Culture notes: Is democracy getting in the way?

Catherine Fieschi on how elections are hampering action on climate change

The World Today
2 minute READ

I’m writing this column on my way to Rome to host a roundtable discussion on Italy’s moves towards a greener future. The plan is to talk positively about the difficulty of the transition as we explore how to implement the European Union’s Fit for 55 climate policy package that seeks to cut emissions by 55 per cent by 2030. 

For the past nine months under a government of national unity, Italy has submitted an ambitious financial recovery plan to the European Commission, underpinned by a  programme of reform that would lead to implementing the EU’s package of measures. All this was possible because for nine months the threat of electioneering had been removed. 

As you read this, the presidential elections will have been settled, but I wager that Italian politics will have been unsettled. 

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