Speaking at the Italian Energy Summit organized on 29-30 September by “Il Sole 24 Ore” (Italy’s leading financial newspaper), Enel’s CEO Francesco Starace focused on the opportunities deriving from the PNRR (National Recovery and Resilience Plan) for the energy transition, which is no longer a choice but an urgent need: “The National Recovery and Resilience Plan moves along two parallel tracks: on the one hand, the approximately 200 billion euros in funds it makes available; on the other, the structural reforms that make it possible to further leverage private funds and facilitate authorizations.”
“To ensure a just transition, it is necessary to complete reforms and enhance technical training in order to benefit the community and help new professionals grow”
Francesco Starace, Enel CEO
Within the framework of the PNRR, as Francesco Starace pointed out, Enel has presented projects for 26 billion euros. Of this amount, “only 6 billions are funds that we are going to request to start some initiatives. The other 20 billions do not need EU funds, but rather reforms to be carried out.” According to Enel’s CEO, it is therefore “much more important that structural reforms are completed”: the projects presented within the PNRR are indeed also linked to the creation of 100,000 jobs in related industries.
In this perspective, reforms play a crucial role alongside new technologies used in the energy and ecological transition: the risk is not being able to take full advantage of the great opportunities for work and for social and economic inclusion that derive from the green economy. The “paradigm shift” for which Francesco Starace hopes is more necessary than ever: in order to be able to take full advantage of the opportunities for growth and innovation provided by the transition, it is fundamental to focus on skills and “to enhance technical training in order to benefit the community and help new professionals grow,” said Enel’s CEO.
Enel editorial staff