Giovanni Finocchiaro, Andrea Gagna, Mariangela Soraci
In 2024, for every million euros of added value, the Italian non-metallic mineral products industry emitted 1,909 t of CO₂, compared to 1.8 t of SOx, 2.6 t of NOx, 1.08 t of NMVOCs, and 3.4 t of PM10. Compared to 1990, the emission intensity of all pollutants has decreased, albeit with significant differences. The most marked reduction concerns NOx, which decreased by 69%, while the reduction for other pollutants is more limited: SOx -59%, NMVOCs -23%, CO2 -33%, PM10 -25%. Over the past year, the indicator has improved only for SOx (-2.2%) and NOx (-2%), while for all other substances the emission intensity has increased slightly (CO₂ +2%, NMVOC +3%, PM10 +3.5%).
The indicator compares total annual emissions of carbon dioxide and four macroair pollutants produced by the non-metallic mineral processing industry—SOx (sulfur oxides); NOx (nitrogen oxides); NMVOCs (non-methane volatile organic compounds), and PM10 (particulate matter)—to the sector's value added (millions of euros at basic prices, 2020 chain-linked values).
Emissions are estimated according to the IPCC and EMEP/EEA methodologies and updated annually. The annual update of emissions involves revising the entire historical series based on more information and the most recent methodological developments. Given the chosen level of aggregation, the indicator provides information on the environmental performance of the entire sector, not just of individual production processes. Since the economic denominator reflects the wealth actually generated by the sector, the indicator measures the quantity of pollutants released per unit of economic value produced, offering a summary of the sector's environmental efficiency over time and not of individual production processes.
Monitor the performance of the non-metallic mineral products industry to verify decoupling and thus provide a reliable reference for evaluating the effectiveness of policies and best available techniques, as well as for feeding into national and European reporting on the non-metallic mineral products sector.
The regulatory framework of the indicator combines monitoring requirements for climate-altering emissions and emissions of other air pollutants: Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 on the Governance of the Energy Union requires Member States, in Article 26, to transmit every 15 March the national greenhouse gas inventory and the emission intensity indicators relating to the year X-2, according to the structure dictated by Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1208; These obligations are part of the "European Climate Law", Regulation (EU) 2021/1119, which makes climate neutrality by 2050 and a reduction of at least 55% of net emissions by 2030 legally binding. For conventional pollutants, the indicator is aligned with the national reductions set by Directive (EU) 2016/2284 on emission limits for SOx, NOx, NMVOCs and CO, while on the industrial side, Directive 2010/75/EU on industrial emissions, implemented in Italy with Legislative Decree 46/2014, remains central, which requires the adoption of best available techniques and the systematic exchange of emission data from activities subject to AIA. Taken together, these regulations set reduction targets, reporting deadlines, operating requirements for industrial plants, and requirements for accuracy, transparency, and annual review that emissions data must comply with.
ISPRA, 2026, CO2 emission intensity indicators for the year 2024. https://emissioni.sina.isprambiente.it/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/intensita_emissioni_CO2_2026.xlsx
ISPRA, 2026, Historical series of national emissions 1990-2024 https://emissioni.sina.isprambiente.it/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Emissioni_POL-SNAP-2026.xlsx
Report ISPRA 428/2026 – National Inventory Document 2026 – Italian Greenhouse Gas Inventory 1990-2024.
ISPRA Report 426/2026 – Italian Emission Inventory 1990-2024. Information Inventory Report 2026
ISPRA (Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research)
Istat (National Institute of Statistics)
CO2 and other pollutant emission data available at: https://emissioni.sina.isprambiente.it/serie-storiche-emissioni/ ISPRA, various years. Value Added data available at: http://dati.istat.it/ ISTAT, various years
The emission series come from the National Inventory of Atmospheric Emissions maintained by ISPRA: the datasets in NFR and SNAP formats can be freely downloaded from the portal emissioni.sina.isprambiente.it.
The economic data come from the ISTAT National Accounts: the table "Value added at basic prices - Non-metallurgical Activities sector (ATECO 24) - chained prices 2020" is accessible in open data on the I.Stat data-warehouse with export in CSV/SDMX formats dati.istat.it.
National
1990 - 2024
Intensity of CO2 and various pollutants (t/million euros)
Green Deal - Achieving Climate Neutrality
Every year since 1990, data on CO₂, SOx, NOx, NMVOC, and CO emissions from the non-metallic mineral products sector have been acquired from the National Inventory maintained by ISPRA, and the corresponding added value expressed at 2020 prices has been acquired from the ISTAT National Accounts. The classifications from the two sources are then harmonized. For each pollutant, emissions are compared to the sector's added value, obtaining an indicator expressed in tonnes per million euros. The resulting series is normalized by setting 1990 = 100 to make trends easier to read. With each revision of the inventory or financial statements, the entire series is retroactively recalculated, following the EMEP/EEA guidelines and the quality controls required by EU and UNECE/CLRTAP reporting.
In 2024, the emission intensity of the Italian non-metallic mineral processing industry was 1,909 t CO₂/M€, 1.8 t SOx/M€, 2.6 t NOx/M€, 1.1 t NMVOCs/M€, and 3.4 t PM10/M€. Compared to 2023, the indicator improved for SOx (-2.2%) and NOx (-2%), while for other substances, the emission intensity increased slightly (CO₂ -+2%, NMVOCs +3%, PM10 +3.5%). Overall, the status in 2024 can still be defined as "average" (Table 1).
Since 1990, emissions intensity has decreased for all pollutants: -33% CO2, -59% SOx, -69% NOx, -23% NMVOCs, and -25% PM10. The trend in the PM10 series shows greater variability over time, mainly due to the evolution of emissions from mining and construction and demolition activities (Table 1).
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Table 1: Emission intensity in the non-metallic minerals industry in Italy, compared to added value Fonte
ISPRA processing based on ISPRA data (CO2, SOx, NOx, NMVOC, and PM10 emissions) and Istat data (Value Added data). |
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Figure 1: Emission intensity (log10 scale; CO₂, SOx, NOx, NMVOC, PM10 in t/M€) in the non-metallic minerals industry Fonte
ISPRA processing based on ISPRA and Istat data |
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Figure 2: Emission intensity, index 1990 = 100 for CO₂, SOx, NOx, NMVOC, PM10 in the non-metallic minerals industry Fonte
ISPRA processing based on ISPRA and Istat data |
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Figure 3: Emission intensity: CO₂, SOx, NOx, NMVOC, CO in t/M€ in the non-metallic minerals industry (2024) Fonte
ISPRA processing based on ISPRA and Istat data |
Over the long term, a structural reduction in emission intensity emerges for all pollutants, with varying degrees and timing. As highlighted in Figure 1, and even more markedly in Figure 2, a clear decrease in the emission intensity of SOx and NOx is observed, while CO2, NMVOCs, and PM10 have increased slightly over the last three years.
Overall, the pollutants subject to more consolidated regulatory interventions, particularly SOx and NOx, show a more significant reduction than CO₂ and PM10, highlighting the effectiveness of targeted sector policies. The fluctuations in recent years can be traced back to the concomitance of various factors: economic crises, the pandemic, production recovery, and energy shocks.
Figure 3 highlights the marked difference, in 2024, between the emission intensity of CO₂ (1,909 t/M€) and that of other contaminants, all less than 4 t/M€. The current emissions picture of the non-metallic minerals industry is therefore characterized by the climate-altering contribution of CO2 and, to a lesser extent, PM10, SOx, NOx, and NMVOCs.