Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 of the European Parliament and of the 
Council  of  2 December  2021  establishing  rules  on  support  for 
strategic  plans  to  be  drawn  up  by  Member  States  under  the 
common agricultural policy (CAP strategic plans) and financed by 
the  European  Agricultural  Guarantee  Fund  (EAGF)  and  by  the 
European  Agricultural  Fund  for  Rural  Development  (EAFRD)  and 
repealing Regulations (EU) No 1305/2013 and (EU) No 1307/2013 
(OJ 
https://eur-
p. 1), 
lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2021/2115. 

6.12.2021, 

Annex XI, 

L 435 

Note that 2021-2027 combines factual data for 2021 and 2022 and 
expenditure  under  the  relevant  specific  objectives  (SOs)  of  the 
CAP strategic plans from 2023, using the EU biodiversity tracking 
methodology  (https://commission.europa.eu/system/files/2023-
06/Biodiversity%20tracking%20methodology%20for%20each%20
programme%202023.pdf). Source: European Commission.  

Space  Fund,  Horizon  Europe,  financial 
environment and the Connecting Europe Facility. 

instrument  for  the 

Outside  the  MFF.  Note  that  the  RRF  applies  a  similar 
environmental tracking scheme (set in the RRF Regulation, Annex 
VI)  as  the  EU’s  cohesion  policy.  RRF  dataset  version  used:  July 
2024, prior to 2025 revisions. Data source: European Commission. 

Italy’s RRP supports climate objectives through funding of 
EUR 75.9 billion  (39 %  of  total),  with  an  additional 
EUR 5.4 billion (2.8 % of total) for the environment. 

(221)  The  Connecting  Europe  Facility 

includes 
EUR 11.3 billion  transferred  from  the  Cohesion  Fund,  of  which 
30 % will be made available, on a competitive basis, to all Member 
States  eligible  for  the  Cohesion  Fund.  The  remaining  70 %  will 
respect the national envelopes until 31 December 2023. 

(Transport)  also 

(222)  The  InvestEU  Fund  is  set  to  mobilise  over  EUR 372 billion  of 
investment through an EU budget guarantee of EUR 26.2 billion to 
back  the  investment  of  financial  partners such as  the  EIB  group 
and others. 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Italy 

 
 
 
Italy  has  had  the  largest  number  of  LIFE  projects  of  all 
Member  States,  with  notable  integrated  projects  like 
Prepair for air quality in the Po river basin and Gestire for 
preparing prioritised action frameworks for Natura 2000. 

Outside of EU financing, important to note is that in Italy 
there  is  a  national  complementary  fund  to  the  RRF  of 
EUR 30 billion and  a national cohesion and development 
fund. 

The EIB provided around  EUR 8.5 billion in environment-
related  financial  contribution  to  Italy  from  2021  to  mid 
2024,  most  of  which,  EUR 5.7 billion  (68 %),  was  in  the 
area  of  sustainable  energy,  transport  and  industrial 
projects,  which  provides  significant  co-benefits  to 
reducing  air  pollution,  environmental  noise  and  other 
pollution. 

The  EU’s  total  national  expenditure  on  environmental 
protection  (operating  plus  capital  expenditure)  was 
EUR 298 billion  in  2020  and  EUR 321 billion  in  2021, 
representing around 2.2 % of EU-27 GDP. In Italy, the total 
national  environmental  protection  expenditure  was 
EUR 42.2 billion  in  2020  and  EUR 46.6 billion  in  2021, 
representing 2.5 % and 2.6 % of GDP, respectively. 

Of  the  total  environmental  expenditure,  the  national 
capital  expenditure 
(investment)  on  environmental 
protection  amounted  to  EUR 54.5 billion  in  2020  and 
EUR 59.9 billion in 2021 in the EU-27, representing around 
0.4 % of the EU’s GDP. In Italy, the national environmental 
protection  investment  reached  EUR 6.1 billion  in  2020, 
rising  to  EUR 8.1 billion  in  2021,  representing  around 
0.4 % of GDP. 

Italy  45 

The gap 

To meet its four environmental objectives beyond climate 
change, the additional investment need over the current 
levels (i.e. the gap) reaches an estimated EUR  8.3 billion 
per  year  in  Italy,  representing  around    0.43 %  of  the 
national GDP, being lower than the EU-average (0.77 %); 
see Figure 35. 

Figure 35: Environmental financing, needs and gaps  per 
Member State (% of GDP) 

Source: Analysis of Directorate-General for Environment. 

protection 

investment 

Splitting  by  institutional  sector,  34 %  of  Italy’s  national 
environmental 
(capital 
expenditure) comes from the general government budget, 
with 50 % coming from specialist private-sector producers 
(of environmental protection services, such as waste and 
water  companies)  and  15 %  from  the  general  business 
sector,  whose  environmental  activities  are  usually 
ancillary  to  its  main  activities.  At  the  EU  level,  38 %  of 
from 
environmental  protection 
governments,  40 % 
specialist  private-sector 
producers and 22 % from the general business sector (223). 

investment  comes 

from 

investment 
Italy’s  total  financing  for  environmental 
reaches  an  estimated  EUR 31.4 billion  per  year  (in  2022 
prices),  including  EU  funding  and  national  public  and 
national private expenditure. Of the total, the share of EU 
funding  (including  EIB  funds)  reaches  29 %,  with  around 
71 % national financing. The total public financing (EU plus 
national public) represents 54 % of the total. 

(223)  Eurostat, 

env_ac_epea, 

‘Environmental  protection  expenditure  accounts’, 
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-

Table 2 provides the distributions of Italy’s environmental 
investment  gap 
forms)  by 
environmental objective. 

in  various 

(expressed 

Table 2: Summary of environmental investment gaps in 
Italy per year, 2021–2027 

Environmental 
objective 

Pollution prevention 
and control 

Circular economy and 
waste 

Water management 
and water industries 

Investment gap per year  

% of GDP 

 % of 
total 

Million 
EUR 
(2022 
prices) 

1 810 

 21.8 

0.09 

3 284 

 39.6 

0.17 

 2 241 

 27.0 

0.12 

explained/index.php?title=Environmental_protection_expenditur
e_accounts. 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Italy 

 
 
 
 
 
Italy  46 

Biodiversity and 
ecosystems 

956 

 11.5 

0.05 

Total 

 8 292 

100.0 

 0.43 

Source: Directorate-General for Environment analysis. 

Pollution prevention and control 

Investment needs 

In  pollution  prevention  and  control,  Italy’s  investment 
needs  are  estimated  to  reach  EUR 9.2 billion  per  year 
(including  baseline  investments)  in  2021–2027.  Most  of 
this,  EUR 8.1 billion,  relates  to  air  pollution  control,  to 
comply with the clean air requirements for the five main 
air  pollutants  under  the  NECD  by  2030.  The  estimated 
needs to reduce environmental noise reach EUR 2.9 billion 
per  year,  most  of  which  is  delivered  by  the  (same) 
sustainable  energy  and  transport  investments  that  also 
benefit clean air (224). Industrial site remediation requires 
an  estimated  EUR 350 million  per  year.  Microplastics 
pollution  and  the  chemicals  strategy  require  around 
EUR 200–300 million per year (each) (225). 

Current investments 

investment 

levels  supporting  pollution 
The  current 
prevention and control reach an estimated EUR 7.4 billion 
per  year  in  Italy  in  2021–2027.  Most  of  the  financing 
concerns  clean  air  (EUR 5.8 million  per  year).  Protection 
from environmental noise receives around EUR 2.6 billion 
per  year,  with  a 
for  site 
remediation. 

further  EUR 389 million 

In  Italy,  the  EU  MFF  provides  an  estimated  7.6 %  of  the 
clean  air  financing  (mostly  via  cohesion  policy),  with  a 
further 60.7 % from the RRF, adding up to 68.3 % of the 
total.  EIB  financing  contributes  10.6 %  and  national 
sources reach 21 % (226). 

The gap 

To meet its environmental objectives concerning pollution 
prevention  and  control  (towards  zero  pollution),  Italy 

implementation  of 

needs  to  provide  an  additional  EUR 1.8 billion  per  year 
(0.09 % of GDP), mostly related to clean air and noise. The 
adequate 
the 
investments included for sustainable energy and transport 
would largely deliver this, while in many Member States 
additional measures and investments may be required to 
comply with the ammonia reduction requirements. 

the  NECP  with 

According to the latest (2023) NAPCP review report (227), 
Italy  complied  with  ammonia  reduction  requirements  in 
2020 and 2021 and is not at risk of non-compliance with 
ammonia  with  regard  to  the  NECD’s  2030  emission 
reduction  commitments,  based  on  the  policies  and 
measures  in  its  NAPCP  that  take  into  account  climate, 
energy and CAP plans and financing baselines. 

Circular economy and waste 

Investment needs 

Italy’s  investment  needs  in  circular  economy  and  waste 
(including  baseline 
reach  EUR 17.6 billion  per  year 
investments).  Most  of  this,  around  EUR 14.9 billion  per 
year, relates to circular economy measures in the mobility, 
food  and  built  environment  systems,  with  a  further 
for  waste  management 
EUR 2.7 billion  necessary 
(municipal  and  packaging  waste),  covering  waste 
collection,  biowaste  treatment,  recycling  reprocessors, 
waste-sorting  facilities,  and  digitalisation  of  the  waste 
registry. The amount for waste excludes the investments 
needed for the uptake of circularity and waste prevention 
across the economy (228). 

Current investments 

Circular economy investments across the economy reach 
around EUR 12 billion per year in Italy in 2021-2027, with 
a further EUR 2.3 billion provided for waste management 
that does not constitute circular economy. 

Around 1.1 % of this combined financing for circularity and 
waste comes from the EU MFF, with a further 3.5 % from 
the  RRF,  adding  up  to  4.5 %  of  the  total.  EIB  loans 
identified  in  support  of  circularity  and  waste  represent 

(224)  2021 

assessment 

Phenomena 

project 
(https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-
/publication/f4cd7465-a95d-11eb-9585-01aa75ed71a1)  and  the 
Directive 
Commission’s 
implementation 
report 
(https://environment.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2023-
03/COM_2023_139_1_EN_ACT_part1_v3.pdf). 

