(Adnkronos) – To fulfil its pledge of net-zero emissions by 2050 and achieve economic growth and competitiveness, Italy’s energy policy must centre on nuclear and renewable energy, foreign minister Antonio Tajani said on Tuesday.
“Italy needs a different energy policy that focuses on nuclear and renewables as part of a comprehensive vision to make our country competitive,” Tajani said the Energy States General organised by his conservative Forza Italia party.
“Energy policy is key to the Italian economy’s growth,” Tajani underlined.
“Today, prices are too high, there is too much speculation, that is why we need nuclear energy, which is a non-polluting source”, Tajani underlined.
Nuclear power is a controversial topic in Italy, a net energy importer which began producing nuclear energy in the 1960s but closed down all its nuclear plants following a 1987 referendum after the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.
In June 2011, Italian voters overwhelmingly backed a referendum to cancel government plans to build new nuclear reactors. The plebiscite followed the major nuclear accident at the Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi plant in March 2011 – rated as the worst since Chernobyl.
