Editing Italy (section)

=== Environment ===
{{See also|List of national parks of Italy|List of regional parks of Italy|List of Marine Protected Areas of Italy}}
[[File:National and Regional Parks of Italy.svg|thumb|National and regional parks in Italy]]

After its quick industrial growth, Italy took time to address its environmental problems. After improvements, Italy now ranks 84th in the world for ecological sustainability.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Italy – Environment|url=http://dev.prenhall.com/divisions/hss/worldreference/IT/environment.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090701064224/http://dev.prenhall.com/divisions/hss/worldreference/IT/environment.html|archive-date=1 July 2009|access-date=2 August 2010|publisher=Dev.prenhall.com}}</ref> The total area protected by national parks, regional parks, and nature reserves covers about 11% of Italian territory,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Regione e aree protette|url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/regione-e-aree-protette_%28L%27Italia-e-le-sue-Regioni%29|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220111173345/https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/regione-e-aree-protette_%28L%27Italia-e-le-sue-Regioni%29|archive-date=11 January 2022|access-date=11 January 2022|language=it}}</ref> and 12% of Italy's coastline is [[List of Marine Protected Areas of Italy|protected]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Le aree protette in Italia|url=http://www.uccellidaproteggere.it/La-conservazione/Cosa-fa-l-Italia-Le-azioni/Le-aree-protette-in-Italia|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220302220957/http://www.uccellidaproteggere.it/La-conservazione/Cosa-fa-l-Italia-Le-azioni/Le-aree-protette-in-Italia|archive-date=2 March 2022|access-date=2 March 2022|language=it}}</ref>

Italy has been one of the world's leading producers of [[renewable energy in Italy|renewable energy]], in 2010 ranking as the fourth largest provider of installed [[solar energy]] capacity<ref>{{Cite web|date=15 July 2010|title=Renewables 2010 Global Status Report |url=http://www.ren21.net/Portals/97/documents/GSR/REN21_GSR2011.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110820095506/http://www.ren21.net/Portals/97/documents/GSR/REN21_GSR2011.pdf|archive-date=20 August 2011|access-date=16 July 2010|publisher=[[REN21]]}}; {{Cite web|title=Photovoltaic energy barometer 2010 – EurObserv'ER |url=https://www.eurobserv-er.org/pdf/baro196.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101011224419/http://www.eurobserv-er.org/pdf/baro196.pdf|archive-date=11 October 2010|access-date=30 October 2010}}</ref> and sixth largest of [[wind power]] capacity.<ref>{{Cite web|date=February 2011|title=World Wind Energy Report 2010 |url=http://www.wwindea.org/home/images/stories/pdfs/worldwindenergyreport2010_s.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110904232058/http://www.wwindea.org/home/images/stories/pdfs/worldwindenergyreport2010_s.pdf|archive-date=4 September 2011|access-date=8 August 2011|publisher=[[World Wind Energy Association]]}}</ref> Renewable energy provided approximately 37% Italy's energy consumption in 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|date=25 May 2021|title=Renewables provided 37% of Italy's energy in 2020 – English |url=https://www.ansa.it/english/news/2021/05/25/renewables-provided-37-of-italys-energy-in-2020_1a075060-c823-4076-a338-79367427dfd2.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211023040922/https://www.ansa.it/english/news/2021/05/25/renewables-provided-37-of-italys-energy-in-2020_1a075060-c823-4076-a338-79367427dfd2.html|archive-date=23 October 2021|access-date=28 May 2021|website=ANSA.it}}</ref>

The country operated nuclear reactors between 1963 and 1990 but, after the [[Chernobyl disaster]] and [[1987 Italian referendums|referendums]], the nuclear programme was terminated, a decision overturned by the government in 2008, with plans to build up to four nuclear power plants. This was in turn struck down by a referendum following the [[Fukushima nuclear accident]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Duncan Kennedy|date=14 June 2011|title=Italy nuclear: Berlusconi accepts referendum blow|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13741105|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110612112154/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13741105|archive-date=12 June 2011|access-date=20 April 2013|publisher=BBC News}}</ref>

Air pollution remains severe, especially in the industrialised north. Italy is the [[List of countries by carbon dioxide emissions|twelfth-largest carbon dioxide producer]].<ref>United Nations Statistics Division, Millennium Development Goals indicators: [http://mdgs.un.org/unsd/mdg/SeriesDetail.aspx?srid=749&crid= Carbon dioxide emissions ({{CO2}}), thousand metric tons of {{CO2}}] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091225014715/http://mdgs.un.org/unsd/mdg/SeriesDetail.aspx?srid=749&crid=|date=25 December 2009}} (collected by CDIAC); Human-produced, direct emissions of carbon dioxide only. Excludes other greenhouse gases; land-use, land-use-change and forestry (LULUCF); and natural background flows of {{CO2}} (See also: [[Carbon cycle]])</ref> Extensive traffic and congestion in large cities continue to cause environmental and health issues, even if smog levels have decreased since the 1970s and 1980s, with smog becoming an increasingly rare phenomenon and levels of [[sulphur dioxide]] decreasing.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Environment and Health in Italy – Executive Summary|url=https://www.euro.who.int/en/home|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100303051309/http://www.euro.who.int/document/hms/ehiexes_e.pdf|archive-date=3 March 2010|publisher=World Health Organization}}</ref>

Deforestation, illegal building, and poor land-management policies have led to significant erosion in Italy's mountainous regions, leading to ecological disasters such as the 1963 [[Vajont Dam]] flood, the 1998 [[Sarno]],<ref>{{Cite news|last=Nick Squires|date=2 October 2009|title=Sicily mudslide leaves scores dead|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/6255575/Sicily-mudslide-leaves-scores-dead.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091006082824/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/6255575/Sicily-mudslide-leaves-scores-dead.html|archive-date=6 October 2009|access-date=2 October 2009|work=The Daily Telegraph|location=London}}</ref> and the 2009 [[2009 Messina floods and mudslides|Messina mudslide]]s.