Environmental 

Noise 

2023 

(225)  European  Commission,  Third  Clean  Air  Outlook,  Brussels,  2022, 

https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/air/clean-air-
outlook_en. See also the impact assessment for the revision of the 
AAQD  (https://environment.ec.europa.eu/publications/revision-
eu-ambient-air-quality-legislation_en). 

(226)  Through  the  tracking  of  EU  funds,  EIB  projects  and  national 
expenditure  (environmental  protection  expenditure  accounts, 
Eurostat). Note that the bulk of clean air financing is provided as a 
contribution from climate (energy and transport) measures, as per 
the tracking schemes in the Common Provisions Regulation Annex 

I and the RRF Regulation Annex VI. Further information on clean 
air 
tracking: 
https://commission.europa.eu/document/download/0a80484e-
2409-4749-94c6-
3b23bc6bae8f_en?filename=Clean%20air%20methodology_0.pdf 
(227)  European Commission, ‘National air pollution control programmes 
website, 
European 

Commission 

projections’, 

and 
https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/air/reducing-
emissions-air-pollutants/national-air-pollution-control-
programmes-and-projections_en. 

(228)  See Systemiq and Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Achieving ‘Growth 
Within’, 2017; and European Commission: Directorate-General for 
Environment, Study on investment needs in the waste sector and 
on  the  financing  of  municipal  waste  management  in  Member 
States,  Publications  Office  of  the  European  Union,  Luxembourg, 
2019, 
https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-
/publication/4d5f8355-bcad-11e9-9d01-01aa75ed71a1. 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Italy 

 
 
0.5 % of the total. The share of national sources reaches 
95 % of the total financing (229). 

the  other  aspects  of  the  Water  Framework  Directive 
(water management and protection). 

Italy  47 

The gap 

To  meet  its  environmental  objectives  concerning  the 
circular  economy  and  waste,  Italy  needs  to  increase 
investments  by  an  estimated 
circular  economy 
EUR 2.8 billion 
additional 
EUR 440 million  concerning  waste  management  action, 
not  belonging  to  circular  economy.  Combined,  this 
amounts to almost EUR 3.3 billion per year, representing 
0.17 % of Italy’s GDP. 

year,  with 

per 

an 

Of  the  circular  economy  gap,  EUR 745 million  relates  to 
recent  initiatives,  such  as  the  eco-design  for  sustainable 
products,  packaging  and  packaging  waste,  labelling  and 
digital  tools,  CRM  recycling,  and  measures  proposed 
under the amendment of the Waste Framework Directive, 
and EUR 2.1 billion constitutes further investment need to 
unlock Italy’s circular economy potential. 

Of  the  total  financing,  4 %  is  provided  by  the  EU  MFF 
(mostly  through  cohesion  policy),  with  a  further    14.6 % 
from the RRF, reaching  18.6 % combined. EIB financing is 
around 5 % of the total, while the bulk of financing comes 
from national sources ( 76.6 %) (231). 

The gap 

To  meet  the  various  environmental  targets  under  the 
Water  Framework  Directive  and  the  Floods  Directive, 
Italy’s water investment  gap reaches  EUR  2.2 billion per 
year (0.12 % of GDP), with EUR 848 million per year of that 
related to waste water. Drinking water measures require 
EUR 493 million  per  year  and  the  other  aspects  of  the 
Water  Framework  Directive  around  EUR   0.9 billion  per 
year over the existing levels of financing. 

Biodiversity and ecosystems 

Water protection and management 

Investment needs 

Investment needs 

The  annual  water  investment  needs  reach  an  estimated 
EUR 8.1 billion  (in  2022  prices)  in  Italy.  This  comprises 
investment needs both for the water industry and for the 
protection and the management of water. The largest part 
of  the  total  annual  need,  EUR 3.3 billion,  relates  to  the 
management  of  waste  water  (also  including  additional 
costs  associated  with  the  revised  UWWTD).  A  further 
EUR 2.8 billion  is  necessary  for  drinking-water-related 
investments and around EUR 2.1 billion for the protection 
and management of water (230). 

The investment needs for biodiversity and ecosystems are 
estimated to be EUR 4.8 billion per year (in 2022 prices) in 
Italy  in  2021–2027.  This  includes  the  following  financing 
needs: 

• 

• 

• 

prioritised 

regionalised 

Italy’s 
action 
frameworks (232) concerning the Natura 2000 areas: 
EUR 491 million per year, mostly running costs; 
additional BDS costs (233): EUR 3.1 billion per year on 
top of the frameworks;  
sustainable  soil  strategy  management  costs (234): 
EUR 1.2 billion per year. 

Current investments 

Current investments 

Water  investments  in  Italy  are  estimated  to  be  around 
EUR  5.9 billion per year (in 2022 prices) in 2021–2027. Of 
this,  EUR 2.4 billion  supports  wastewater  management, 
EUR 2.3 billion drinking water and around EUR  1.2 billion 

The  current  level  of  biodiversity  financing  in  Italy  is 
estimated to be EUR 3.9 billion per year (in 2022 prices) in 
2021–2027. 87.3 % of this is considered direct financing to 
biodiversity  and  ecosystems,  with  a  100 %  coefficient  in 
the EU tracking schemes. 

(229)  Waste management and circular economy expenditure tracking in 
the  EU  funds,  EIB  projects  and  in  the  national  expenditure 
(Eurostat).  Datasets:  environmental  protection  expenditure 
accounts  (env_epi)  and  circular  economy  private  investments 
(cei_cie012). 

(230)  See  European  Commission,  ‘Estimating  investment  needs  and 
financing capacities for water-related investment in EU Member 
States’, 
2020, 
28 May 
https://commission.europa.eu/news/estimating-investment-
needs-and-financing-capacities-water-related-investment-eu-
member-states-2020-05-28_en;  and  OECD,  Financing  Water 
Supply, Sanitation and flood Protection: Challenges in EU Member 
States  and  policy  options,  OECD  Publishing,  Paris,  2020, 
https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/environment/financing-water-
supply-sanitation-and-flood-protection_6893cdac-en.  

(231)  Water investment levels are estimated through tracking EU funds, 
EIB projects and national expenditure (environmental protection 
expenditure accounts, Eurostat). 

(232)  European Commission, ‘ inancing Natura 2000 – Prioritised action 
website, 

Commission 

frameworks’, 
https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/nature-and-
biodiversity/natura-2000/financing-natura-2000_en. 

European 

(233)  See European Commission: Directorate-General for Environment, 
Biodiversity  Financing  and  Tracking –  Final  report,  Publications 
Office 
2022, 
https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-
/publication/793eb6ec-dbd6-11ec-a534-
01aa75ed71a1/language-en. 

European  Union, 

Luxembourg, 

the 

of 

(234)  See Proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the 
Council  on  soil  monitoring  and  resilience  (Soil  Monitoring  Law) 
COM(2023) 416 
2023, 
https://environment.ec.europa.eu/publications/proposal-
directive-soil-monitoring-and-resilience_en. 

5 July 

final 

of 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Italy 

 
 
In  Italy,  3.8 %  of  the  total  biodiversity  financing  is 
estimated  to  come  from  EU  cohesion  policy,  19 %  from 
CAP,  1.6 %  from  Horizon  Europe  and  around  0.6 %  from 
LIFE.  The  EU  MFF  altogether  accounts  for  25 %  of  the 
financing  and  the  RRF  for  8.2 %,  adding  up  to  a  total  of 
33.2 %  from  the  EU  budget.  The  rest,  66 %,  comes  from 
national sources (235). 

Italy has  programmed 16.1 % of its  total  CAP budget  for 
2021–2027,  5.4 %  of  its  cohesion  policy  EU  contribution 
amount (disregarding ESF+) and 1.4 % of its RRF funds for 
investments  in  biodiversity.  This  is  just  below  the  EU 
average for all three funds; see Figure 36. 

Figure 36: 2021–2027 contributions to biodiversity from 
the main EU instruments per Member State (% of policy 
total) 

Italy  48 

Public financial management 

Green budgeting practices 

Green  budgeting  refers  to  the  use  of  budgetary  tools  to 
achieve climate and environmental goals. Some Member 
States, including Italy, already use green budgeting  tools 
for  identifying  and  tracking  green  expenditures  and/or 
 (236).  Green  budgeting  practices  provide 
revenues 
increased transparency on the environmental implications 
of budgetary policies.  

The  Commission  has  developed  a  non-mandatory  green 
budgeting  reference  framework  that  brings  together 
methodologies  for  assessing  the  impacts  of  budgets  on 
climate and environmental goals (237).  

To help Member States develop national green budgeting 
and  thereby  improve  policy  coherence  and  support  the 
green  transition,  the  Commission  facilitated    a  technical 
support instrument (TSI) project on green budgeting from  
2021 to 2024 (238). Italy participated, taking inspiration on 
possible improvements to its national framework.  

NB: ESF+, European Social Fund Plus. 

The gap 

To  meet  the  environmental  objectives  concerning  the 
protection and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystems 
Italy’s 
and  other  relevant  cross-cutting  measures, 
investment gap is estimated to be around EUR 0.91 billion 
per year, corresponding to 0.05 % of its GDP. 

Since 2000, Italy has published an annex to its budgetary 
plans that details planned expenditure on environmental 
protection and resource management (ecobilancio). Since 
2010,  a  similar  document  (ecorendiconto)  reports  on 
spending on the same budget items. Furthermore, Italy’s 
budgetary  documents  include  an  annex  reporting  on 
recent  trends  and  expected  progress  with  regard  to  12 
indicators  that  track  fairness  and  sustainable  well-
being (239), 
sustainable 
development  goals  (SDGs).  The  national  sustainable 
development  strategy  (NSDS)  also  includes  these  12 
indicators  in  its  core  set  to  ensure  coherence  with  the 
national budget (240).   Furthermore, within a reform of the 
Italian spending review framework under the  RRP, there 
is  a  reclassification  of  the  general  state  budget  with 
reference  to  environmental  expenditure  and  gender 
equality, in line with the SDGs.  

complementary 

the 

to 

(235)  Based  on 

biodiversity 

tracking 

in 

the 

EU 

budget 

(238)  https://reform-support.ec.europa.eu/what-we-do/revenue-

(236) 

(https://circabc.europa.eu/ui/group/3f466d71-92a7-49eb-9c63-
6cb0fadf29dc/library/8e44293a-d97f-496d-8769-50365780acde), 
and national expenditure into biodiversity from the Classification 
of the Functions of Government accounts. 
 European  Commission,  Green  Budgeting  in  the  EU.  Key  Insights 
from the 2023 European Commission Survey of Green Budgeting 
Practices, 
https://economy-
finance.ec.europa.eu/economic-and-fiscal-governance/national-
fiscal-frameworks-eu-member-states/green-budgeting-
eu_en#:~:text=European%20Commission%20Green%20Budgetin
g%20Survey%C2%A0. 

