G7 summit chance for Meloni to make international climate push
Italy is set to host leaders from the Group of Seven (G7) major democratic economies in a secluded luxury resort in the southeastern Puglia region from 13-15 June. The summit is losing its fight for attention against the EU elections happening only days before, but researchers say it presents prime minister Giorgia Meloni with an opportunity to show leadership on climate.
The is largely shaped by geopolitics and technological developments. Conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, China's growing rivalry with the United States, and artificial intelligence are likely to dominate discussions. Climate is not at the top of the agenda, but instead part of several sessions among leaders. Even Pope Francis, who is usually very vocal on this issue, has been invited to attend .
Luca Bergamaschi, founder of the climate and energy think tank , says Meloni may still push for a more-ambitious-than-expected final G7 statement on climate. "She has invested a lot into international politics to enhance her leadership credibility," he told 威力彩玩法. "At COP28 she brought that were seen and appreciated. In Dubai she realised that a climate agenda is a must-have on the international stage and that being ambitious on climate brings her clout, something she craves," says the researcher.聽
"I expect her to strengthen the G7 climate agenda, to consolidate and reinvigorate the results of the ministerial meetings, maybe even correcting their shortcomings."
The secluded location of the summit means most accredited journalists will come no closer than 70 kilometres from the leaders' meetings. The will be at the Fiera del Levante convention centre in Bari, the region's main city. The itself will take place in , a 90-minute drive from there. For Italy's most important international event of the year, 聽Meloni personally chose this resort in the Itria Valley, between the countryside of Puglia and the Adriatic Sea. It is a celebrity hotspot (Madonna and Justin Timberlake are among A-list celebrities to have visited). Silvio
Climate decisions from G7 ministerial meetings in the run-up to the summit have been mixed. The topic played only a small role at the . The most important (28-30 April) was .
"A valuable G7 outcome would be confirmation of the G7 countries' commitment to submit NDCs [national climate plans] between 9 and 12 months before COP30," says Bergamaschi. "It would be crucial for Meloni to lead the G7 countries to be the first movers, especially at a time of great uncertainty in the European Union about how the parliament will be composed after the elections and what choices the new Commission will make on the new European NDC."
A high-profile event out of the spotlight
, with whom Meloni has established a ; , the , Turkish president , and are among the international guests expected to join the G7 circle. Several African leaders, , are also likely to appear.
With the summit less than a week away, the public鈥檚 attention has mainly been focused on the EU elections just a few days earlier. Most parties in Italy see these elections as something like , a political poll to gauge Meloni's popularity almost two years into her tenure, as well as the chance of an opposition's revival. The public conversation is much more than 芦What kind of European Union do we want?禄. The polls of her party, Fratelli d'Italia, , and : she is the (a seat she is expected to discard and leave to someone else in her party).
On 25 May, Meloni as part of a series called Giorgia's Notes. Meloni goes into detail about the government鈥檚 agenda and policies, but there is not a single mention of the G7 in Puglia or the results of this year's G7 ministerial meetings.
It is an especially politically tense moment for Italy and a small episode that went viral on social media provides the perfect entry point to understand where Italian politics is right now: Meloni met with Campania president Vincenzo De Luca, who belongs to Meloni's rival, the Democratic Party. When De Luca welcomed Meloni in the small town of Caivano for an official event, Meloni simply said: 聽. ().
Mattei Plan is new dress for old projects, but Italy could use summit for credibility with Africa
Africa has been the main focus of Italy's international policy under Meloni so far. Strengthening this cooperation is one of the goals of her G7 presidency.
The Italian government's main tool for dialogue with Africa is the so-called . In recent months, starting with a , the Mattei Plan has taken shape, showing its potential and weaknesses. There are five fields for action: education, health, agriculture, water and energy.
"The Mattei Plan is just the rebranding of cooperation funds and projects that already existed, over which the government wants to have more control and coordination," says Andrea Spinelli, co-founder of Slow News and . Funds under the plan are not new or additional, he says, with 鈥� included in the plan.
The first countries in which pilot projects under the Mattei Plan are Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt, C么te d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Kenya, Democratic Republic of Congo and Mozambique. The first Mattei Plan operations a contribution of 75 million euros to finance Eni's biofuels supply chain in Kenya.
"The Mattei Plan is very much linked to the activities of Eni, which is a major player in Africa, and its gas extraction development projects," Spinelli told 威力彩玩法. "It is one of the reasons why African governments are still very sceptical about this plan. They feel it serves Italy's interests much more than theirs."
Ecco's Bergamaschi insists the G7 summit can be the stage from which Italy revives its role as a useful interface for African countries with the global north. "To be credible with African countries, Italy needs to be ambitious on climate, particularly on financial commitments, which have been ignored by G7 ministers so far," he says. "If Meloni wants to choose this path, the G7 meeting in June is the ideal place to do it."
Italy's own energy policies: mixed feelings on renewables energies, bad on sustainable mobility
"It's complicated."
That is how Gianni Silvestrini, scientific director of Kyoto Club, an Italian NGO which makes advocacy for energy efficiency and renewables, defines Italy's own energy transition in the year of its G7 presidency. "Growth of renewables is steadier than ever but still not fast enough - we are just catching up with the past decade," he says. "The weak point is electric mobility. Italy is one of the slowest countries in the European Union for EV growth."
In 2023, 5.7 GW of renewables , of which 5.2 GW were PV. This is remarkable progress. In 2021 it was 1.3 GW, and in 2022 the figure was 3 GW. The trend is promising but, according to , it still won't be enough to meet the 2030 decarbonization targets because utility scale installations are missing from the picture. "In addition to that, will cause renewables to lose this momentum," Silvestrini says.
This new agriculture law is so restrictive on solar installation on farmland that, according to the Alliance for Photovoltaics in Italy, . The government's law was designed to protect agricultural production against the use of the same lands for renewable energy. PV companies claim that solar panels need to be installed on 80,000 hectares out of a total 16.5 million hectares of farmland - just 0.5 percent - in order to reach the 2030 goals.
While renewable energy expansion is picking up, electric vehicle development is stuck. In the first quarter of 2024, , one of Europe's slowest EV markets. Some majority parties, such as Matteo Salvini's Lega, have made an electoral campaign talking point. Salvini is currently minister of infrastructures, so he is also the person in charge of sustainable mobility development.
The government a new consumer subsidies plan for low-emission cars. The starts on 3 June. It is a 1-billion-euro programme, and encourages the purchase of efficient gasoline, plug-in, hybrid and electric cars. "The problem with this scheme is that it is too little, too late, and it is not even targeted at electric cars, but still includes conventional ones, so it risks not being effective where it would be most needed," says Silvestrini.
