(ANSA) - ROME, MARCH 04 - "2020 will be remembered as the year of the record drop in energy consumption (-10% compared to 2019) and CO2 emissions (-12%), which are now 40% lower than at 2005 levels ".
Enea writes this by disseminating the data of the quarterly analysis of the Italian energy system.
30% of the reduction in emissions is linked to 'virtuous' factors (such as the reduction of energy intensity and the lesser use of carbon-intensive fossil fuels) and 70% to the contraction in GDP.
"The contraction in energy demand is the highest since 1943-44, when Italy was in full Second World War", commented the ENEA researcher who coordinates the quarterly analysis of the Italian energy system, Francesco Gracceva.
"In the last major economic crisis, in 2009, consumption fell 'only' by 5.7%", he explains.
60% of the decline in primary energy consumption concerns oil, due to the strong reduction in road and air traffic.
.
The analysis shows "a significant improvement (+ 38%) in the ISPRED index, developed by the Agency to measure the energy transition on the basis of the trend in prices, security and decarbonisation".
"It also highlights - so egge in a note - the strong increase (+ 27% for a value of 2.2 billion euros) in imports of low carbon technologies, especially electric vehicles, hybrids and batteries which have reached 56% of this segment of imports (it was 33% in 2019).
Finally, among the news defined by ENEA as "positive" there is the achievement of commercial breakeven in photovoltaics and a slight increase in exports of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV). (ANSA ).