2023, 

(237)  European  Commission, 

‘European  Union  green  budgeting 
https://economy-

2022, 

framework’, 

reference 
finance.ec.europa.eu/economic-and-fiscal-governance/green-
budgeting-eu_en. 

administration-and-public-financial-management/supporting-
implementation-green-budgeting-practices-eu_en. 

final 

26 February 

(239)  Commission Staff Working Document – Country Report Italy 2020, 
SWD(2020) 511 
p. 28, 
of 
https://commission.europa.eu/publications/2020-european-
semester-country-reports_en;  see  also  the  National  Institute  of 
Statistics’ 
indicators 
(https://www.istat.it/statistiche-per-temi/focus/benessere-e-
sostenibilita/la-misurazione-del-benessere-bes/gli-indicatori-del-
bes/). 

well-being 

(ISTAT) 

2020, 

(240)  The  Italian  NSDS  is  the  overarching  strategic  framework  for  the 
implementation  of  the  2030  agenda  and  the  sustainable 
development  goals  at  the  national 
is 
complemented  by  regional  sustainable  development  strategies. 
The  Italian  Alliance  for  Sustainable  Development  (ASviS)  also 
provides analysis of the annual budget, sustainable development 
and the RRP. 

level.  The  NSDS 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Italy 

 
 
 
Italy  49 

pollution) to boost economic growth and resilience, and to 
foster  a  fairer  society  and  a  just  transition  through  the 
right price signals. The Green Deal promotes the ‘polluter-
pays  principle’,  which  makes  polluters  bear  the  costs  to 
prevent, control and remedy pollution. 

According  to  a  2024  study (243),  Italy  applies  emission 
charges (mainly for air quality), product charges (e.g. for 
vehicles, pesticides, batteries, electronic goods) and user 
charges  (e.g.  waste  volume,  road  pricing).  Specific 
examples  of  good  practices  are  congestion  charges 
applied  in  Milan  to  reduce  air  pollution,  and  quantity-
based  pricing  for  municipal  waste  collection  in  northern 
regions  (see  Chapter 1).  There  are  missed  opportunities 
for applying emission charges for water pollution; product 
charges for specific goods like fertilisers, tyres and paints; 
and  user  charges  for  access  to  biodiversity  and  mineral 
extraction. As mentioned in chapter 1, the tax on single-
use  plastics  has  been  deferred  until  June  2026.  The  low 
level  of 
landfill  taxes  combined  with  their  regional 
variability impedes increasing recycling rates and reducing 
landfilling (see Chapter 1). Low water charges are applied, 

At the regional level, several regions and cities apply green 
budgeting practices. This led to a TAIEX-EIR PEER 2 PEER 
workshop on 9 April 2024 on regional EIR green budgeting 
practices  (see  Chapter 6).  Lombardy  is  participating  in  a 
follow-up TSI initiative  together with the German region 
of Baden-Württemberg. 

Beyond green budgeting, to improve policy outcomes, the 
Commission  has  also  drawn  up  climate-proofing  and 
sustainability-proofing  guidance (241),  as  tools  to  assess 
project  eligibility  and  compliance  with  environmental 
legislation and criteria. 

Green taxation and tax reform 

Total environmental taxes amounted to EUR 42.9 billion in 
Italy in 2022, representing  2.2 % of its GDP (EU average: 
2.0 %).  Energy  taxes  formed  the  largest  component  of 
environmental taxes, accounting for 1.6 % of GDP, which 
is the EU average as well. Transport taxes, at 0.6 % of GDP, 
were slightly above the EU average (0.4 %), while taxes on 
pollution  and  resources,  at  0.03 %,  were  under  the  EU 
average  (0.08 %).  In  2022,  environmental  taxes  in  Italy 
accounted  for  5.2 %  of  total  revenues  from  taxes  and 
social  security  contributions  (around  the  EU  average  of 
5.0 %) (242); see Figure 37. 

Figure 37: Environmental taxes per Member State, 2022 

The EU Green Deal emphasises the role of well-designed 
tax  reforms  (e.g.  shifts  from  taxing  labour  to  taxing 

(241)  Commission notice – Technical guidance on the climate proofing 
of infrastructure in the period 2021–2027 (OJ C 373, 16.09.2021, 
https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-
p. 1), 
/publication/23a24b21-16d0-11ec-b4fe-
01aa75ed71a1/language-en. 

(242)  Eurostat, ‘Environmental taxes accounts’, env_eta. 

(243)  European  Commission:  Directorate-General  for  Environment, 
Candidates  for  Taxing  Environmental  Bads  at  National  Level, 
Publications  Office  of  the  European  Union,  Luxembourg,  2024, 
Annex 1, 
https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-
/publication/35c1bbdf-2931-11ef-9290-01aa75ed71a1/language-
en. 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Italy 

 
 
 
 
especially for agricultural users, and encourage profligate 
use. 

Figure 38: Value of green bonds issued per Member State 
(billion EUR), 2021, 2022 and 2023  

Italy  50 

Green bonds and sustainable bonds 

In 2023, the total value of green bonds issued by Member 
States  was  USD 245 billion  (EUR 227 billion),  up  from 
USD 234 billion (EUR 198 billion) in 2021 (244). 

During  2021–2023  combined,  Italy  issued  green  bonds 
worth  USD 72.5 billion  (EUR 61.3 billion).  Of  this,  the 
issuance 
to  USD 30.3 billion 
(EUR 28.1 billion). 

in  2023  amounted 

During  2014–2023,  83 %  of  the  green  bonds  issued  by 
European  countries  (excluding  supranational  entities) 
served objectives in energy, buildings or transport, while 
5 % supported objectives in water, 5.1 % related to land 
use  (with  links  to  nature  and  ecosystems)  and  3.8 % 
applied  to  waste  management.  By  2023,  the  combined 
share of energy, buildings and transport had decreased to 
73 %, the shares of waste management and land use had 
increased (to 5.9 % and 8.4 %, respectively) and the share 
of water had remained around 5 %. 

In  2021–2023,  31.7 %  of  the  European  green  bonds 
(excluding  those  issued  by  supranational  entities)  was 
issued  by  financial  corporates,  29.1 %  by  sovereign 
governments  and  23.1 %  by  non-financial  corporates. 
8.3 % of the issuances was linked to government-backed 
entities, 6.4 % to developments banks and 1.4 % to local 
governments; see Figure 38. 

As mentioned in the 2022 EIR, Italy  issued its first green 
bonds  in  2021,  and  publishes  an  annual  report  for 
investors. A 2023 TSI project on green bonds and the ‘do 
no  significant  harm’  principle  was  supported  by  the 
Ministry of Finance (see Chapter 6). In 2024, green bonds 
were  issued  for  more  than  EUR  10.3  billion.  This  trend 
continued into the early months of 2025, with the issuance 
of a new green bond with a maturity of 20 years and the 
reopening  via  auction  of  an  already  outstanding  bond 
(with a maturity of 2031) for a total of almost EUR 7 billion. 

Data source: Climatebonds.net, with some additional data from national 
sources (e.g. Croatia, Slovenia). 

Environmentally harmful subsidies 

Addressing  and  phasing  out  environmentally  harmful 
subsidies (EHSs), in particular fossil fuel subsidies (FFS), is 
a further step towards achieving the eighth environment 
action  Programme  objectives  and  enabling  conditions 
(245). FFS are costly for public budgets and make it difficult 
to achieve European Green Deal objectives. In many cases, 
these  subsidies  also  counteract  incentives  for  green 
investments. 

The overall downward trend of FFS mentioned in past EIRs 
was disrupted from 2022 due to the European response to 
the 2021 energy crisis and subsequent increase in energy 
prices. 

As  a  direct  consequence,  annual  FFS  in  the  EU  have 
increased to EUR 109 billion in 2023 from EUR 57 billion in 
2020.  From  2021  to  2023,  there  has  been  a  marked 
increase in annual FFS of 72 % in the EU (246). 

For the majority of the Member States (16), the year 2022 
saw  a  peak  in  the  amount  of  overall  FFS.  A  decline  was 
then observed in 2023 (247). In particular, FFS for coal and 
lignite, natural gas and oil increased in 2022 and a strong 
increase was observed for natural gas subsidies. 

(244)  Climate  bonds 

initiative  https://www.climatebonds.net/.  NB. 
Additionally (and not included in this), national sources indicated 
EUR 544.8 million issuance for Croatia, in 2022-2023, and a slightly 
higher  amount  for  Slovenia  (+0.27  billion)  during  2021-2023  in 
total. 

(246)  European  Commission,  2024  Report  on  Energy  Subsidies  in  the 

European Union, COM(2025). 
https://ec.europa.eu/transparency/documents-
register/detail?ref=COM(2025)17&lang=en  

(245)  Article 3(h) and 3(v) of the eighth environment action programme, 

(247)  16 Member States: BE, EE, IE, EL, ES, FR, HR, IT, CY, LT, HU, NL, AT, 

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32022D0591. 

PT, RO and SE. 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Italy 

 
 
 
 
 
Italy  51 

In  Italy,  the  energy  subsidies  were  relatively  stable 
between  2015  and  2021,  with  FFS  ranging  between 
EUR 4.9 billion and EUR 6.5 billion per year. 2022 saw an 
unusual spike in energy subsidies overall, with FFS rising to 
EUR 26.5 billion  (Figure  39).  Overall  subsidies  showed 
recovery in 2023, and FFS dropped back to EUR 6 billion. 

