ECCO think tank

What is China’s role in the Italian and European energy transition Italy’s economic ties with China are a key enabler of its clean energy and industrial transition – but they also create interdependencies.

👉 Learn more: eccoclimate.org/what-is-chin...

📌What is China’s role in the Italian & European energy transition?

Italy’s energy transition inevitably involves China, especially in the field of clean-tech.

In this new study, we analyse the economic links between Italy and #China, proposing five levers to strengthen competitiveness & autonomy👇

The attack on Iran through the lens of energy geopolitics - ECCO Recent developments in the Middle East, with the joint US-Israeli strike on Iran, appear to follow a strategy aligned with Trump's policies.

🔎 #Iran and energy geopolitics

Escalation in the Middle East is putting energy dominance back into focus.

Iran’s control of the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for global energy flows, also means that disruptions can push oil & gas prices up and increase Europe’s vulnerability👇

tinyurl.com/2e8skbku

How Italy could shape, or shake, the future of the EU car industry The future of the car industry is being heavily debated in EU, with Italy’s positioning raising questions about the direction of the final regulatory balance.

But ICCT warns this could slow electrification and add up to 1 Gt CO₂ by 2050

🚗Italy’s stance, often pushing flexibility via biofuels, may shape the outcome

eccoclimate.org/how-italy-co...

How Italy could shape, or shake, the future of the EU car industry The future of the car industry is being heavily debated in EU, with Italy’s positioning raising questions about the direction of the final regulatory balance.

🚗 Italy = swing actor in the EU car transition

EU talks on the car sector have begun. The Commission proposal softens the 2035 target to 90% zero-emission and adds new flexibilities

@financialtimes.com @amykazmin.bsky.social @alicemhancock.bsky.social @carlostagnaro.bsky.social

Italy sets up fight with Brussels over carbon costs Rome wants to lower electricity prices by reimbursing gas plants for the price of buying EU emissions permits

Structural price stability will come from accelerating renewables, grids and storage, not from shielding fossil generation.

Read the full article 👇
tinyurl.com/zpdn53wn

Italy’s electricity price crisis is rooted in gas dependence.

The recent escalation of conflict in the Middle East and the resulting disruptions to shipping, which have driven increases in oil and gas prices, also show how geopolitical risks can expose Italy’s vulnerability to fossil fuel markets.

🗣️In the Financial Times, Matteo Leonardi said: “The Italian Government wants to sell the idea that it is trying to reduce the price of electricity, but Europe will oppose. A conflict over ETS would not only challenge EU climate governance, but could also undermine the integrity of the carbon market”

While presented as a measure to lower prices, the proposal raises concerns.

By neutralising the carbon price for gas generators, the decree risks weakening the polluter-pays principle at the core of the EU-ETS, distorting the internal market and increasing uncertainty for clean energy investment.

🔎 Italy is heading toward a potential clash with the EU over the Emissions Trading System (EU-ETS)

Facing high electricity prices, the Meloni Government has proposed reimbursing gas-fired power plants for the cost of carbon allowances under #ETS.

Italy calls for suspension of carbon price in major attack on EU climate policy The call would allow businesses to pollute for free, undermining the bloc’s longstanding emissions trading scheme.

Yet Italy’s high electricity prices stem from its overreliance on gas for power generation, which is the highest in the EU, as Chiara Di Mambro told Politico.

➡️Read the full interview: www.politico.eu/article/ital...

📆On Thursday, Adolfo Urso called the EU #ETS 'nothing more than a tax, a levy on energy-intensive companies.'

Last week, the Italian government also announced its Energy Bills Decree, which would compensate gas-fired power plant operators for ETS costs, undermining its decarbonisation incentive👇

➡️ reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-cont...

@reclaimfinance.org @wwf.eu

📄Over 130 organisations, including ECCO, call the European Parliament & Member States to stop sustainable funds from funding new fossil fuel projects.

The Commission’s proposal limits exclusions to 2️⃣ categories, risking the framework’s strength & alignment with climate goals.

Read the open letter👇

Climate risks and industrial transition: what is the cost of capital? - ECCO The cost of capital is one of the most important parameters in corporate finance. In practice, this parameter often coincides with the WACC.

eccoclimate.org/climate-risk...

📊 Decarbonisation as a competitive & financial lever

Decarbonisation strategies are central to a company’s competitiveness.

➡️This is because sustainability lowers exposure to risks, and markets recognise it: companies seen as less risky are rewarded with lower capital & debt costs.

Learn more👇

Webinar - Boosting EU energy diplomacy in the Mediterranean - ECCO The volatility of global energy markets has prompted the European Union to rethink its energy diplomacy and strategic partnerships.

Watch the full discussion👇

🎥 tinyurl.com/34zdxn4h

🔎Energy diplomacy in the Mediterranean

Last week, ECCO hosted a high-level dialogue with @strategicperspectives.eu on the importance of clean energy cooperation in the Mediterranean.

The discussion also explored ways to transform the #Mediterranean into a hub for renewable energy and clean tech.

Learn more in this article written by Beatrice Moro, Lorena Stella Martini and Giovanni D'Amico 👇

eccoclimate.org/the-green-de...

🌍Green Deal under attack

The European #GreenDeal has become a point of contention with the US, which has sought to curb Europe's energy & climate ambitions.

The stakes are clear: weakening the Green Deal limits Europe’s ability to chart its own industrial & energy course and tackle key challenges.

Climate risks and industrial transition: what is the cost of capital? - ECCO The cost of capital is one of the most important parameters in corporate finance. In practice, this parameter often coincides with the WACC.

Learn more in this report by Mario Noera and Paolo Versini 👇

eccoclimate.org/climate-risk...

🔎What is the cost of capital?

In corporate finance, it not just the cost of raising funds, it's also the benchmark for evaluating investments & a company's value.

➡️Higher perceived risks by investors means higher cost of capital, and today, #climate risks & the #energy transition play a key role.

Three days ago, Beatrice Moro joined the first Friends of IDA roundtable in Rome, launched by the World Bank with Italy’s Ministry of Economy and Finance.

Focus: the role of #IDA in today’s development finance architecture and how Italy-World Bank cooperation can deliver concrete results.

Synergies exist, but they require coordination, common tools and what Mario Draghi called “pragmatic federalism”.

A safer #Europe is not isolated.
#Europeansecurity is strengthened through deeper integration and stronger international cooperation.

Today at the #MunichSecurityConference, 70+ Heads of State and Government, 140 ministers and 40 international organisations gather to discuss Europe’s security future.

Amid geopolitical fragmentation and rising uncertainty, one issue stands out: integration⬇️

🌍 Connecting grids, securing the future

Yesterday, ECCO's Gabriele Cassetti spoke at the #TEASIMED2 closing conference in Brussels.

The project explores the feasibility of a Mediterranean power pool, with deeper electricity integration having the potential to boost efficiency & energy security.

📆Today, in Antwerp, European leaders meet to discuss competitiveness, the single market & growth.

Priorities also include regulatory simplification. But simplification in the name of competitiveness risks eroding the #GreenDeal & increasing uncertainty.

ECCO’s Head of Italy-EU Policy said:

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Boosting EU Energy Diplomacy in the Mediterranean. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar. Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Boosting EU Energy Diplomacy in the Mediterranean. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar.

👉Register here: tinyurl.com/yx2v969v

#WEBINAR
📆12 February, 8:30-10:30

How can EU energy diplomacy in the #Mediterranean deliver energy security, clean-tech investment and jobs while supporting electrification?

Find out in our webinar “Boosting EU Energy Diplomacy in the Mediterranean”, co-organised with @strategicperspectives.eu👇