Al Forum Coldiretti, the CEO of Eni, Claudio Descalzi, sent a clear message to the European Union: we need a more concrete and less ideological energy policy"In recent years, attention to energy and energy transition issues has grown significantly. There's a lot of talk about it, but it's worth remembering that until recently, Europe lacked a real energy security plan," Descalzi said, noting that "the sudden shutdown of some supplies has highlighted the fragility of the system."
Descalzi: "Renewables alone aren't enough."
According to Descalzi, Europe "only recently understood the fragility of the system," when the sudden closure of some supplies threw the market into crisis.The European Union, unlike the United States, Russia or China, it does not yet have a single energy market”, he stressed. The result? Each country goes it alone, while the other major global players race.
For the Eni manager, the energy transition remains "a fundamental objective, especially as a diversification tool", but he specified that it cannot be "just a 'subsidized' transition: the system must be based on solid economic foundations and generate real returns, otherwise it is not sustainable in the long term". In other words: it is not enough to be green, you also have to be be sustainable in the wallet.
Europe and the “one-dimensional” error
Descalzi doesn't spare criticisms of the European strategy"Europe's mistake was to address the issue in a one-dimensional way, focusing almost exclusively on reducing emissions and abandoning sources that remain central to many countries." An approach that, according to him, has produced paradoxical effects: "Germany, after closing nuclear power plants, reopened coal-fired plants," thus increasing emissions.
“The transition must be complementary, not substitutive”
" transition energy, therefore, it must be complementary and not substitutive"We must take into account current demand, which is still 80% covered by fossil fuels," Descalzi explained. "Even artificial intelligence and new technologies, which require large amounts of energy, cannot be based solely on renewable. We need a balance, a diversified mix which includes all available sources”.
As an example, he cited Spain, which "attempted to cover almost 100% of its needs with renewables, but this reduced the system's flexibility," even experiencing localized blackouts. "Experiments like this are useful, but they demonstrate that renewables alone are not enough," he added.
Forgotten Biofuels, China Favored
Another great absentee in the European debate, according to Eni's CEO, are "the biofuels”. Despite “reducing emissions by up to 90%” and offering “the same performance as conventional engines”, Brussels continues to “obstruct their use”.
Instead, he prefers "electrical solutions that require raw materials—such as lithium and cobalt—mostly imported from China." And here Descalzi hits the nail on the head: "Europe has turned the transition into an ideological banner, often disconnected from industrial and economic reality."
Nuclear: technically yes, politically maybe
On the front nuclearEni's CEO doesn't close the door and offers some numbers: "France, thanks to nuclear power covering about 70% of its needs, has an average energy price of around 60 euros per MWh. Spain, with a 20% nuclear share and extensive use of renewables, maintains slightly higher prices, around 65 euros. Italy, on the other hand, suffers from a greater dependence on gas and higher tariffs, compounded by transportation costs and infrastructure differences."
“The answer is yes: it is technically possible to return to production atomic energy in Europe, but it takes a long time—six or seven years onward—and above all, a clear social and political consensus. In countries like China, power plants are built in five years, but in Europe the procedures are more complex. Despite this, nuclear energy represents a credible solution for ensuring low-cost energy and reducing emissions,” Descalzi concluded.