As a share of GDP, FFS in 2022 ranged from 1.8 % in Croatia 
to  less  than  0.1 %  in  Denmark  and  Sweden.  Italy’s  value 
reached 1.3 %, above the EU average (0.8 %) (248). 

the entry into force of primary and secondary legislation 
for  the  implementation  of  the  reform  of  EHS,  with  a 
reduction in their value of at least EUR 2 billion in 2026. In 
addition,  this  legislation  must  define  the  timetable  for  a 
further reduction of EHS at least EUR 3.5 billion by 2030. 

A  2024  study  found  that  company  car  subsidies  in  Italy 
accounted  for  EUR 16 million  per  year,  with  internal 
combustion  engine  cars  subsidised  more  than  electric 
vehicles (250). 

Figure 39:  Energy  subsidies  by  energy  carrier  (billion 
EUR), 2015–2023 

The  2025  annual  budget  law  addresses  two  EHSs:  the 
reduced  VAT  rate  on  waste  disposal  and the  taxation  of 
company car fringe benefits. The total economic value of 
these removed subsidies is estimated at EUR 1.34 billion. 
The  gradual  phase  out  of  the  differential  tax  treatment 
between  diesel  and  gasoline,  is  set  to  be  enacted  by  an 
implementing decree. 

In the 2022 EIR, Italy received a priority action to devise an 
environmental 
to  maximise 
opportunities to close the environmental implementation 
gap,  bringing  together  all  ministries  and  tiers  of  the 
administration. 

financing 

strategy 

In  this  respect,  some  progress  can  be  identified.  Italy 
organised a conference on 14 November 2023 (251) on the 
European  Commission’s  vade  mecum  for  environmental 
financing (252),  and  another  event 
took  place  on 
4 December  2024  at  the  European  Parliament.  Italy  is 
unique in having had two national events(253).However, no 
strategy on environmental financing has been prepared. 

Italy’s  overall  environmental 
investment  gap  has 
decreased since the 2022 EIR and is now around 0.43 % of 
its  GDP  (lower  than  the  EU  average),  with  the  highest 
shares being for circular economy and water. 

2025 priority action 

•  Use more national funding (for instance by increasing 
taxes  in  favour  of  the  environment  and  reducing 
environmentally  harmful  subsidies),  EU  funding  and 
private funding to help close the investment gap. 

subsidies-for-company-cars-cost-eu-taxpayers-eur42-billion-
every-year-new-study. 

(251)  https://environment.ec.europa.eu/events/online-conference-
find-your-eu-funding-programme-environment-italy-financing-
opportunities-2023-11-14_en. 

the  2021–2027  multiannual 

(252)  European Commission: Directorate-General for Environment, Find 
Your EU Funding Programme for the Environment – Supporting the 
environment  under 
financial 
framework  and  NextGenerationEU,  Publications  Office  of  the 
2024, 
European 
Union, 
https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-
/publication/cba047ab-b6a6-11ef-91ed-
01aa75ed71a1https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-
/publication/33b54f0d-0251-11ed-acce-01aa75ed71a1. 

Luxembourg, 

NB: RES, renewable energy source. 
Country-specific  recommendations  were  addressed  to 
Italy in the context of the European semester on removing 
EHSs or environmental taxation in 2022, 2023 and 2024. 

Italy  follows  the  best  practice  of  having  a  catalogue  of 
environmentally friendly and harmful subsidies estimated 
at EUR 24.2 billion in 2022  using a national methodology 
(249).  The  RepowerEU  chapter  of  the  RRP  requires  a 
reduction in EHSs via a report on EHSs  (not restricted to 
energy) by the end of 2024 providing a roadmap to reduce 
EHS by 2030. The reform subsequently  it requires that, by 
the end of 2025, there be a provision in the law indicating 

(248)  European  Commission,  2024  Report  on  Energy  Subsidies  in  the 

European Union, COM(2025). 
https://ec.europa.eu/transparency/documents-
register/detail?ref=COM(2025)17&lang=en  

(249)    MASE, Relazione alle Camere e al CITE - Esiti dell'aggiornamento 
del  Catalogo  e  le  proposte  per  la  progressiva  eliminazione  dei 
sussidi  ambientalmente  dannosi  e  per  la  promozione  dei  sussidi 
2024  
ambientalmente 
https://www.mase.gov.it/sites/default/files/archivio/allegati/svil
uppo_sostenibile/CSA6_Relazione.pdf), p.22. 

favorevoli, 

(250)  Environmental Resources Management, Company Car Fossil Fuel 
Subsidies  in  Europe –  Final  report,  European  Federation  for 
Transport 
2024, 
Environment, 
https://www.transportenvironment.org/articles/fossil-fuel-

Brussels, 

and 

(253)   Also Veneto  organised a regional event 19 June 2025. 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Italy 

 
 
 
 
 
Italy  52 

6. Environmental governance

Information, public participation and access to 
justice 

Citizens  can  more  effectively  protect  the  environment  if 
they rely on the three ‘pillars’ of the Aarhus Convention: 
(i)  access  to  information,  (ii)  public  participation  in 
decision-making and (iii) access to justice in environmental 
matters.  It  is  of  crucial  importance  to  public  authorities, 
the public and businesses that environmental information 
is 
shared  efficiently  and  effectively (254).  Public 
participation  allows  authorities  to  make  decisions  that 
take public concerns into account. Access to justice is a set 
of  guarantees  that  allows  citizens  and  NGOs  to  use 
national courts to protect the environment, safeguard the 
citizens  and  ensure  accountability  of 
rights  of 
authorities (255).  It 
legal 
includes  the  right  to  bring 
challenges (‘legal standing’) (256). 

Environmental information 

This  section  focuses  on  the  implementation  of  the 
Infrastructure  for  Spatial  Information  in  the  European 
Community (Inspire) Directive. The Inspire Directive aims 
to set up a European spatial-data infrastructure for sharing 
information  between  public 
environmental  spatial 
authorities across Europe. It is expected that this will help 
policymaking  across  boundaries  and  facilitate  public 
access  to  this  information.  Geographic  information  is 
needed  for  good  governance  at  all  levels  and  should  be 
readily and transparently available. 

Italy’s performance in implementing the Inspire Directive 
has  been  reviewed  based  of  its  2023  country  fiche (257) 
(see Table 3) and shows some progress. 

(254)  The 

Aarhus 

Convention 

Information  Directive 

https://unece.org/environment-
policy/public-participation/aarhus-convention/text, the Access to 
(Directive  2003/4/EC) 
Environmental 
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32003L0004 and the Inspire Directive 
(Directive 
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX:32007L0002  together  create  a  legal 
foundation for the sharing of environmental information between 
public authorities and with the public. 

2007/2/EC) 

(255)  These  guarantees  are  explained  in  the  European  Commission’s 
2017  notice  on  access  to  justice  in  environmental  matters 

Table 3:  Italy  dashboard  on  implementation  of  the 
Inspire Directive, 2016–2023 

2016  2023 

Legend 

■ 
Implementation  of 
is  well 
this  provision 
advanced  or 
(nearly) 
completed.  Outstanding 
issues are minor and can 
easily. 
be 
Percentage > 89 % 

addressed 

■ 
Implementation  of 
this provision has started 
and  made 
some  or 
substantial  progress  but 
is  still  not  close  to  being 
completed. 
Percentage = 31–89 % 

■ 
Implementation  of 
this  provision  is  falling 
behind. 
significantly 
Serious 
are 
necessary  to  close  the 
implementation 
gap. 
Percentage < 31 % 

efforts 

Effective  coordination  and 
data sharing 

Ensure 
effective 
coordination  

sharing 

Data 
without 
obstacle  

Inspire 
indicators 

■  ■ 

■  ■ 

performance 

(i)  Conformity 
of metadata  

■  ■ 

(ii)  Conformity 
of 
spatial 
datasets 

(iii) 
Accessibility  of 
spatial datasets 
through 
view 
and  download 
services 

(iv)  Conformity 
of 
network 
services 

■  ■ 

■  ■ 

■  ■ 

Source:  European  Commission, 
https://knowledge-base.inspire.ec.europa.eu/italy_en. 

‘Italy’, 

Inspire  Knowledge  Base, 

In  2022,  Italy  received  a  priority  action  on  the  need  to 
improve access to spatial data  and services. It has made 
some progress on data identification and documentation. 
In Italy more efforts are needed with regard to the Inspire 
Directive to (i) make the data more widely accessible; (ii) 
improve the conditions for data reuse; and (iii) prioritise 
environmental  datasets  in  implementation,  especially 
identified  as  high-value  spatial  datasets  for 
those 

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX:52017XC0818(02) and a related 2018 
https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-
citizen’s 
/publication/2b362f0a-bfe4-11e8-99ee-01aa75ed71a1/language-
en/format-PDF. 

guide 

(256)  This  EIR  focuses  on  the  means  used  by  Member  States  to 
guarantee  rights  of  access  to  justice  and  legal  standing  and  to 
overcome other major barriers to bringing cases on environmental 
protection. 

(257)  European  Commission, 

‘Italy’, 

Inspire  Knowledge  Base, 

https://knowledge-base.inspire.ec.europa.eu/italy_en. 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Italy 

 
 
 
environmental 

Italy 
implementing 
consistently ensures the publication and dissemination of 
national reports on the state of the environment and key 
environmental issues (259). 

legislation (258). 

Public participation 

Public involvement  at  both  the planning  and the project 
phase  maximises  transparency  and  social  acceptance  of 
programmes  and  projects.  Consultation  with  the  public 
(including  NGOs)  and  environmental,  local  and  regional 
authorities  is  a  key  feature  of  an  effective  impact 
assessment procedure. Such consultation also provides an 
opportunity for public authorities and project promoters 
to  engage  with  the  public  actively  and  meaningfully  by 
making information on the likely significant effects widely 
available. If carried out with due diligence and taking into 
consideration  useful  public  input,  this  process  leads  to 
better-informed decision-making and can promote public 
acceptance.  Making 
increases 
stakeholder  involvement,  thus  lessening  resistance  and 
preventing (or minimising) litigation. On the other hand, it 
is paramount that the procedure is effective. 

information  available 

This  section  examines  how  public 
involvement  and 
transparency are ensured under two instruments, namely 
the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive (260) 
and  the  Strategic  Environmental  Assessment  (SEA) 
Directive (261). 

