The indicator represents the trend of national emissions of particulate matter (PM2.5) by source sector from 1990 to 2022, highlighting a significant overall reduction over the years (-39%). The road transport sector, which contributes 9.3% of total emissions in 2022, shows a 75% decrease over the entire period. Emissions from non-industrial combustion, during the same period, increased by almost 38%, making it the most significant sector in 2022, accounting for 63.8% of total emissions.

The indicator is calculated for a limited sample of Alpine glaciers and represents the algebraic sum of ice mass gained through snowfall accumulation and mass lost through melting during the ablation period. Glacier mass balance data provide a fundamental measure for assessing the "health status" of glaciers.

Analysis of data from 1995 to 2023 shows that, for the glaciers considered collectively, the cumulative mass balance exhibits significant losses, ranging from nearly 25 meters water equivalent for the Basòdino glacier to over 50 meters water equivalent for the Caresèr glacier, corresponding to an average annual mass loss exceeding one meter water equivalent.

The indicator represents, over the period 1990-2022, the trend of greenhouse gas emissions in Italy per capita and relative to GDP. A decrease is observed for both, accentuated by the growth of the population and GDP, which highlights a decoupling between drivers and pressures.

The indicator represents the historical series of national greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 to 2022, broken down by sector. The data analysis shows a significant reduction in emissions in 2022 compared to 1990 (-21%), which can be explained by the economic recession that has slowed consumption in recent years, as well as by an increased use of renewable energy, leading to a reduction in CO2 emissions from the energy sector (-20% compared to 1990).

The indicator includes the emission allowances generated by installations covered by the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), established under Directive 2003/87/EC, and the greenhouse gas emissions from all sectors not included in the ETS scope—namely small- and medium-scale industry, transport, residential and commercial buildings, agriculture, and waste. These are regulated under Decision No. 406/2009/EC (Effort Sharing Decision, ESD) up to 2020, and by the Effort Sharing Regulation (EU) 2018/842 (ESR) from 2021 onward. While non-ETS sector emissions in 2020 remained below the target threshold of 37 MtCO₂eq, in 2022 they exceeded the allowable limit by 5.5 MtCO₂eq, indicating a deviation from the reduction trajectory required to meet ESR targets.

This indicator measures the health impact of heatwaves on the elderly population (aged 65 and over) across 27 Italian cities included in the National Heatwave Health Prevention and Warning Plan. The plan is implemented by the National Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (CCM) of the Ministry of Health and coordinated by the Epidemiology Department of the Lazio Regional Health Service (DEP Lazio). The cities are equipped with Heat Health Watch Warning (HHWW) systems to provide forecasts and alerts.

The summer of 2023 (15 May – 15 September) was characterized by temperatures above the seasonal reference average. Despite these elevated temperatures, observed mortality in the elderly population remained generally within expected levels. Monthly impact assessments highlighted increases in mortality rates associated with heatwave episodes during July and August in several monitored urban areas.

This indicator provides critical information for monitoring climate-related health risks and supports adaptation strategies aimed at reducing adverse health effects of heatwaves on vulnerable population groups.

The indicator represents the historical series of national heavy metal emissions from 1990 to 2022, by source sector. Since 1990, a reduction in emissions has been recorded for all metals. In particular, emissions of cadmium, mercury, and lead are in line with the internationally set targets under the Aarhus Protocol, having decreased by -63%, -64%, and -95%, respectively, compared to 1990 levels.

The EU Ecolabel is the voluntary environmental quality mark of the European Union, regulated by Regulation (EC) No. 66/2010 and subsequent amendments, which distinguishes products and services characterized by a reduced environmental impact throughout their entire life cycle, while ensuring high performance standards. The indicator reflects the number of active certifications granted by the Italian Competent Body to companies for their products and services, which stand out in the Italian market for their environmental responsibility and consumer awareness. The number of licenses and certified products/services has increased from 1998 to 2023. Specifically, as of 31 December 2023, there are 464 active EU Ecolabel licenses in Italy, covering a total of 14,128 certified products/services, distributed across 17 active product/service groups.

In 2023, the Italian economy experienced a more moderate growth compared to previous years, with the Gross Domestic Product and Final Consumption Expenditure on the national territory increasing by 0.7% and 0.4%, respectively, compared to 2022. Municipal waste generation showed a slight increase (+0.7%) following a 1.8% decline recorded over the previous two-year period (2021–2022).

