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‘Climate neglect’: Italy falls back on coal amid Iran war energy woes

EuroNews · · 494 words · By Rebecca Ann Hughes
open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.euronews.com/2026/04/03/italy-clings-to-coal-powered-plants-as-eu-co…

fact_checkFact-Check Results

20 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

schedule Pending 10
help Insufficient Evidence 7
verified Verified By Reference 3
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“Italy’s four coal-powered plants, which are currently on stand-by, could be reactivated if gas and oil supply issues escalate.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence found in cross-references, web search, or Wikipedia to support or refute the claim about Italy's coal plants being on standby.
verified
“Italy will postpone the permanent shutdown of its coal-fired power plants until 2038, 13 years later than the initial deadline.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia entries for claim 1 are unrelated to coal plant shutdowns or deadlines, providing no relevant evidence.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — 13 (thirteen) is the natural number following 12 and preceding 14. Folklore surrounding the number 13 appears in many cultures around the world: one theory is that this is due to the cultures employin…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/13_(number)
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — National-level elections in Italy are called periodically to form a parliament consisting of two houses: the Chamber of Deputies (Camera dei Deputati) with 400 members; and the Senate of the Republic …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elections_in_Italy
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern and Western Europe. It consists of a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land border, as w…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italy
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“The extension was included in the latest energy bill passed on Tuesday.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence found in cross-references, web search, or Wikipedia to support the claim about the energy bill inclusion.
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“The move is part of the move by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's right-wing government to scale back climate goals amid the growing energy crisis sparked by the Iran war.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
Wikipedia entries for claim 3 mention unrelated events (Iranándose conflict, Cuba blackouts) with no connection to Italy's energy policy or climate goals.
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“The postponement is ‘right and responsible’”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence found in cross-references, web search, or Wikipedia to support the claim about the postponement being 'right and responsible'.
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“Italy’s four coal-powered plants, which are currently on stand-by, could be reactivated if gas and oil supply issues escalate, Energy Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin said this month.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia entries for claim 5 mention Pichetto Fratin's role but do not include the specific statement about reactivating coal plants.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Gilberto Pichetto Fratin (born 4 January 1954) is an Italian politician who is the Minister of the Environment and Energy Security of the Meloni government since 22 October 2022. He is the lawmaker fr…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilberto_Pichetto_Fratin
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Matese National Park is a protected national park in Italy covering 52 municipalities and 87,897.7 hectares. It is the 25th national park established in the country. It was established in 2024 by …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matese_National_Park
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of ministers of the environment, a senior member of the Italian government who leads the Ministry of the Ecological Transition. The list shows also the ministers that served under the s…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minister_of_the_Environment_(I…
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“The country had planned to halt the use of coal by the end of 2025, as decreed in its 2024 energy and climate plan (PNIEC).”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia entries for claim 6 reference unrelated events (2024 Iran-Israel conflict, Cuba blackouts) with no connection to Italy's 2024 energy plan.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — In 2024, the Iran–Israel proxy conflict escalated to a series of direct confrontations between the two countries in April, July, and October that year. On 1 April, Israel bombed an Iranian consulate c…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_Iran–Israel_conflict
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — A series of interruptions to the nationwide electrical service of Cuba occurred during the months of February, March, October and December 2024. The blackouts began in February 2024 with power outages…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024–2026_Cuba_blackouts
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2025 Italian referendum, officially the 2025 Abrogative Referendums in Italy (Italian: Referendum abrogativi in Italia del 2025code: ita promoted to code: it ), were held on 8 and 9 June, concurre…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_Italian_referendum
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“The move to postpone the shutdown to 2038 still needs to be approved by the Senate, but is expected to be met favourably.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence found in cross-references, web search, or Wikipedia to support the claim about Senate approval for the 2038 postponement.
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“The decision has received widespread support from government ministers.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence found in cross-references, web search, or Wikipedia to support the claim about government ministers' support for the postponement.
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“All energy sources, at least in the immediate future, must be used to their fullest potential,”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence found in cross-references, web search, or Wikipedia to support the claim about energy sources being used to their fullest potential.
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“The co-ruling League party, which proposed the postponement, said it was 'right and responsible' given the severity of the energy crisis.”
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“However, environmental groups and the centre-left opposition have criticised the move, with the leader of the Europa Verde green party, Angelo Bonelli, accusing the government of 'climate neglect'.”
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“Germany has also said it may have to slow coal-powered plant shutdowns to ensure energy supplies.”
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“We must now move quickly to build gas-fired power stations,”
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“We may even have to keep existing coal-fired power stations connected to the grid for longer, should the energy crisis continue, and a shortage actually arise.”
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“Since 2019, Spain has doubled its wind and solar capacity, adding over 40 GW - more than any other EU country except Germany, whose power market is twice the size of Spain’s.”
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“As a result, Spain’s electricity price is much less influenced by the ever-fluctuating cost of gas, which increased by 55 per cent the day after the Iran war started and has continued to rise.”
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“In the UK, record wind has helped break a new renewable record. On 26 March, British wind energy generation hit a new high of 23,880 megawatts, enough power to cover 23 million homes.”
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“A new analysis by SolarPower Europe found that harnessing sunlight for energy has saved Europe more than €100 million per day since 3 March, resulting in total savings of more than €3 billion.”
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“If gas prices remain high, experts say that total savings in 2026 could reach as much as €67.5 billion.”
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info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.