EU law provides for a flexible framework concerning EIAs. 
The aim of this framework is to ensure the application of 
the  necessary  environmental  safeguards,  while  enabling 
speedy  approval  of  projects.  The  Commission  has 
contributed to simplifying and accelerating permitting for 
renewable energy projects and continues to support the 
Member States in this regard(262). Italy has already taken 

(258)  https://github.com/INSPIRE-MIF/need-driven-data-

prioritisation/blob/main/documents/eReporting_PriorityDataList
_V2.1_final_20201008.xlsx. 

(259)  https://www.isprambiente.gov.it/it/pubblicazioni/rapporti; 

https://indicatoriambientali.isprambiente.it/it. 

(260)  Directive  2011/92/EU  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council of 13 December 2011 on the assessment of the effects of 
certain public and private projects on the environment (OJ L 26, 
28.1.2012, 
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
p. 1), 
content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32011L0092. 

(261)  Directive  2001/42/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council of 27 June 2001 on the assessment of the effects of certain 
plans and programmes on the environment (OJ L 197, 21.7.2001, 
p. 30), 
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX:32001L0042. 

(262)  Commission Staff Working Document  (SWD/2022/0149 final), 18 
May 
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52022SC0149&qid=1653034229
953). 

2022, 

( 

(263)  Decree-Law 76 of 16 July 2020 (Law 120 of 11 September 2020), 
Decree-Law 77 of 31 May 2021 (Law 108 of 29 July 2021), Decree-
Law 199  of  8 November  2021  (Law 262  of  15 December  2021), 
Decree-Law 17 of 1 March 2022 (Law 34 of 27 April 2022), Decree-
Law 13  of  25 February  2023  (Law 41  of  21 April  2023),  Decree-

Italy  53 

steps  aiming  to  accelerate  permit-issuing  procedures 
taking advantage of the broad flexibilities offered by the 
EU legal framework, such as the establishment of a one-
stop-shops  for  renewable  energy  projects.  Italy  has  also 
issued a series of decree-laws to speed up the approval of 
renewable  energy  projects  of  relevance  to  the  EIA 
Directive (263).  

(screening, 

scoping,  EIA 

The average speed in the EU for issuing permits involving 
an  EIA  procedure 
is  20.6 months,  with  a  minimum 
duration  of  11.4 months  and  a  maximum  duration  of 
75.7 months (264).  The  duration  of  each  step  in  an  EIA 
process 
report,  public 
consultation, reasoned conclusion, development consent) 
varies  considerably  across  Member  States  and  projects. 
The data available for Italy do not cover all the steps of the 
EIA  process,  so  overall  conclusions  cannot  be  drawn; 
however,  for  the  scoping  phase,  Italy  was  significantly 
slower  than  the  EU  average.  Effective  use  of  EU 
procedures can positively influence the timely approval of 
activities  underpinning  the  decarbonisation  of  the 
economy on the way to net zero by 2050. 

A new report  is not  yet  available on the  application and 
effectiveness of the SEA Directive in the EU. Nevertheless, 
a  support  study  has been published  with information by 
Member State (265). 

Italy  provides  for  public  participation  in  EIA  and  SEA 
processes  under  several  articles  of  the  Environmental 
Code (266). 

As mentioned in previous EIRs,  MASE maintains a  public 
database (267),  which  includes  detailed  information  on 
projects  requiring  EIAs,  SEAs  and  IED  permits(268).  The 
and 
technical 
database 

background 

contains 

Law 181 of 9 December 2023 (Law 11 of 2 February 2024), Decree-
Law 19  of  2 March  2024  (Law 56  of  29 April  2024),  Decree-
Law 153 of 17 October 2024 (Environment Decree) (Law 191, 13 
December 2024) and Legislative Decree No 190 of 25 November 
2024. 

Impact  Assessment 

(264)  European  Commission:  Directorate-General  for  Environment, 
Collection of information and data on the implementation of the 
revised  Environmental 
(EIA)  Directive 
(2011/92/EU) as amended by 2014/52/EU), ), Publications Office 
of  the  European  Union,  Luxembourg,  2024,  Tables 5  and  6, 
https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-
/publication/8349a857-2936-11ef-9290-01aa75ed71a1/. 
(265)  European  Commission:  Directorate-General  for  Environment, 
Lundberg, P., McNeill, A., McGuinn, J., Cantarelli, A. et al., Study 
supporting  the  preparation  of  the  report  on  the  application  and 
effectiveness  of  the  SEA  Directive  (Directive  2001/42/EC)  –  Final 
study,  Publications  Office  of  the  European  Union,  2025, 
https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2779/1615072 
(266) 
Legislative Decree No. 152/2006, Part II, Titles II and III. 
(267)  https://va.mite.gov.it/en-GB/Comunicazione/Cittadino. 
(268)    appropriate assessments under article 6(3) of the Habitats Directive 
(valutazioni d’incidenza (VINCAs)) outside of  EIA procedures are 
not included in the MASE database. 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Italy 

 
 
documentation,  which  enables  the  public  to  analyse  the 
projects in detail. The database has links to regional sites.  

Italy  has  a  best  practice  for  integrating  the  ‘do  no 
significant  harm’  principle  into  EIA  and  SEA  procedures, 
which  was  showcased  at  the  European  Network  of 
Environmental  Authorities –  Managing  Authorities 
meeting on 23 October 2024 (269). 

In the 2022 EIR, Italy received two priority actions related 
to EIA and SEA: (i) to develop structured and user-friendly 
information  on  SEA  and  EIA  procedures  and  make  it 
available  online,  from  public  authorities  throughout  the 
country,  learning  from  the  best  practices  of  MASE  and 
some regions; and (ii) to  collect and publish data on the 
level of public participation in SEA and EIA procedures and 
encourage public participation through the dissemination 
of  clear  and  useable  information.  On  the  first,  some 
progress has been achieved, but concerns about reduced 
opportunities  for  effective  public  participation  due  to 
simplification  measures  have  been  raised  with  the 
Commission.  On  the  second,  the  Commission  does  not 
possess  any  information,  and  none  is  available  on  the 
MASE website. 

Access to justice 

Access to justice, guaranteed by Article 19(1) of the Treaty 
on  European  Union  and  Article 47  of  the  EU  Charter  of 
Fundamental Rights, is a fundamental right and part of the 
democratic process. It is vital to ensure the full application 
of EU law in all Member States and the legal protection of 
the  rights  of  individuals,  including  in  environmental 
matters.  Access  to  justice  is  essential  to  enable  judicial 
review of the decisions of public authorities and to allow 
the  correction  of  any  wrongdoing  committed  by  these 
authorities. 

This  section  provides  a  snapshot  of  the  state  of  play  of 
access to courts by the public, particularly when it comes 
to challenging plans, or the non-adoption of plans, under 
EU law, in the areas of water, waste, air quality and noise, 
irrespective of the form of the legal act (i.e. regulatory act 
or administrative decision). 

As mentioned in the 2022 EIR, both individuals and legal 
entities,  including  environmental  NGOs,  may  challenge 
environmental administrative decisions in Italy. There are 
no  specific  rules  applicable  to  different  sectors.  Legal 
standing  is  granted  to  any  subject  whose  interest  is 

(269)  Department for Cohesion Policy, Indirizzi per la verifica climatica 
dei  progetti  infrastrutturali  in  Italia  per  il  periodo  2021–2027, 
Rome, 
2023, 
https://politichecoesione.governo.it/media/ch0naoef/indirizzi-
per-la-verifica-climatica_e_allegato.pdf. 

(270)  https://www.snpambiente.it/si-urp/il-diritto-di-accesso-ai-
documenti-informazioni-e-dati/accesso-alle-informazioni-

Italy  54 

affected  by  the  administrative  decision.  This  approach 
may  inadvertently  exclude  individuals  from  the  review 
procedure  when  plans  or  programmes  are  issued  as  a 
measure of general nature rather than as a regulatory act. 

There  is  a  system  of  regular  supervision  of  regulatory 
legally binding acts, but it is barely accessible to members 
of the public and NGOs. They can only flag issues to the 
initiate  an 
bodies  or  officials  who  are  entitled  to 
extraordinary supervision procedure. 

The government maintains generic information on access 
to  environmental  information  and  access  to  justice, 
usually  available  only  in  the  official  language(s)  of  the 
country or region (270). 

In  2022,  Italy  received  priority  actions  on  (i)  improving 
access  to  courts  by  the  public  concerned,  particularly 
when  challenging  plans  or  programmes;  (ii)  better 
informing  the  public  about  their  access  to  justice  rights; 
and (iii) ensuring that no barriers (e.g. costs) to access to 
justice on environmental matters exist. Italy has made no 
progress on this front. 

2025 priority actions 

• 

for 

spatial  datasets 

•  Make  spatial  data  more  widely  accessible  and 
prioritise  environmental  datasets  in  implementing 
the  Inspire  Directive,  especially  those  identified  as 
high-value 
implementing 
environmental legislation. 
Ensure  that  relevant  information  on  EIA  and  SEA 
procedures 
(including  on  public  participation 
opportunities and on publication of final decisions) is 
electronically accessible in a timely manner, through 
at least a central portal or easily accessible points of 
access, at the appropriate administrative level. 
Provide  information  on  the  average  duration  of  all 
steps in the EIA process. 
Improve  access  to  courts  in  national  environmental 
cases by the public concerned and eliminate practical 
barriers, such as length of proceedings and excessive 
costs in some Member States. 

• 

• 

Compliance assurance 

Environmental  compliance  assurance  covers  all  work 
undertaken by public authorities to ensure that industries, 
farmers and others fulfil their obligations to protect water, 
air and nature, to manage waste (271) and to remedy any 

ambientali/come-esercitare-il-diritto-di-accesso-alle-
informazioni-ambientali/. 