National municipal waste (MW) generation in 2023 amounts to approximately 29.3 million tonnes, marking a 0.7% increase (approximately +218,000 tonnes) compared to 2022.

As of 31 December 2023, the number of organizations listed in the EMAS register, excluding cancellations and suspensions, reaches 1,127. This figure confirms a recovery trend compared to 2018, with a +16.8% increase. The total number of new EMAS certificates issued to organizations/companies is 2,244. The sectors with the highest adoption include: Waste and Material Recovery, Energy, Services for Buildings and Landscapes, Public Administration, Specialized Construction Works, and Wholesale Trade. The leadership of the Central-Northern regions is reflected in regional measures supporting EMAS. The most active regions are Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany, and Lazio. In terms of EMAS registrations by type of organization, the situation remains largely stable in recent years, with a balanced distribution across small, medium, and large enterprises.

The indicator refers to company sites with an environmental management system compliant with the UNI-EN-ISO 14001 standard, certified by an ACCREDIA-accredited body that verifies its competence and independence according to the relevant international standards. By the end of 2023, there are 31,687 certified Italian company sites, marking a significant increase compared to 2022 (27,103). 48% of certified companies are concentrated in the northern regions, with Lombardy holding the highest number of certifications, featuring 5,939 company sites with a management system compliant with UNI-EN-ISO 14001. In addition to Italian company sites, a significant portion of foreign companies, representing 16% of the total, have also certified their environmental management systems. The sectors with the highest adoption of certification are "Construction," "Transport, Logistics, and Communications," and "Other Social Services," with 4,624, 3,637, and 2,977 certified company sites, respectively.

European regulations set ambitious recycling targets for 2025 and 2030 for packaging waste, which represents one of the main monitored waste flows. The packaging waste recycling rate, calculated as the ratio between the amount of waste recycled and the amount of waste produced, tracks progress toward a circular economy by assessing the reintegration of materials into industrial cycles as secondary raw materials. To ensure uniform measurement conditions for the new targets based on the actual quantity of packaging waste reprocessed to create new products, materials, or substances, stringent calculation methodologies have been defined at the European level. With the application of the new methodologies, the targets set for 2025 have already been reached for all packaging fractions, except for plastics. To increase recycling rates, one of the action lines is the development of new treatment technologies, especially for those types of waste that are currently difficult to recover through mechanical processes.

In 2023, the preparation for re-use and recycling rate—calculated using Methodology 4 and excluding construction and demolition (C\&D) waste from household sources—stood at 50.8%, thus exceeding the 50% target set for 2020.

The indicator represents the trend of national persistent organic pollutant emissions by sector, from 1990 to 2022. The target set as a lower emission value than in 1990 was achieved for both PAHs (-30%) and dioxins and furans (-43%), with different trends.

In 2023, the total amount of municipal waste disposed of in landfills amounted to approximately 4.6 million tonnes, with 112 landfill facilities in operation nationwide. Compared to 2022, this represents a 10.8% reduction in the total quantity of municipal waste landfilled (equivalent to -559,000 tonnes) and a 4.3% decrease in the number of operational sites (-5 facilities).

Coastal marine waters are “surface waters located inside an imaginary line, every point of which is one nautical mile seaward from the nearest point of the baseline used to determine the limit of territorial waters, and which may extend up to the outer limit of transitional waters” (Paragraph 1 of Article 74 of Legislative Decree 152/2006). The legislation (Legislative Decree 152/2006) mandates the achievement of a “good” status of water bodies (chemical + ecological) by the dates set by current legislation; failure to achieve environmental objectives results in the implementation of remediation measures. Based on the analysis of data reported by the Districts in the 3rd Reporting to the European Commission for the 2016–2021 six-year period (3rd RBMP), the chemical status of Italian coastal marine waters appears heterogeneous. This heterogeneity is evident both in terms of the number of water bodies identified per district and their classification. The Eastern Alps and Po River Districts have all water bodies in a “not good” chemical status, while in Sicily and the Southern Apennines District, over 60% of the water bodies are in a “not good” status. The Northern Apennines, Central Apennines, and Sardinia Districts, instead, register more than 50%, more than 90%, and more than 80%, respectively, in a “good” chemical status. At the national level, 51% of coastal marine water bodies are in good chemical status. Comparing the 2nd and 3rd RBMPs, in the 2nd RBMP, water bodies with unknown chemical status amounted to 26% (147 out of 561), whereas in the 3rd RBMP, only one water body has an unknown status. Generally, water bodies in good chemical status are comparable between the two RBMPs—52% and 51%, respectively—while water bodies in not good chemical status increased in the 3rd RBMP (49%).

