Country profiles

Italy

 

 

 

The sources used to compile the health and adaptation information for country profiles vary across countries. For EU Member States, information is based on their official adaptation reporting: 2021 adaptation reporting under the Regulation on the Governance of the Energy Union and Climate Action (see EU Adaptation ReportingClimate-ADAPT Country Profiles) and 2019 adaptation reporting under the EU Greenhouse Gas Monitoring Mechanism Regulation. These two reporting mechanisms are together referred to here as “EU official reporting on adaptation”. Note: The relevant information has been copied from the EU official reporting on adaptation (submitted until July 21, 2021), without further elaborating the contents of the text. Some information, valid at the time of reporting, may no longer be valid today. Any necessary additions to the text are clearly highlighted. 

In addition, information collated in the EEA’s analysis of Climate change and health: the national policy review in Europe (2021), the Adaptation preparedness scoreboard country fiches (2018) and the WHO study on Public health and climate change adaptation policies in the European Union (2018) are presented. Note: Some information, valid at the time of publication, may no longer be valid today. Any necessary additions to the text are clearly highlighted. 

Information sources for non-EU member countries of the EEA are more limited. 

Information from EEA report. Climate change and health: the national policy overview in Europe (2022)

National policies on climate change adaptation and national health strategies were analysed to identify the coverage of climate-related impacts on health (physical, mental, and social) and the types of interventions addressing them. The report provides a European overview, while the geographical coverage of various aspects of national policies across Europe can be visualized using the map viewer. The results for Italy are summarised here.

Policy documents reviewed:

National strategy for adaptation to climate change

National Plan of Prevention 2020-2025 

Aspects covered in the reviewed policy document:

Information from EU official reporting on adaptation.  GovReg reporting (2021), MMR reporting (2019)

Several priority vulnerable sectors have been identified in the National Adaptation Strategy (NAS, 2015 [editors]), including health. Health is also one of the sectors considered in the Draft National Adaptation Plan (NAP, 2018 [editors]).

Information from Adaptation preparedness scoreboard. Country fiches (2018)

National Operating Plan for Prevention of the Effects of Heatwaves on Health was developed by the Italian Ministry of Health in collaboration with other institutions. The main objective is to foster coordination between institutions at different level of governance, and to provide guidelines for implementation of a centralised system for prediction and prevention of the effects of heatwaves on health.

WHO case studies from publication. Public health and climate change adaptation policies in the European Union (2018)

Effects of climate change on human health within the “Planetary Health” vision was an Italian project, implemented by the Ministry of Health and National Institute for Health in cooperation with WHO and the Ministry of Environment. It brought together over 40 Italian health and climate scientists from 12 relevant national institutions in the health, environment and climate sectors to provide substantial scientific recommendations to the 2017 G7 Health Ministerial Meeting. In the project framework, the first climate and health country profile for Italy was compiled through extensive intersectoral research and analysis. This outlines current strategies to build resilience to climate change in the health sector through education, awareness-raising, integrated surveillance and effective early warning and response systems.

Resources in the Observatory catalogue on Italy