(271)  The concept is explained in detail in the European Commission’s 
2018  communication  on  EU  actions  to  improve  environmental 
compliance  and  governance  https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52018DC0010  and  the  related 
https://eur-
Commission 

document 

working 

staff 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Italy 

 
 
 
Italy  55 

proportion  concerned  waste,  water,  air  quality  and  EIA 
issues. 

Figure 40 EU complaints 15 May 2022-31 December 2024

Source: DG Environment complaints data. 

Figure 41: EU complaints per million inhabitants 15 May 
2022-31 December 2024 

environmental  damage.  It  includes  measures  such  as  (i) 
compliance  promotion,  (ii)  compliance  monitoring  (i.e. 
inspections  and  other  checks),  (iii)  enforcement,  that  is, 
steps taken to stop breaches and impose sanctions, and 
(iv) ensuring damage prevention and remediation in line 
with the polluter-pays principle. 

Compliance promotion, monitoring and enforcement 

Non-compliance  with  environmental  obligations  may 
occur for different reasons, including poor understanding 
or  lack  of  acceptance  of  the  rules,  opportunism  or  even 
criminality.  Compliance  promotion  activities  help  duty-
holders to comply by providing information, guidance and 
other  support.  This  is  particularly  important  in  areas 
where new and complex legislation is put in place. 

When  inspections  and  other  control  activities  identify 
problems,  a  range  of  responses  may  be  appropriate, 
including 
the  use  of  administrative  and  criminal 
enforcement tools. 

in 

the  2022  EIR, 

As  mentioned 
the  specialised 
environmental  unit (272)  of  the  Carabinieri  (Comando 
la  Tutela  Forestale,  Ambientale  e 
Carabinieri  per 
in  charge  of 
force 
is  the  police 
Agroalimentare) 
investigating environmental crime. Their action focuses on 
the  following  areas:  soil,  water,  air  and  noise  pollution; 
safeguarding  natural  heritage;  overseeing  the  use  of 
hazardous  substances  and  activities  with  a  high  risk  of 
serious  accidents;  managing 
radioactive 
materials  and  other  radioactive  sources;  protecting 
against 
and 
electromagnetic  fields;  and  responding  to  situations 
involving the uncontrolled spread of genetically modified 
organisms.  Legambiente  produces  an  annual  report  on 
eco-mafia(273). 

electric,  magnetic 

exposure 

strategic 

to 

the 
Previous  EIRs  have  also  extensively  covered 
compliance promotion and monitoring activities of ISPRA 
through the national system of environmental protection 
in conjunction with the regional environmental protection 
agencies. 

Between  15 May  2022  and  31 December  2024,  the 
Commission  received  111  complaints  relating  to  the 
environment in Italy, making it the Member State with the 
second  highest  number  of  complaints  for  this  period, 
although  in  terms  of  complaints  per  million  inhabitants 
the  amount  is  1.88  well  below  the  EU  average  of  3.2 
(Figures  40  and  41).  Almost  half  of  these  concerned 
alleged breaches of the Nature Directives, with a particular 
focus  on  hunting  regulations,  while  another  significant 

Source:  Eurostat,  ‘Population’  tps00001,  accessed  22  January  2025, 
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/tps00001/default/tab
le?lang=en, and DG Environment complaints data. 

The  2022  EIR  recommended  that  Italy  (i)  ensure  the 
availability  of  structured  and  easily  accessible  online 
information  at  the  national  level  for  farmers  regarding 
compliance  with  the  Nitrates  and  Nature  Directives;  (ii) 
improve  overall 
coordination  between  enforcing 
authorities at the national and regional levels and provide 
information  on  public  authorities’  official  websites 
regarding  formal  cooperation  mechanisms;  and  (iii) 
develop structured statistics from national authorities on 
law.  Concerning 
the  enforcement  of  environmental 
compliance  promotion,  monitoring  and  criminal  and 
administrative enforcement, the 2022 priority actions are 

lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52018SC0010. 

(272)  https://www.carabinieri.it/chi-siamo/oggi/organizzazione/tutela-

forestale-ambientale-e-agroalimentare. 

(273) 
osservatori/rapporto-ecomafia/ 

Legambiente, 

https://www.legambiente.it/rapporti-e-

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Italy 

 
 
 
 
 
 
not assessed here due to lack of systematic information. 
Similarly,  the  Commission  is  not  aware  of  whether 
information is easily available online at the national level 
for  farmers  regarding  compliance  with  the  Nitrates  and 
Nature  Directives,  and  hence  the  related  2022  priority 
action is not assessed. 

The new EU Environmental Crime Directive 

(ECD) 

Crime  Directive 

The EU has recently strengthened its legal framework on 
tackling  the  most  serious  breaches  of  environmental 
obligations,  notably  by  the  adoption  of  the  new 
(Directive 
Environmental 
2024/1203/EU)  (274)  and  new  sectoral  legislation  with 
stronger 
compliance  monitoring, 
enforcement  and  penalties.  Issues  important  for  the 
transposition and the implementation of the relevant new 
instruments are highlighted below; a detailed assessment 
of these topics will be included in the next EIR once more 
implementation  measures  are  put  in  place  and  more 
systematic information is available. 

provisions 

on 

The  new  ECD  replaced  the  2008  ECD  and  introduced 
several  new  offence  categories,  such  as  unlawful  ship 
recycling,  unlawful  water  abstraction,  and  serious 
legislation  on  chemicals,  mercury, 
breaches  of  EU 
fluorinated GHG and IAS of EU concern. It also covered the 
establishment  of  qualified  offences,  subject  to  more 
severe penalties where one of the offences defined in the 
directive  leads  to  serious  widespread  and  substantial 
damage  or  destruction  of  the  environment.  Concrete 
provisions on the types and levels of penalties for natural 
and  legal  persons  who  commit  an  offence  were  also 
introduced.  Other  provisions  will  help  considerably  to 
improve  the  effectiveness  in  combating  environmental 
crime  of  all  actors  along  the  enforcement  chain.  These 
include  obligations  to  ensure  adequate  resources  and 
investigative  tools,  specialised  regular  training  and  the 
establishment  of  cooperation  mechanisms  within  and 
between Member States as well as national strategies on 
combating environmental crime. 

Italy  56 

including  by 

in  particular  through  training,  coordination, 
crime, 
cooperation  and  strategic  approaches.  The  Commission 
will  provide  support, 
facilitating  the 
identification  and  sharing  of  good  practices.  Member 
States are expected to ensure the necessary resources and 
specialised  skills  required  and  they  are 
invited  to 
encourage their authorities to support and cooperate with 
the  recognised  EU-level  networks  of  environmental 
enforcement practitioners, such as the EU Network for the 
Implementation  and  Enforcement  of  Environmental 
Law (275),  EnviCrimeNet (276),  the  European  Network  of 
Prosecutors for the Environment (277) and the EU Forum of 
Judges  for  the  Environment (278).  The  European  Union 
Agency for Law Enforcement  Cooperation  and  European 
Union  Agency 
Justice  Cooperation 
mechanisms for cooperation on cross-border cases should 
be used more systematically for environmental offences. 

for  Criminal 

Environmental Liability Directive 

The  Environmental  Liability  Directive  (ELD)  (279)  aims  to 
ensure that environmental damage is remediated in kind 
at the expense of those who have caused it, in line with 
the polluter-pays principle. It helps to halt the net loss in 
biodiversity,  as  well  as  reducing  the  number  of 
contaminated  sites  and  protecting  the  environmental 
quality of groundwater and surface waters. The ELD is a 
cross-cutting 
for  better 
tool  and  a  key  enabler 
implementation of EU environmental law. 

The  ELD  addresses  cases  of  significant  environmental 
damage  to  protected  species  and  natural  habitats,  and, 
when caused by operators carrying out certain potentially 
hazardous  activities,  also  damages  to  water  and  to  soil. 
The  Commission  has  the  legal  obligation  to  periodically 
evaluate  the  ELD.  The  ELD  has  undergone  the  second 
evaluation (280), which will be finalised in 2025, and which 
was  supported  by  an  external  study (281),  containing, 
among  other  things,  evidence,  views,  reports  and  other 
relevant information gathered from different stakeholder 
groups, including Member States. 

Member  States  are  required  to  transpose  the  new  ECD 
into national law by 21 May 2026 and to take additional 
measures  to  more  effectively  combat  environmental 

in  assessing 
One  of  the  most  relevant 
implementation  and  enforcement  of  the  ELD  is  the 
number  of  environmental  damage  cases  handled  under 

indicators 

(274)    Directive  2024/1203/EU  on  the  protection  of  the  environment 
https://eur-

criminal 

law 

through 
lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2024/1203/oj/eng 

(275)  https://www.impel.eu/en. 
(276) 

LIFE+SATEC 
(https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/life/publicWebsite/project/LIFE2
0-PRE-ES-000001/fight-against-environmental-crime-at-a-
strategic-level-through-the-strengthening-of-envicrimenet-
network-of-experts-in-environmental-criminal-investigations). 

project 

(277)  https://www.environmentalprosecutors.eu. 
(278)  https://www.eufje.org/index.php?lang=en. 
(279 ) Directive 2004/35/EC on environmental liability with regard to the 
prevention and remedying of environmental damage, https://eur-

lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A02004L0035-20190626. 

(280)  Commission  staff  working  document  -  Evaluation  of  the 

Environmental Liability Directive, forthcoming 2025.  

(281)  European Commission: Directorate-General for Environment and 
Fogleman,  V.,  Study 
in  support  of  the  evaluation  of  the 
Environmental  Liability  Directive  and  its  implementation –  Final 
report,  Publications  Office  of  the  European  Union,  Luxembourg, 
2024, 
https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-
/publication/006d90e5-980a-11ef-a130-
01aa75ed71a1/language-en. 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Italy 

 
 
Italy  57 

the  ELD,  especially  when  this  number  is  compared  with 
the  previous  reporting  period.  Fewer  ELD  cases  were 
reported in the second reporting period (2013–2022) than 
in  the  first  one  (2007–2013).  However,  the  downward 
tendency  in  the  number  of  ELD  occurrences  and  their 
overall low number do not necessarily mean that the ELD 
has  achieved  its  objectives,  as  it  needs  to  be  compared 
with the overall number of environmental damage cases, 
some  of  which  may  have  been  handled under  the  other 
liability instruments. 

