Abstract

The article briefly analyses Italy’s commitment to the energy transition process, at a time – the last three years – when extremely serious external shocks, such as the pandemic, a pick-up in inflation (also driven by rising energy prices), and recently the Russia-Ukraine war have emerged, putting a strain on the pursuit of the goal of reducing climate-changing gas emissions. Italy’s performance is compared with that of France, Germany, and Spain: Italy appears less committed to the energy transition process as long as such country has to rely on its own resources, while this is no longer the case when it becomes clear that it can use the resources of Next Generation EU. Furthermore, the Russo-Ukrainian war also emphasises the geopolitical significance of the security of energy supply. Therefore, the REPowerEU programme may boost – with positive effects also on Italy – the reshoring strategies triggered by the pandemic