The legislation (Legislative Decree 152/2006) mandates achieving good status of water bodies (chemical + ecological) by the deadlines established by the current legislation. The analysis of chemical status shows heterogeneous values among the districts, with 100% of water bodies in good status only for the Central Apennines and 52% for Sardinia. In all other districts, the percentage of water bodies in good status never exceeds 50% and ranges from 3% in the Eastern Alps to 40% in the Northern Apennines.

A comparison between the status in the 2nd Water Management Plan (WMP) cycle and that in the 3rd cycle shows maintenance of good chemical status for 100% of the water bodies in the Central Apennines, an improvement for those in the Northern Apennines (from 30% to 40%), Sardinia (from 12% to 52%), and Sicily (from 11% to 17%), and a worsening for the water bodies in the Eastern Alps District (from 51% to 3%), Po River (from 65% to 23%), and Southern Apennines (from 18% to 11%).

At the national level, the number of water bodies in good status is 56 out of 172 (33%) in the 2nd WMP cycle, while in the 3rd cycle it is 42 out of 146 (29%).

The indicator, based on data processed within the Carta della Natura project, shows the distribution of Ecological Value across 16 Italian regions, providing a representation categorized into different classes. Ecological Value is understood as a synonym for natural significance and is calculated—starting from the regional habitat maps—for each mapped polygon, excluding those referring to built enviroments and fully urbanized areas.

This indicator offers an overview of the environmental mosaic within various regional contexts, highlighting high-value areas, including their protection status. The analysis presents the percentage of protected areas in each region and the composition of protected and unprotected zones in terms of Ecological Value. The protected areas system (EUAP areas, Natura 2000 sites, and Ramsar areas) covers, on average, less than 24% of the territory in the 16 examined regions, exceeding 30% only in Abruzzo, Campania, and Valle d’Aosta. A strong correlation is observed between protected areas and territories classified with the highest Ecological Value, covering an average of 49.4%. However, significant portions remain outside protected areas, varying from region to region, which suggests potential new areas for conservation.

Coastal marine waters are defined as “surface waters situated inside an imaginary line one nautical mile away, at every point, on the outer side from the nearest point of the baseline used to define the territorial sea limit, and potentially extending to the outer boundary of transitional waters.” The legislation (Legislative Decree 152/2006) mandates achieving "good" status (ecological + chemical) for water bodies by the deadlines set by current regulations; failure to meet environmental goals entails remediation measures. Based on the analysis of data reported by Districts in the 3rd Reporting to the European Commission for the six-year period 2016–2021 (3rd WMP), the ecological status of Italian coastal marine waters is heterogeneous. This heterogeneity is expressed in both the number of water bodies identified per district and their ecological classification. The Eastern Alps, Northern Apennines, Central Apennines, Sicily, and Sardinia Districts show a percentage of water bodies in good and high ecological status greater than or equal to 70%. Specifically, in the Sardinia District, more than 40% of water bodies are in high status. Nationally, more than 60% of water bodies (261 out of 394 total) are in good and high ecological status. Comparing data from the 2nd WMP and the 3rd WMP shows that in the 2nd WMP, 27% of water bodies had unknown ecological status (149 out of 561 total), while in the 3rd WMP, only one water body is in unknown ecological status. In general terms, the proportion of water bodies in good and high ecological status increased from 55% in the 2nd WMP to 66% in the 3rd WMP.

Transitional waters are defined in Legislative Decree 152/2006 as "surface water bodies near a river mouth, partially saline due to their proximity to coastal waters but significantly influenced by freshwater flows." This definition encompasses coastal lagoons and coastal ponds subject to ecological classification. Italian transitional environments are exposed to numerous pressure factors, often leading to degradation of ecological conditions in these fragile ecosystems. The ecological status analysis shows heterogeneous values, both in the number of Water Bodies (WB) and in the distribution across quality classes, with a prevalence of sufficient and poor statuses in all Districts. Comparing the status of the 2nd Water Management Plan (WMP) cycle with that of the 3rd cycle, it is observed that for all hydrographic districts, ecological status remains predominantly sufficient and poor. However, there is an increase in the percentage of water bodies in good status in the Eastern Alps District (from 7% to 11%), Northern Apennines District (from 10% to 20%), Southern Apennines District (from 0% to 6%), and Sardinia District (from 0% to 26%). National analysis of ecological status shows that the number of water bodies in good or high status increased from 9 out of 172 (5%) in the 2nd WMP cycle to 22 out of 146 (15%) in the 3rd cycle.