The ELD has not always been effective in ensuring that the 
polluter  pays,  because  the  liable  operators  often  lack 
financial  capacity  to  carry  out  remediation  measures. 
While the ELD does not provide for a mandatory financial 
security  system,  it  explicitly  calls  for  Member  States  to 
encourage 
financial  security 
instruments  and  markets,  with  the  aim  of  enabling 
operators  to  use  financial  guarantees  to  cover  their 
responsibilities under this directive. 

the  development  of 

comparison, 

From 26 June 2019  to 31 December  2021, Italy reported 
seven  occurrences  of  environmental  damage  under  the 
ELD  (two  occurrences  of  land  damage;  one  of  water 
damage;  two  of  biodiversity  damage;  one  of  water  and 
biodiversity damage; and one of land and water damage). 
In 
there  were  17  occurrences  of 
environmental damage and 133 cases of imminent threat 
reported in the previous period, which placed Italy among 
the  Member  States  with  the  highest  overall  number  of 
reported ELD occurrences. Italy is also one of the Member 
States  with  the  largest  decreases  between  the  two 
reporting periods. This may be at least partially attributed 
to the different way the occurrences have been reported. 
However, based on the information provided by the Italian 
co-reinsurance  pool(282),  870  environmental  damage 
occurrences  from  5 January  2006  to  22 December  2018 
were  handled  by  the  pool(283).  The  pool  developed  a 
Protected  Environment  Certification.  The  standard 
prevents risks that are responsible for 73 % of occurrences 
of damage under the ELD; it is available free of charge, is 
also  provided  in  English  and  applies  to  any  type  of 
company.  The  system  was  developed  as  a  private 
initiative, and it supports the use of voluntary insurance 
schemes. 
There is no national mandatory financial security system 
for  ELD  liabilities  in  Italy.  However,  the  environmental 

(282)    https://www.poolambiente.it/il-pool/ 
(283)  European Commission: Directorate-General for Environment and 
Fogleman,  V.,  Study 
in  support  of  the  evaluation  of  the 
Environmental  Liability  Directive  and  its  implementation –  Final 
report,  Publications  Office  of  the  European  Union,  Luxembourg, 
2024, 
https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-
/publication/006d90e5-980a-11ef-a130-
01aa75ed71a1/language-en. 

p. 37, 

(284)  See 

the  European  Commission  web  page  on  Compact 

https://reform-support.ec.europa.eu/public-administration-and-

insurance  market  in  Italy  is  well  developed,  featuring 
national  and  multinational  insurers  as  well  as  the  co-
reinsurance  pool  mentioned  above.  Environmental 
insurance  policies  covering  civil  liabilities  from  pollution 
have been available since 1979. Policies that provide cover 
for  remediating  pollution  have  been  available  since  the 
late 1990s. In 2006, cover in the policies was broadened to 
include 
remediating 
environmental damage under the ELD. Despite the wide 
range of available policies, demand remains low. 

for  preventing  and 

liability 

2025 priority action 

• 

Encourage the use of training programmes provided 
by  the  Commission  (or  developed  at  the  national 
level)  covering  the  ELD  and  its  interactions  with  the 
other national liability-related instruments, to ensure 
more  efficient  ELD  implementation,  improve  the 
expertise  of  the  competent  authorities  and  raise 
awareness among all stakeholder groups. 

EU-supported environmental capacity building 

The Commission’s 2023 Compact (284) initiative to enhance 
the administrative space identifies the capacity to lead the 
green transition as one of three key pillars, along with the 
public  administration  skills  agenda  and  the  capacity  for 
Europe’s Digital Decade. Compact also recognises the role 
of  the  EIR  reporting  tool  in  improving  environmental 
governance. The two main capacity-building opportunities 
for 
the  European 
Commission  are  the  TSI (285)  and  the  TAIEX-EIR  PEER  2 
PEER tool (286). The technical assistance available through 
the cohesion policy is subject to shared management and 
is not dealt with in this subsection. 

the  environment  provided  by 

The Commission’s technical support instrument 

The  TSI  provides  Member  States  with  tailor-made 
technical expertise on the design and implementation of 
reforms.  The  support  is  demand  driven  and  does  not 
require national co-financing. 

The  TSI  had  annual  calls  in  2021,  2022,  2023,2024  and 
2025.  The  following  environment-related  projects  have 
been selected for Italy. 

•  Recharge  and  refuel –  Clean,  smart  and  fair  urban 
mobility  (Ministry  for  Sustainable  Infrastructure  and 

governance-coordination/enhancing-european-administrative-
space-compact_en. 

(285)  See 

the  European  Commission  web  page  on 

the  TSI 
https://commission.europa.eu/funding-tenders/find-funding/eu-
funding-programmes/technical-support-instrument/technical-
support-instrument-tsi_en. 

(286)  See the European Commission web page on the TAIEX-EIR PEER 2 
https://environment.ec.europa.eu/law-and-

PEER 
governance/environmental-implementation-review/peer-2-
peer_en. TAIEX: Technical Assistance and Information Exchange. 

tool 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Italy 

 
 
• 

• 

Infrastructure  and 

(now  Ministry  of 

Mobility 
Transport), 2022); 
Improve  ESG  data  availability  and  sustainability 
corporate  reporting  in  Italy  (Ministry  of  Finance, 
2023); 
ESG  risk  management  framework  for  the  financial 
sector  (Institute  for  the  Supervision  of  Insurance, 
2023); 

•  Regional development of western Liguria (for natural 

swimming pools) (Liguria, 2023); 

•  Reinforcing the assessment, monitoring and reporting 
of  public  expenditure  for  the  purpose  of  the  green 
bonds  ensuring  compliance with  the  DNSH  principle 
(Ministry of Finance, 2023); 

•  Accelerating  permitting 

renewable  energy 
(simplification unit of the Presidency of the Council of 
Ministers, 2024); 

for 

•  Climate  adaptation  (Cassa  Depositi  e  Prestiti  and 
Metropolitan City of Rome Capital (one project each), 
2023); 
Strengthening regional capacities and skills for SDGs 
localisation:  Policy 
sustainable 
development and impact assessment (2024); 

coherence 

for 

• 

•  Creating  novel  decision  support  tools  and  financing 
instruments  to  improve  ESG  value  and  disaster  risk 
resilience  of  public  real  estate  (Presidency  of  the 
Council  of  Ministers,  Agenzia  del  Demanio,  Agenzia 
delle Dogane e dei Monopoli, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, 
2024); 
the 
to  model 
Strengthening 
macroeconomic  effects  of 
‘green’  policies  and 
investments through the Danish GreenReform model 
(Ministry of Finance, 2024); 

capacity 

Italy’s 

• 

•  Green  budgeting –  Developing  a  transparent  and 
easily  applicable  method  of  climate  tagging  and 
integrating  it  into  the  budget  cycle  (Lombardy  and 
Baden-Württemberg, 2024) (see Chapter 5). 

• 

Support to the effective  implementation of the Net-
Zero Industry and Critical Raw Materials acts in Italy 
(Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy, 2025)  

Italy  58 

The Commission’s TAIEX-EIR PEER 2 PEER tool 

The Commission launched the TAIEX-EIR PEER 2 PEER tool 
in 2017. It aims to facilitate peer-to-peer learning among 
Member  States’  environmental  authorities  through 
workshops  (single  or  multi-country),  expert  missions 
(where  a  delegation  of  experts  travels  to  the  requesting 
institution) and study visits (where a delegation from the 
requesting institution travels to a host country). Flagship 
multi-country  workshops  are  those  requested  by  the 
Commission to present new and upcoming environmental 
legislation and policy in all Member States (287).  

Workshops involving Italy are as follows: 

•  Climate adaptation and blue infrastructure (31 May–

1 June 2022; 

•  Good  practices  on  noise  abatement  measures  and 

noise mapping (26–27 September 2022); 

•  Circular economy (in the Irish Midlands) (4–6 October 

• 

2022); 
Future  challenges  for  air  protection  (24 November 
2022) with the EU Czech Presidency; 

•  Biowaste  management  (6–8 June  2023),  hosted  by 
Italy  in  Milan,  Parma  and  Novara  with  participants 
from French municipalities; 

•  Green  budgeting  at  regional  level  (9 April  2024), 
hosted by Italy (in Rome), with experts from Greece, 
Spain, France and Portugal; this workshop is directly 
related  to  the  2024  TSI  project  on  green  budgeting 
involving Lombardy (see Chapter 5); 

•  Reducing air pollution from transport and residential 

energy (11–13 June 2024); 

•  New aspects in the cross-border cooperation against 
environmental crime (19–20 November 2024). 
Freight  transport  by  rail  (in  relation  to  waste 
transport) (17 - 18 March 2025). 

