Energia 3.20: English index and abstracts

Alberto Clô introduces Energia 3.20 (pp. 2-5)
(Presentazione)
di Alberto Clô
Alberto Clô introduces the contents of the new issue of ENERGIA: “The first 40 years of «Energia»”; “The transition does not exist. But it hopefully will happen”; “we should separate the wheat from the chaff”; “Regulation & Deregulation”

COMMENT

The globalization we need (pp. 6-9)
(La globalizzazione di cui abbiamo bisogno) 
di Jeremy Adelman (Direttore del Global History Lab, Università di Princeton)

Many believes it is vital to restore globalization. But there is no going back to normal. The old normal was in deep trouble well before Covid-19. Panic about backsliding into self-sufficiency is exaggerated. The menace before us is a world in which powerful economic actors subject the powerless even more to their rules and needs, thereby replacing a creaking one-world system with competing syndicates. Interdependence is here to stay. The issue is: what kind of interdependence do we want and need?

ENERGY TRANSITION

Surviving the perfect Storm (pp. 10-12)
(Sopravvivere alla «tempesta perfetta») 
di Stefano Cao (Amministratore Delegato di Saipem)

The pandemic has created the conditions to introduce a «new nor­mality» that has unhinged consolidated business models and life­styles in just a few months. How did a global company like Saipem move in the face of such a crisis? What impact did the lockdown have on your business and order book? More generally, how does this new normal fit into the equally profound transformation linked to the energy transition towards a low-carbon economy? Never before has uncertainty and volatility become a new normal to live with. The challenge will not only be to develop resilience skills alone, but rather the ability to continually adapt to contexts characterized by constant change.

Without investments, nor growth neither energy transition (pp. 14-22)
(Senza investimenti, né crescita né transizione energetica)
di Alberto Clô (Direttore responsabile «Energia»)

Investments are the key to match the energy need while ensuring the energy transition. Yet the state of the art shows a generalized decline, in contrast to what hoped for. The numerous, albeit uneven and unclear, estimates indicate the need for figures far higher than current expenditure. History teaches us that investments on the end-use side (bottom-up) should anticipate and be higher than those on the supply side (top-down). Yet, in renewable energy sector we are witnessing the opposite. On the fossil front, the decline is not due to a drop in demand, but to climate and corporate policies. Therefore, the risk of a supply-demand mismatch and a super-cycle in oil prices cannot be excluded. On the horizon, the prospect that Green Recovery policies can make it possible «to kill two birds with one stone».

How much is green global finance? (pp. 24-35)
(Quanto è green la finanza mondiale?)
di Enzo Di Giulio e Stefania Migliavacca (Eni Corporate University)

In the energy transition, speed is a key factor that deserve a deep insight. This article focuses on both emissions by geographic area and financial flows, in order to verify whether a fast-enough shift towards green activities is occurring. In particular, the trends of real investments, green bonds and ESG ETFs is examined in depth. The conclusion of the research is that, although there are signs of a shift in world finance towards green activities, it is nowadays very modest and its speed insufficient to decarbonise the economy in due time.

Does Covid-19 have infected the green transition? (pp. 36-42)
(Il Covid-19 ha infettato la transizione verde?) 
di Ivan Faiella e Filippo Natoli (Banca d’Italia)

The Covid-19 pandemic is having unprecedented consequences on the energy sector and carbon emissions. Its medium-term implications might be crucial for the decarbonization of the productive system. Indeed, the pandemic could either accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy or stop it outright. To prevent that the recovery further locks-in our energy systems to fossil fuels, an urgent and global-coordinated action to establish a carbon pricing system is needed. That would gradually increase with the target of achieving climate neutrality.

40 YEARS OF ENERGIA

ACI and «Energia»: a renewed collaboration (pp. 44-45) 
(L’ACI e la rivista «Energia»: una collaborazione che si rinnova)
di Angelo Sticchi Damiani (Presidente dell’Automobile Club d’Italia)

Continuing our, even more complex, commitment (pp. 46-48)
(Continuare nel nostro impegno, ancor più complesso)
di Alberto Clô (Direttore responsabile «Energia»)

What is «Energia»? (pp. 49-52) 
(Che cos’è «Energia»?) 
di Enzo Di Giulio (Comitato Scientifico «Energia»)

The story of liberalizations (pp. 52-59) 
(Il racconto delle liberalizzazioni) 
di Giovanni Goldoni (Comitato Scientifico «Energia»)

Looking back to look forward (pp. 59-62) 
(Voltarsi indietro per guardare avanti) 
di GB Zorzoli (Comitato Scientifico «Energia»)

REGULATION & DEREGULATION

Reflections on the effect of liberalization on gas prices (pp. 64-74)
(Riflessioni sull’effetto delle liberalizzazioni sui prezzi del gas) 
di Roberto Cardinale (Assistant Professor presso il Dipartimento di Economia dell’American University in Cairo)

According to many experts, the recent fall in gas prices in Europe should not simply be attributed to the effects of the pandemic and the consequent collapse in energy demand, but largely to the liber­alization process initiated more than twenty years ago. This article suggests that although liberalization has made it possible to take ad­vantage of the current international oversupply, it has not yet generat­ed a structural change that ensures low and stable prices in the long term. The hypothesis is that the persistence of a condition of strong dependence on imports can reduce the benefits of a competitive do­mestic market if the international oversupply decreases and prices in­crease. This may bring out the need for reforms that give more space to the vertical integration strategies of the European energy industry.

REVIEW

Bibliographic reports (pp. 76-77)

STATISTICS

Tabs (pp. 78-95)

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