Una transizione rapida verso la sovranità energetica

This policy brief by the Climate Bonds Initiative argues that accelerating the transition to clean energy is the primary solution for the European Union to protect itself from global energy shocks and achieve energy sovereignty. It highlights the vulnerability caused by a heavy reliance on fossil fuel imports and proposes a five-step strategy focusing on electrification, grid interconnection, flexible systems, industrial decarbonization, and the use of methane regulations to phase out high-risk suppliers.

• The European Union faces significant vulnerability due to its reliance on fossil fuel imports, which account for nearly 60 percent of its primary energy supply. Approximately 40 percent of these imports come from suppliers that have either threatened or discussed interrupting supplies to the EU.
• While the EU has reduced its dependence on Russian pipelines, it has increased its exposure to the United States, which is now the primary supplier of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and the second-largest overall gas supplier to the EU, creating a new political risk.
• Electrification offers a path to drastically reduce fossil fuel import exposure, as 89 percent of the EU's final energy demand can be electrified with current technologies. Furthermore, 81 percent of electricity production does not rely on imported fuels. Electrifying the vehicle fleet and installing heat pumps could have saved 150 billion euros of the 450 billion euros spent on fossil fuel imports in 2024.
• EU investments in clean energy are insufficient to meet the transition's needs. To achieve a clean energy transition by 2050, annual investments must reach 1,500 billion euros. In 2025, EU clean energy investments were approximately 346 billion euros, representing only 2.1 percent of GDP, which is below the global average of 2.9 percent.
• The EU Methane Emissions Regulation (MER) can be used as a tool to phase out high-risk fossil fuel imports. By implementing monitoring, reporting, and verification requirements by 2027 and methane intensity standards by 2030, the EU can disincentivize imports from high-emission suppliers like Russia and the United States.
• The document recommends five key steps for the European Commission and Member States: rapid electrification (increasing the 2030 target beyond the current 32%), improving grid interconnection (targeting 15% interconnection), deploying flexible systems (battery storage and smart meters), industrial decarbonization (aligned with EU taxonomy for steel, cement, and chemicals), and using MER rules to eliminate Russian fossil fuels by 2027.

APA

Burge, L., & Maxwell, S. (2026). Una transizione rapida verso la sovranità energetica. Climate Bonds Initiative. https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/Rapid-transition-to-energy-security_Italian_Una-transizione-rapida-verso-la-sovranita%CC%80-energetica.pdf

Chicago

Burge, Lily, and Sarah Maxwell. Una transizione rapida verso la sovranità energetica. Climate Bonds Initiative, 2026. https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/Rapid-transition-to-energy-security_Italian_Una-transizione-rapida-verso-la-sovranita%CC%80-energetica.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Burge |first1=Lily |last2=Maxwell |first2=Sarah |title=Una transizione rapida verso la sovranità energetica |publisher=Climate Bonds Initiative |date=April 2026 |url=https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/Rapid-transition-to-energy-security_Italian_Una-transizione-rapida-verso-la-sovranita%CC%80-energetica.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{burge2026una, author = {Burge, Lily and Maxwell, Sarah}, title = {{Una transizione rapida verso la sovranità energetica}}, institution = {Climate Bonds Initiative}, year = {2026}, month = apr, url = {https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/Rapid-transition-to-energy-security_Italian_Una-transizione-rapida-verso-la-sovranita%CC%80-energetica.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }