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The Deep Decarbonization Pathways Project (DDPP) is a collaborative global research initiative convened under the auspices of the Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI) and the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN).

Its goal is to understand how individual countries can transition to a low-carbon economy consistent with the internationally agreed goal of limiting anthropogenic warming to less than 2 degrees Celsius (°C). Staying within this limit requires global net emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) to approach zero in the second half of this century. This will entail, more than any other factor, a profound transformation of energy systems, through steep declines in carbon intensity across all sectors, a transition we call “deep decarbonization”.

The DDPP consists of research teams from 16 countries representing 74% of current global CO2 emissions from energy: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, United Kingdom, and United States. The teams consist of scholars from leading research institutions in their respective countries, who are acting independently and do not represent the official positions of their national governments.

Created in October 2013, the DDPP issued a report on the first phase of its work at the United Nations Climate Summit in September 2014, at the invitation of Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. This report summarized the initial research of the country teams.

The 16 teams have now published their stand-alone reports describing in greater detail their research into national DDPs. In addition, a new synthesis report “Pathways to deep decarbonization” provides a cross-cutting analysis of the aggregate results.

The research for the Country Report for Italy “Pathways to deep decarbonization in Italy” was conducted jointly by teams at the Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA) and the Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM).

“Pathways to deep decarbonization in Italy” contributes to the national debate on climate-change mitigation, and the importance of deep decarbonization, by examining three alternative pathways that could reduce Italian CO2 emissions by at least 40% in 2030 and 80% in 2050, compared to 1990. It analyzes the challenges the Italian energy system faces, and possible future technological developments that will need to be pursued, and answers four key questions:

  • What are the key challenges and uncertainties that Italy needs to address and overcome to foster a deep decarbonization process?
  • What will the impacts of deep decarbonization be on the energy system, the economy, and society? What will the related investment costs be? What will the impacts be on income and employment?
  • Are currently available technology options sufficient to achieve this target?
  • What policy support will need to be established to successfully achieve deep decarbonization?

Italy’s country report authors are:

Chapter 1 – Introduction
Lead authors: Maria Rosa Virdis,1 Maria Gaeta,1 Enrica De Cian,2 Ramiro Parrado,2 Chiara Martini,3 Maria Cristina Tommasino.1
Contributing authors: Isabella Alloisio,2, Elena Verdolini.2

Chapter 2 – Deep Decarbonization Pathways
Lead authors: Maria Gaeta,1 Maria Rosa Virdis.1
Contributing authors: Isabella Alloisio,2 Enrica De Cian,2 Ramiro Parrado,2 Elena Verdolini2, Simone Borghesi.5

Chapter 3 – Macroeconomic Analysis
Lead authors: Maria Cristina Tommasino,1 Enrica De Cian,2 Ramiro Parrado,2 Chiara Martini.3
Contributing authors: Maria Rosa Virdis,1 Elena Verdolini,2 Alessandro Antimiani.4

Chapter 4 – Discussion and Conclusions
Lead authors: Isabella Alloisio,2 Elena Verdolini,2 Maria Rosa Virdis,1 Simone Borghesi.5
Contributing authors: Maria Gaeta,1 Enrica De Cian,2 Ramiro Parrado,2 Chiara Martini,3 Maria Cristina Tommasino.1

Appendix
Lead authors: Enrica De Cian,2 Maria Gaeta,1 Chiara Martini,3 Ramiro Parrado,2 Maria Cristina Tommasino.1

1 Studies and Strategy Unit, ENEA
2 FEEM and CMCC
3 Energy Efficiency Unit, ENEA
4 INEA
5 University of Siena and FEEM