Key Indicators European Green Deal
Alla fine di marzo 2022, Eurostat ha rilasciato un nuovo strumento di visualizzazione interattiva per mostrare statistiche rilevanti sul Green Deal europeo [non linkabile], una delle sei priorità della Commissione europea per il periodo 2019-2024. Con il Green Deal europeo, la Commissione mira a eliminare le emissioni di gas serra entro il 2050 e disaccoppiare la crescita economica dall’uso delle risorse, senza lasciare indietro né persone né luoghi nel tentativo di raggiungere questo obiettivo.
Lo strumento di Eurostat consente di monitorare 26 indicatori chiave per il raggiungimento degli obiettivi del Green Deal europeo, come l’indice netto delle emissioni di gas serra, le perdite economiche totali legate al clima in milioni o la quantità di consumo di energia primaria.
Sono presenti gli indicatori ISPRA che hanno una corrispondenza (non sempre univoca) con gli indicatori “di natura ambientale” del suddetto core set.
In alcuni casi, a un singolo indicatore del core set ISPRA corrisponde uno o più indicatori del core set in questione, o viceversa, più indicatori del core set ISPRA corrispondono a un singolo indicatore del core set di riferimento.
The indicator evaluates the pressures on the environment and the efficiency of resources used by the economy to generate wealth, as well as its progress toward achieving a circular economy. In 2022, the ratio of national waste production to gross domestic product (GDP) was slightly above the European average (66 kg/1,000€ vs. 60 kg/1,000€). Overall, the economic system still appears unable to limit waste production in relation to the wealth produced.
The European Commission has adopted the European Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 (SEB 2030, COM(2020) 380 final), which sets the objective for Member States to protect at least 30% of their national territory and 30% of their seas, with at least one-third of these areas being strictly protected. These objectives are also incorporated into the National Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 (SNB 2030).
The indicator integrates spatial data from the main biodiversity protection systems existing in Italy (protected areas and the Natura 2000 Network), calculating the current protected surface both on land and at sea. It evaluates the variation from 1991 to 2023 and highlights the gap between the percentage of protected land and marine areas and the 30% target set by SEB 2030. The data used to calculate the extent of the protected area come from CDDA and the Natura 2000 database. Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (OECM) are not included, as the types of areas that may fall within this category have not yet been defined.
As of today, the total national coverage of protected areas, after accounting for overlaps between protected areas and Natura 2000 sites, is approximately 4,068,476 hectares at sea, equivalent to 11.62% of Italian territorial waters and the Ecological Protection Zone (ZPE), and about 6,532,341 hectares on land, covering 21.68% of the national territory. The extent of overlapping areas, i.e., those falling within both a protected area and a Natura 2000 site, has increased over time, reaching 862,631 hectares at sea and 2,447,046 hectares on land in 2023. The trends indicate that the percentage of protected national surface has stabilized since 2006 for marine areas and since 2011 for land areas. To meet the 30% target set by SEB 2030, an additional 18% of marine areas (approximately 6,600,000 hectares) and 8% of land areas (approximately 2,500,000 hectares) still need to be protected.
The number of areas and the extent of protected marine surface have steadily increased over time. Currently, Italy has 39 Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), established in 10 Italian regions; of these, 29 are Marine Protected Areas (AMPs). Sicily and Sardinia are the regions with the highest number of marine protected areas, both in terms of quantity and protected marine surface.
Between 2012 and 2019, the national surface area of MPAs increased by 1.9%, thanks to the establishment in 2018 of two Marine Protected Areas: Capo Testa - Punta Falcone in Sardinia and Capo Milazzo in Sicily.
In Italy, as of today, 843 terrestrial protected areas (including those with a marine component) have been established, covering a total protected surface of over 3 million hectares, which corresponds to approximately 10.5% of the national terrestrial area. Analyzing the historical series (1922-2019), it is possible to observe, especially from the mid-1970s onward, a positive trend in terms of both the number and surface area of terrestrial protected natural areas. However, since 2008-2009, there has been a certain stabilization in the growth trends.