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ENERGY

What are the limits on air conditioner use in Italy?

As Spain and Germany announce new energy-saving measures, what is Italy doing to rein in its fuel consumption?

What measures has Italy introduced to reduce fuel consumption?
Is air conditioning common in Rome's apartments? Photo by Michu Đăng Quang on Unsplash

As much of mainland Europe continues to be pummelled by extreme heat and buffeted by a volatile energy market in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, several European countries have recently taken steps to reduce their use of fossil fuels.

At the end of July, EU member states made a voluntary agreement to reduce their gas consumption by 15 percent this winter, and a number have announced new measures aimed at meeting this target.

Spain’s government on Monday approved an ‘energy saving plan’ that sets temperature limits of 27C in the summer and 19C in the winter for AC units in public buildings, shops, cultural centres such as theatres and cinemas, and transport hubs such as train stations and airports. 

These spaces must also install automatically closing doors by September 30th, and shop window lights must be turned off by 10pm.

In July Germany’s economy and climate minister laid out plans for an ‘energy security package’ that would, among other things, ban owners of private pools from heating them with gas over the winter, and suspend clauses in tenancy agreements that require renters to keep their homes above a minimum temperature.

And France’s government is working on an energy saving plan that will involve public administration, businesses and individuals, with the aim of cutting the country’s energy use by 10 percent over the next two years.

READ ALSO: Air-con, ties and lights: How Europe plans to save energy and get through winter without blackouts

By comparison, Italy’s efforts to conserve energy to date have been limited in scope (the CEO of the Italgas company told Reuters in July that Italy would not need to cut its consumption by 15 percent, as it had sufficient stocks to get it through the winter).

On May 1st, a law came into force regulating the temperature on AC units and radiators in public buildings until May 31st, 2023.

The temperature in these spaces must not exceed 19 degrees Celsius in winter and cannot be any lower than 27 degrees in summer, with a margin of tolerance of two degrees – meaning the lowest allowed temperature in the summer is actually 25C, and the highest in winter is 21C.

The measure does not currently apply to clinics, hospitals and nursing homes.

Fines for non-compliance with the rules range from €500 to €3,000, although it’s still unclear how checks or enforcement will be carried out.

READ ALSO: Milan blackouts blamed on air conditioning as heatwave intensifies

Italy hopes that these steps will result in savings of between 2 and 4 billion cubic meters of gas, allowing its to achieve its stated aim of weaning the country off Russian gas by the end of 2023.

According to recent reports, the government has discussed further measures to encourage the general public to cut their energy consumption, including restricting personal AC use and further limiting the use of heating in private homes this winter – though no such plans have yet been formally announced.

In fact, Italy will continue to offer tax discounts of between 50 and 65 percent on AC units until the end of this year as part of its 2022 building renovations bonus scheme – though the units must meet certain minimum energy efficiency standards.

Other energy-saving plans reportedly drawn up by the government – albeit for use in a worst case scenario – include the enforced early closure of shops, public offices, restaurants and bars.

A reduction in municipal electricity consumption has also been discussed, which could mean fewer street lamps and delaying switching on the lights in apartment blocks.

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VENICE

Italian scientists predict parts of Venice will be underwater by 2150

New research by Italian scientists estimated that large areas of Venice including the famous Saint Mark’s Square will be submerged by 2150 due to rising sea levels and the city’s sinking foundations.

Italian scientists predict parts of Venice will be underwater by 2150

A new study carried out by scientists at Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) found that tide levels in the Venetian lagoon are rising at a rate of approximately half a centimetre per year on average. 

Researchers predicted that the rise will result in some areas of the main island being permanently underwater by 2150, with Saint Mark’s Square forecast to be constantly submerged by 70 centimetres of water. 

The exact increase rates weren’t the same across the lagoon, with figures ranging from 4.22 millimetres at the Venice Lido to nearly 6 millimetres in Chioggia, in the southern section of the lagoon.

The study, which combined records from Venice’s tidal centre with satellite data on land subsidence, also concluded that the western side of the city, which includes the Santa Croce, San Polo and Dorsoduro districts, will be among the worst-affected areas.

INGV researchers pointed to rising sea levels in the Venetian lagoon as being emblematic of a wider phenomenon registered across the entire Mediterranean sea, whose levels have increased by some 18 centimetres since the beginning of the 20th century.  

“Sea level increase, particularly if accelerated locally by subsidence, is leading to increasingly severe and widespread coastal erosion, beach retreat and marine flooding with very significant environmental and socioeconomic impacts for populations,” INGV researcher Marco Anzidei said.

READ ALSO: Italy to suffer ‘exceptionally hot’ temperatures this summer

Venice has experienced increasingly frequent severe flooding in recent years as the city was hit by some 58 high tides (acque alte) of 110 centimetres or more between 2019 and 2023 – more than twice the number recorded between 2009 and 2013.

A 187-centimetre acqua alta – the second-highest tide in Venice’s history – caused the death of two people and hundreds of millions of euros in damage in November 2019.

A long-planned system of mobile barriers aimed at protecting the city from high tides became operational in late 2020 and has since been activated on over 80 occasions. 

But the MOSE sluice gates, which are placed at the lagoon’s main entry points and raised whenever high tides hit, have long been criticised by experts as just a short-term fix to rising sea levels.

READ ALSO: ‘Extreme’ climate blamed for world’s worst wine harvest in 62 years

A 2021 report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicted a rise in the mean regional sea level of 28-55 centimetres by 2100 in their most optimistic scenario, and 63-101 centimetres in the worst-case scenario.

Experts have forecast that, in either case, the barriers will have to be raised so frequently that they will endanger the survival of Venice’s port industry and the lagoon will gradually turn into a marsh, which may ultimately result in the loss of many local wildlife species.

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