Climate Adaptation
Italy Bets on a Low-Tech Plan to Green Economy and Save Jobs
Residential homes in the village of Nemi, Italy.
Photographer: Alessia PierdomenicoThis article is for subscribers only.
Italy is betting that a tax scheme to encourage home renovations will green its economy and create jobs.
On the face of it, this low-tech approach is at odds with the European Union’s aim of promoting climate and innovation in exchange for billions of euros of aid money. But the government is convinced that paying citizens to make their homes more energy efficient is also the best way to kick-start the recovery in the middle of a pandemic.