Climate change adaptation plans fall short in hard-hit Italy
Italy already finds itself reeling from the climate crisis, but the country’s adaptation plans are widely deemed insufficient. In the wake of record temperatures, droughts and floods, the government published its first national adaptation plan at the end of last year. Yet think tanks say the earmarked funds fall far short of what is needed to deal with climate change’s profound impact on agriculture and countless other sectors. There are, however, a number of pioneering research projects that could lead the way for future approaches.
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Extreme weather alarm bells ringing
A whole series of recent extreme weather events has brought wide attention to the effects of climate change in Italy. On 11 August 2021, a weather station near Syracuse on the southern island of Sicily recorded 48.8°C — likely the highest temperature ever measured in Europe. Only weeks before, the Marmolada glacier in the Dolomites had collapsed during one of the hottest summers ever recorded in the country, and then prime minister Mario Draghi said the incident was "without doubt" linked to climate change.
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It is now widely recognized that climate change will have a profound impact on Italy’s society and economy. In a report on ‘The effects of climate change on the Italian economy,’ the country’s central bank predicted particularly dramatic effects on food production. Italy is currently one of the EU’s largest agricultural producers and food processors, and last year’s severe drought caused crop yields to fall by up to 45 percent, while rice and wheat yields dropped 30 percent. “As a result of the drought, almost 8,000 fewer hectares of rice will be cultivated in Italy this year (2023), for a total of just 211,000 hectares, the lowest for thirty years,” according to Coldiretti, one of the major associations representing and assisting Italian farmers. Climate modelling suggests that by 2030, the country could experience a significant further loss of corn and wheat yields.
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