While the climate emergency remained a subdued topic within Italian public and political discourse for a long time, it has now gradually emerged in the rhetoric of political leaders, media debates, and everyday conversations, particularly in the aftermath of extreme weather events. The political dynamics underlying this phenomenon are the focus of Emergenza lenta. La questione climatica in Italia tra politica, media e società, co-authored by Cecilia Biancalana (Università di Torino) and Riccardo Ladini (Università di Milano) and published by Fondazione Feltrinelli, 2024.
This book represents a significant contribution to Italian political science and sociology, which had so far paid only limited attention to the topic of climate change. Its first merit lies in its effort to “establish the facts,” as Robert Merton famously advocated, concerning three interconnected aspects of climate politics: the salience and positioning of Italian political parties, media coverage, and public attitudes. As climate change's political relevance grows globally – exemplified by protests for climate justice, backlash against green policies, and electoral shifts such as Donald Trump's antiregulation rhetoric and the rise of denialist parties in Europe – this book situates Italian climate politics within broader international trends while addressing its unique context.
Another strength of the book lies in its systemic approach to analyzing the politicization of climate change in Italy. Through four empirical chapters, it examines the salience and preferences of political parties, the media (newspapers), and public opinion, employing a longitudinal perspective when feasible. While, historically, environmental issues have been driven more by social movements than party politics in Italy, an analysis of electoral manifestos from 2008 to 2022 shows increased attention to climate issues, driven by extreme weather events (e.g., the floods that hit Emilia-Romagna, Marche, and Toscana), climate protests, and the European Green Deal (EGD). Similarly, newspaper coverage of climate change has grown since 2005 even if it remains less prominent in Italy – where it is often treated as a “second-order crisis” — than in other European countries. Considering the Italian media system characterized by polarized pluralism and political parallelism, future works should evaluate how political and private interests shape climate narratives within Italy.
The analysis of citizens’ attitudes, based on data from multiple public opinion surveys (e.g., European Social Survey, Eurobarometer, International Social Survey Programme and ResPOnse COVID-19), reveals that climate change denial is rare in Italy. However, uncertainty about its anthropogenic causes persists, and the issue is often perceived as a threat to future generations rather than an immediate personal risk. This psychological and temporal distancing correlates with a limited willingness to accept personal costs for climate mitigation. Educational attainment emerges as the strongest predictor of concern and willingness to bear costs, underscoring a key divide in Italian public opinion. While this finding mirrors global trends, further investigation into whether these divides have evolved over time would shed light on potential voter realignments similar to those observed in the US along the educational rift.
The analysis of the book would have benefited from exploring the geographical cleavage. Recent research has highlighted the role of the urban-rural and centre-periphery divides to understand support for radical right parties in rural, suburban and former industrial areas on one side, and for green (and liberal) parties in major cities on the other side. This would be even more relevant considering that Italy is a country where this divide could gain prominence due to the varied territorial impacts of climate change and pollution. For example, investigating how geographical differences influence support for green policies or resistance to climate action could have enhanced the analysis.
The final chapter explores how political orientations shape climate attitudes in Italy. Left-leaning citizens are more likely to believe in anthropogenic climate change, express concern for the environment, and support measures for environmental protection compared to right-leaning citizens. However, while ideological differences exist, Italian public opinion remains less polarized than in countries like the US or the UK. The authors note stronger polarization around specific events, such as debates over the causes of the 2023 Emilia-Romagna floods, suggesting that climate change could become a more divisive political issue in the near future as extreme weather events become more frequent.
The book demonstrates methodological rigor by transparently addressing challenges related to integrating primary and secondary data sources through quantitative and qualitative analyses. While discrepancies in salience classifications and survey-question comparability complicate a cohesive narrative, the authors provide a commendable synthesis of findings. Their meta-analysis shows that results are coherent with top-down dynamics: when it comes to climate change political parties cue public opinion, and the media shape citizens’ attitudes through agenda-setting and framing. This offers valuable perspectives into the role of elites in driving climate change discourse in Italy. The authors’ insights on the politicization of climate change raise critical questions about Italy's capacity to meet climate goals. A likely increase in salience coupled with polarization (given the positional competition among parties along the left-right ideological scale) might complicate achieving minimum mitigation goals, especially in a context characterized by limited green productive and technological capabilities, constrained fiscal capacity that translates into fewer resources to compensate potential losers of the green transition, and low trust in political actors and institutions.
On the whole, Emergenza lenta is an essential reference for scholars and practitioners interested in the political dynamics of climate change in Italy. By addressing a critical gap in Italian political science, it provides a foundation for future research on environmental issues, which are poised to grow in importance. Its findings and methodological transparency make it a valuable resource for understanding how political, media, and public actors interact to shape the evolving climate agenda, and its approach invites further exploration. Future research could incorporate additional perspectives, such as the roles of social movements, interest groups, and social media in shaping public opinion and policy. Theoretically, an effort is needed to define more precisely the cogs of the interaction between parties, media, and public opinion on climate change politicization. Methodologically, aligning coding schemes across parties, media, and survey data could enhance coherence and allow for a deeper integration of the findings.
