Assessing the environmental and labour effects of photovoltaic investment in Italy

A detailed quantification of greenhouse gas emissions resulting from future investments helps decision-makers to develop targeted policies to reduce environmental impact and achieve decarbonization goals. Moreover, it allows for the identification of critical sectors where interventions may be necessary, such as improvements in the supply chain. In the Italian context, the planned investment in the photovoltaic sector not only generates direct emissions at the national level but also contributes to indirect emissions in other countries involved in the photovoltaic industry's production chain. This study, using an environmentally-extended Multiregional Input- Output (EE-MRIO) model, quantifies environmental and labour-economic impacts resulting from the 45.9 billion forecasted to be invested for the photovoltaic sector in Italy by 2030, highlighting how these emissions are divided into three distinct effects: two local effects (multiplier and feedback) and one interregional effect (spillover). The adopted methodological approach showed that approximately 60% of climate change impacts occur within the Italian borders, while the remaining 40% originates from emissions generated abroad. The feedback effect, compared to the other effects, has a negligible impact.