The indicator considers extraction sites for first-category minerals, as classified by current regulations, excluding fluid energy sources and mineral and/or thermal water springs, present in the national territory from 1870 to the present. It serves a dual purpose: identifying potential mineral deposits still exploitable with sustainable techniques and locating potential sources of pollution associated with past extraction methods.

Of the 3,016 sites that have been operational in the past 150 years, only 94 currently hold valid concessions, and 76 sites were active in 2020. 562 abandoned or decommissioned mining sites present a medium to high ecological and health risk. Several museum sites have been integrated into the National Network of Mining Museums and Parks (REMI), coordinated by ISPRA.

The indicator describes land use (agricultural, urban, industrial or commercial, infrastructure, recreational, natural and semi-natural, water bodies, etc.), reporting the territorial surfaces associated with different classes according to the CORINE Land Cover classification system. Between 2012 and 2018, there was a continued general increase in artificial urban areas, primarily at the expense of agricultural land. In Italy, as in the rest of Europe, cultivated areas show a contraction, linked not only to urbanization processes but also to agricultural land abandonment.

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.

The indicator measures the abundance and diversity of bird populations in Italy throughout the year, based on bird ringing data. This assessment helps define Italy’s role in the spatial-temporal distribution of European avifauna. Data from 2019-2020 confirm Italy’s crucial importance as a major migration corridor between Europe and Africa and contribute to identifying critical periods for bird species, which is essential for conservation and management purposes.

The Italian fauna is estimated to include over 58,000 species, with the total number reaching approximately 60,000 taxa when considering subspecies. However, this biodiversity is under threat, as indicated by IUCN assessments and population trends. Among the 672 species of Italian vertebrates (576 terrestrial and 96 marine), 6 are extinct in Italy, and 161 are threatened with extinction (accounting for 28% of the assessed species). Different vertebrate groups show varying percentages of risk: 2% for marine bony fish, 19% for reptiles, 21% for cartilaginous fish, 23% for mammals, 36% for amphibians, and up to 48% for freshwater bony fish (considering the CR+EN+VU IUCN categories). Additionally, terrestrial and marine vertebrate populations are generally declining by 27% and 22%, respectively.

Breeding birds are the only group for which two IUCN assessments have been conducted, seven years apart. Of the 278 species assessed in the latest 2019 evaluation, 5 are extinct, and 67 are threatened (compared to 76 in 2013), representing 26% of the evaluated species. Half of Italy's breeding bird species are not at immediate risk of extinction.

Among invertebrates, 9% of corals, 11% of dragonflies, 21% of saproxylic beetles, 6% of butterflies, and 11% of assessed bees are threatened with extinction. Invertebrates also show negative trends; for example, 16% of dragonfly populations are in decline, five times higher than those increasing.

Soil degradation refers to the reduction in the biological productivity of soil resources. This process is often intrinsically linked to biodiversity loss and the impacts of climate change. Assessing soil degradation requires considering multiple interdependent factors, each contributing differently to the phenomenon.

In recent years, Italy has participated in the pilot project on Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN), promoted by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), and in the LDN Target Setting Programme, which supports countries in identifying voluntary LDN targets and defining associated measures to achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 15.3. This goal is monitored through the "Proportion of degraded land over total land area" (SDG Indicator 15.3.1).

For the assessment of this indicator in Italy, three sub-indicators proposed by UNCCD under the LDN framework have been adopted:

1. Land cover change
2. Soil productivity index
3. Soil organic carbon content

Additionally, further indices and parameters relevant to the Italian context and available at the national level have been considered. The results show that in 2019, the proportion of degraded land in Italy, excluding water bodies, was 17.4%, according to the UNCCD methodology. Furthermore, nearly 56,000 km² (approximately 18.5% of the national territory) experienced increased degradation between 2006 and 2019.

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.