• 

Italy was involved in an expert mission on dune protection 
in  Bulgaria  (28–29 February  2024).  Italy  hosted  a  study 
visit on 15–16 June 2022 on noise maps and action plans 
in Florence and Pisa for the Polish authorities, a study visit 
on 17–18 October 2022 on urban wastewater treatment 
and best practices on water reuse in agriculture, also for 
the Polish authorities, and a study visit on 6–8 June 2023 
on circular economy, textile industry, zero waste and peri-

(287)  Flagship  multi-country  workshops  in  the  reporting  period  are: 
Recast  Drinking    Water  Directive  (3  April  2025);  Environmental 
compliance  and  governance  (18  March  2025);  Planning  of 
Renewable  Energy  Projects  (20  February  2025);  Air  Quality: 
Implementation  of  the  revised  Air  Quality  Directive  (16  January 
2025); Industrial safety: awareness raising of emerging risks linked 
with climate change and decarbonation (12 December 2024); Air 
quality: 
further 
implementation  of  the  NEC  Directive  to 
mainstream  air  and  broader  pollution  reduction  in  agricultural 
policy  (25 September  2024);  Industrial  emissions  transposition 
and implementation of the revised directive (12 September 2024); 
Noise:  progress  towards  meeting  Member  States’  noise  limit 
values and EU reduction targets (5 June 2024); Best practice use 

of  environmental  footprint  methods  on  the  EU  market  (30 May 
2024);  Sustainable  finance  (9 November  2023);  Textile  waste 
separate collection, treatment and markets (3 October 2023); EU 
environmental  funding  and  support  (13 June  2023);  Advisory 
service for businesses to go circular (24 April 2023); Digital product 
passport implementation (6 December 2022); Public involvement 
in  planning  and  approval  of  renewable  energy  projects 
(17 November 2022); Environmental compliance and governance 
(14 November  2022);  Biowaste  management  (19–20 September 
2022); and  Renewable energy projects: permit granting processes 
(13 June 2022). NB: The first flagship workshop on zero pollution 
for air, water and soil took place 9 February 2022. 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Italy 

 
 
urban  organic  agriculture 
(Tuscany) for Manresa City Council in Spain. 

in  Prato  and  Capannori 

the 

fragmented 

implementation 

In  2022,  Italy  received  priority  actions  to  (i)  continue  to 
of 
address 
environmental  policy  at  the  regional  and  local  levels  by 
developing  a  better  national  overview  of  regional 
implementation  mechanisms 
the  environment 
(especially for implementation of the Nitrates Directive at 
the  regional  level);  and  (ii)  improve  overall  national 
environmental  governance,  in  particular  administrative 
capacity and coordination at the regional and local levels 
between  enforcing  authorities.  Regarding  the  former 
priority  action,  the  infringement  relating  nitrates  is  still 
open  and  the  Commission  is  currently  assessing  the 

for 

Italy  59 

Italian  authorities 

(see 
the 
progress  reported  by 
Chapter 3).  Regarding  the  latter  priority  action,  Cinsedo 
(Interregional Centre for Studies and Documentation, part 
of the state–regional conference) (288) continues to offer 
important  opportunities  for  exchanges  and  training 
between regions as well as organising EIR dialogues (289). 
They organised the workshop on green budgeting in April 
2024 and are involved in the follow-up TSI project. 

2025 priority action 

• 

Improve overall national environmental governance, 
in  particular  administrative  capacity  to  support  the 
green transition and coordination at the regional and 
local levels.

(288)  https://www.regioni.it/chi-siamo/.  

(289)  The dialogue on the 2022 EIR took place on 21 October 2022. 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Italy 

 
 
 
 
Italy  60 

Annex: 2025 priority actions 

Circular economy and waste management 
Transitioning to a circular economy 

Speed up the transition to a circular economy by implementing the updated national strategy and 
the EU framework and recommendations in particular to complement it with upstream circularity 
measures. 

Waste management  

• 

• 

Increase reuse of products and scale up waste recycling infrastructure associated with the higher 
steps of the waste hierarchy. In particular, improve collection and increase treatment capacity for 
bio-waste. 
Invest in waste prevention measures to reduce the total amount of waste generated. 
Improve municipal waste preparation for reuse and recycling. 
Increase the collection and recycling rate of waste electronic and electric equipment (WEEE). 

• 
• 
• 
•  Complete the closure of non-compliant landfills. 
• 

Implement, harmonise and gradually increase landfill taxes to phase out landfilling of recyclable and 
recoverable waste. 

•  Ratify international conventions on ship recycling.  

Biodiversity and natural capital 
Nature protection and restoration – Natura 2000 

•  Complete the Natura 2000 site designation process. 
• 

• 

Finalise the establishment of site-specific conservation objectives and measures for all Natura 2000 
sites (including by adopting their management plans) and ensure their effective implementation. 
implementation  of  Natura  2000  management  plans  and  sufficient 
Ensure  the  effective 
administrative capacity and financing both for Natura 2000 and the implementation of the Nature 
Restoration  Regulation.  Ensure  the  implementation  of  2021–2027  prioritised  action  frameworks 
(PAFs). 

Recovery of species  

Strengthen the implementation of national anti-poaching measures. 

• 
•  Reinforce action for habitats and species in unfavourable conservation status, for example 

through restoration measures, increased connectivity, better policy coordination and integration, 
and increased funding. 

Agricultural ecosystems 

Recovery of ecosystems 

• 

Implement  eco-schemes  and  agri-environmental  measures  and  practices  to  address  the 
environmental needs of Italy.  

Soil ecosystems 

•  Reduce the excessive area of sealed and artificialised soil and remediate degraded areas of soil. If 
appropriate,  consider  formally  committing  to  targets  for  land-degradation  neutrality  under  the 
relevant United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification agreement. 

Marine ecosystems 

•  Ratify  the  Offshore  Protocol  to  the  Barcelona  Convention  and  ICZM  Protocol  to  the  Barcelona 

Convention. 

Prevention and management of invasive alien species  

• 

Step  up  implementation  of  the  IAS  Regulation,  including  with  regard  to  enforcement  and  the 
capacity of inspection authorities. 

•  Ratify the International Convention for the Control and  Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and 

Sediments of 2004 (BWM Convention). 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Italy 

 
 
Italy  61 

Ecosystem assessment and accounting  

•  Ratify the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of 

Benefits Arising from Their Utilization to the Convention on Biological Diversity. 

Zero pollution 
Clean air 

•  As part of the NAPCP, take action to reduce emissions of air pollutants. 
• 

Ensure full compliance with the current AAQD standards, also in light of future stricter requirements 
under the revised AAQD. 

•  Accelerate the ratification of relevant international conventions and protocols. 

Industrial emissions 

•  Reduce industrial air pollution damage and intensity. 
•  Continue addressing pollution from the ex-ILVA steel plant in Taranto, in order to bring this plant 

into compliance with EU industrial emissions legislation. 
•  Reduce industrial releases to water, and their intensity. 
• 

Engage  with 
industry  and  environmental  NGOs  to  ensure  proper  contribution  to  and 
implementation of BAT conclusions; and ensure timely updates to permits following the publication 
of BAT conclusions. 

•  Ensure effective public participation and access to justice in relation to the IED. 

Major industrial accidents prevention – Seveso 

• 

• 

Strengthen  compliance  with  requirements  on  safety  measures  to  prevent  major  accidents  and 
ensure  appropriate  preparedness  and  response  in  relation  to  UTEs,  in  particular  as  regards 
reviewing, testing and updating EEPs, at intervals of no more than three years. 
Ensure access to transparent and clear information towards citizens on risks and behaviour in the 
event of an accident. 

•  Complete noise mapping. 
•  Complete and implement action plans on noise management. 

Noise 

Water Framework Directive 

Water quality and management 

• 

• 

Improve river continuity and ecological flows, boosting efforts on nature-based solutions to reduce 
hydromorphological pressures. 
Ensure  periodic  reviews  of  permits  for  discharges,  abstractions  and  other  water  uses,  including 
hydropower pressures. 

Improve the classification of water bodies and strengthen monitoring systems. 

•  Reduce pollution from nutrients, chemicals, metals and saline discharges. 
•  Better justify exemptions to the achievement of good status. 
• 
•  Develop more robust programmes of measures, tackle obstacles identified in the implementation 
of measures and ensure adequate financing for implementation, including through better use of the 
cost recovery and polluter pays principle. 

Floods Directive 

• 

FRMPs should provide details on how the FHRMs were used in the choice of measures and how to 
consider pluvial flooding. 

•  Better  explain  the  choice  and  implementation  of  flood  prevention  and  protection  measures 

(prioritisation, monitoring, costs of measures). 

Drinking Water Directive 

• 

Take actions to ensure full compliance with the Drinking Water Directive. 

Nitrates Directive 

• 

Tackle nutrients pollution, especially nitrates from agriculture, through the implementation of the 
Nitrates Directive. 

Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Italy 

 
Italy  62 

• 

Take  the  necessary  measures  to  ensure  full  implementation  of  the  current  Urban  Wastewater 
Treatment Directive, taking into account the new requirements of the recast directive. 

Chemicals 

•  Upgrade  administrative  capacities  in  implementation  and  enforcement  towards  a  policy  of  zero 

• 

• 

• 

tolerance of non-compliance. 
Increase involvement in the activities of the Forum for Exchange of Information on Enforcement of 
the  European  Chemicals  Agency,  including  in  the  coordinated  enforcement  projects,  called  REF 
projects. 
Increase customs controls and controls of products sold online with regard to chemicals legislation. 

Climate action 
Implement all polices and measures that are needed to achieve targets laid down in the Effort 
Sharing Regulation (ESR) and the Land Use and Land-Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) 
Regulation. More detailed priority actions are set out in the assessment of the final National 
Energy and Climate Plan (NECP).  

Financing 

•  Use  more  national  funding  (for  instance  by  increasing  taxes  in  favour  of  the  environment  and 
reducing  environmentally  harmful  subsidies),  EU  funding  and  private  funding  to  help  close  the 
investment gap. 

Information, public participation and access to justice  

Environmental governance 

• 

•  Make spatial data more widely accessible and prioritise environmental datasets in implementing 
the  Inspire  Directive,  especially  those  identified  as  high-value  spatial  datasets  for  implementing 
environmental legislation. 
Ensure  that  relevant  information  on  EIA  and  SEA  procedures  (including  on  public  participation 
opportunities and on publication of final decisions) is electronically accessible in a timely manner, 
through  at  least  a  central  portal  or  easily  accessible  points  of  access,  at  the  appropriate 
administrative level. 
Provide information on the average duration of all steps in the EIA process. 
Improve access to courts in national environmental cases by the public concerned and eliminate 
practical barriers, such as length of proceedings and excessive costs in some Member States. 

• 
• 

Compliance assurance  

• 

Encourage  the  use  of  training  programmes  provided  by  the  Commission  (or  developed  at  the 
national  level)  covering  the  ELD  and  its  interactions  with  the  other  national  liability-related 
instruments, to ensure more efficient ELD implementation, improve the expertise of the competent 
authorities and raise awareness among all stakeholder groups. 

EU-supported environmental capacity building 

• 

Improve overall national environmental governance, in particular administrative capacity to support 
the green transition and coordination at the regional and local levels. 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Italy