The meeting is introduced by Enrico Franco, director of Il Corriere del Trentino.
The demand for energy is increasing more and more. Yet, the irrational use of energy does not decrease. Almost half of the electricity needs in our country are represented by waste or inefficiencies. By 2020, the European Community requires us to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by as much as one-fifth, produce at least 20% of our energy needs from renewable sources, and limit consumption by the same percentage. In Italy, simply reducing electricity consumption by 20% would result in savings of over 65 billion euros, net of investments. This amount is equivalent to the cost of about ten nuclear power plants. At the same time, in just three years of the "Conto Energia" program, photovoltaic energy in Italy has reached an installed capacity of approximately 1200 MW—the same power as a nuclear power plant. In such an energy and climate scenario as the current one, is it really worthwhile to invest in third-generation nuclear power plants?
