Italy should “become independent of Russian gas in the second half of 2024,” head of government Mario Draghi said on Thursday.
« We have acted quickly to reduce the share of natural gas we import from Russia“, or 40% of the total in 2021, and ” the first effects “of this policy” will be felt from the end of 2022“, he declared in front of the senators.
The Minister of Ecological Transition Roberto Cingolani had planned in April for a shorter period, assuring that Italy should succeed in doing without Russian gas in the space of 18 months.
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Previously, he had felt that the peninsula needed ” 24 to 30 months ” to succeed.
Italy is seeking to increase its production of renewable energies, by ” removing bureaucratic obstacles to investments, as it is the “only way” to break free from the obligation to import fossil fuels, Draghi said.
Italy is one of Europe’s biggest consumers of gas, which accounts for 42% of its energy consumption, and imports 95%.
With MAP
