The opposition 5-Star Movement (M5S) criticised Premier Giorgia Meloni’s COP29 speech in Baku. It accused her of echoing fossil-fuel industry interests with her call for a “pragmatic approach” to the climate crisis and emphasis on nuclear fusion’s potential for clean energy.
“Premier Meloni repeated the tired narrative of the gas and oil lobbies at COP in Baku, pushing solutions that solely benefit their profits at citizens’ expense,” said M5S MP and former environment minister Sergio Costa. “She claims nuclear fusion, which does not yet exist, is the answer to today’s climate crisis. She tells this to Italians who risk losing everything each time it rains.”
Critics of green policies often call environmentalists “ideological,” but Costa argued that Meloni’s stance is the true ideological position. “It’s surprising how entrenched this approach is. They ignore scientific evidence and data, favouring unsustainable positions for partisan gains,” he stated. “Climate denial is a dangerous ideology, risking disaster in service of familiar interests.”
Angelo Bonelli, MP for the Green-Left Alliance (AVS), supported Costa’s criticism. “Premier Meloni’s approach to ecological transition is ideological,” Bonelli said. “In Baku, she backed the fossil industry, breaking Italy’s commitments made at COP28 in Dubai.
“The climate crisis is already damaging our people, nature, and economy. Floods and extreme weather have cost over €20 billion in damages in the past 18 months, costs borne by Italian citizens.”
This as Sicily has borne the brunt of torrential rain and flooding this week.
