Today more than ever, it is necessary to implement timely decisions and actions to encourage a rapid change of course: what CEO Francesco Starace has also hoped for on several occasions is reflected in the “Net Zero E-conomy 2050” study, which was carried out by the Enel Foundation and The European House - Ambrosetti in collaboration with Enel. The results were presented at the Forum of The European House - Ambrosetti: what emerges is that the acceleration of the introduction of policies that favor the energy transition and the achievement of a zero-emission economy by 2050 will bring about several benefits, including strengthening the independence and energy security of the European continent, as well as greater opportunities for creating value and employment versus low-ambition scenarios.
“While the need to tackle climate change alone is more than enough reason to pursue an energy transition, the vulnerability of our oil- and gas-dependent economies has made this urgency more pressing than ever”
Francesco Starace, Enel CEO
In particular, the study analyzed the trajectories of the energy transition in Italy and Spain, and quantified the gaps with respect to the objectives of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, expanding the use of renewables, and improving energy efficiency. In the last two years marked by the outbreak of the pandemic, “with its significant implications for the global economy,” and by the war in Ukraine, concerns about the sustainability of the current energy system have grown. “While the need to tackle climate change alone is more than enough reason to pursue an energy transition, the vulnerability of our oil- and gas-dependent economies has made this urgency more pressing than ever,” underlined Francesco Starace.
“Net Zero E-conomy 2050” is part of this path: the study “very clearly highlights the excessive dependence on gas of some economies of EU countries – firstly, Italy’s significant dependence – and the very clear advantages that an accelerated reduction in the use of fossil energy sources can bring precisely to those who make excessive use of them today”. Strong commitment is therefore necessary to achieve the decarbonization objectives: accelerating in this direction would require fewer resources than a less ambitious scenario, as highlighted by the report, which identified two decarbonization scenarios (“Low Ambition” and “Net Zero”) for Italy and Spain. The second one envisages investments of 3,351 billion euros and 2,215 billion euros over the 2021-2050 period respectively, lower than the investments required for the “Low Ambition” scenarios (3,899 billion euros in Italy and 2,761 billion euros in Spain).
Furthermore, as Enel’s CEO also pointed out in his comment, the study highlights how the “Net Zero” scenarios are associated with significant social, economic, environmental, and energy security benefits for both countries: in short, the change of course also hoped for by Francesco Starace is now essential.
Enel editorial staff