2023-10-11 15:58:49
Innovation and a more circular economy will help Italy secure supplies of essential raw materials as part of a Europe-wide bid to reduce dependence on foreign imports, the EU minister said. energy Wednesday.
Earlier this year, the European Union unveiled a strategy to ensure the bloc can access the raw materials it needs for the green transition, in part by increasing its recycling capacity.
Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin said Italy, one of the Union’s main industrial powers, focused on research and innovation and had good results in recycling electronic waste, but that it needed to do more to meet current challenges.
“There is a need to rethink supply chains, right from the design stage, to look for alternative materials,” he told Parliament during a question-and-answer session.
Mr Pichetto Fratin said Italy recycled more than 35% of electronic materials related to vehicles, batteries and other energy systems, compared to a global average of 17.4%.
“The percentage of non-recycled products is a challenge but also an opportunity to create jobs, reduce emissions and strengthen our country’s energy security,” he said.
The comments come as Italy is locked in a dispute with Swiss miner Glencore Plc, which said it could build a battery recycling center elsewhere in Europe after the Sardinia region rejected fast-track approval for its pilot project.
EU efforts to avoid foreign dependence have intensified since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which highlighted the risks of foreign dependence. ‘one country for essential supplies.
“Even before the conflict in Ukraine, Italy had already started working to strengthen knowledge and governance on the issue, with the creation of the national table of critical raw materials,” the minister said.
He reiterated the commitment to cover around 40% of the country’s gross energy consumption with renewable energy by 2030, and said the government was considering offering incentives to regions if they met renewable energy targets. of renewable energy capacity. (Reporting by Angelo Amante and Francesca Landini, Editing by Gavin Jones and Sharon Singleton)
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