Italy: Enel’s Just Transition Framework and Futur-e project

Enel is implementing a just transition strategy through its Futur-e program to decommission 23 power plants and one mine by 2030. The framework emphasizes social dialogue with trade unions to prevent layoffs through early retirement, reskilling, and relocation for over 68,000 workers. While the company has adopted a participatory, bottom-up approach to repurpose sites into new economic uses, it continues to face challenges regarding investor attraction and indirect local economic impacts.

• Enel, a major Italian power utility and Europe's largest by revenue, has committed to becoming carbon-neutral by 2050. To achieve this, the company set targets to phase out all coal generation plants in Italy by 2025 and globally by 2030, while reducing coal production by 74% from 2018 levels. Its 2020–2022 Strategic Plan also aims to increase renewable energy capacity from approximately 46 GW to 60 GW by 2022.
• The Futur-e program, launched in 2015, manages the decommissioning and conversion of 23 power stations (representing 13 GW of capacity) and a mine in Santa Barbara, Tuscany, by 2030. As of late 2020, 12 sites were progressing "towards a new use," six had a identified "solution," and six were awaiting dialogue. Repurposed sites have become logistics centers (such as the Trino and Carpi turbogas plants), biotechnology centers, museums, and tourism or agriculture projects.
• Enel's just transition strategy focuses on protecting more than 68,000 affected workers (44% in Italy and the remainder across 29 other countries). The strategy utilizes several agreements, including the 2012 Protocol of National Industrial Relations and the 2013 Enel Global Framework Agreement, to implement early retirement incentives, vocational apprenticeships for workers aged 18 to 29, and relocation from fossil fuel units to greener business units. Enel claimed that by 2019, all workers from closed sites had been voluntarily relocated or retired.
• Following initial criticism from trade unions regarding their level of involvement and safety risks, Enel adopted a bottom-up participatory approach for project planning. This process involves four phases: stakeholder interviews to refine tenders, a competitive project tender requiring business plans and social impact assessments, evaluation by a panel including the Polytechnic of Milan, and implementation negotiations.
• Despite its framework, Enel faces challenges regarding the economic feasibility of attracting investors for repurposed sites due to bureaucratic delays or uncertainty. Additionally, some plant closures have caused indirect negative socio-economic impacts on local economies dependent on the plants. A 2019 European Trade Union Institute analysis suggested that national planning and coordination of public policy efforts in Italy could be improved to better support regional redevelopment.

APA

World Resources Institute (2021). Italy: Enel’s Just Transition Framework and Futur-e project. https://www.wri.org/snapshots/italy-enels-just-transition-framework-and-futur-e-project

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Italy: Enel’s Just Transition Framework and Futur-e project. 2021. https://www.wri.org/snapshots/italy-enels-just-transition-framework-and-futur-e-project.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Italy: Enel’s Just Transition Framework and Futur-e project |date=1 April 2021 |url=https://www.wri.org/snapshots/italy-enels-just-transition-framework-and-futur-e-project |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitute2021italy, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Italy: Enel’s Just Transition Framework and Futur-e project}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2021}, month = apr, url = {https://www.wri.org/snapshots/italy-enels-just-transition-framework-and-futur-e-project}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }