Italy is lagging behind in the work on renewable energy and is very dependent on gas.

The country imports 95% of its gas and as much as 42% of its gas imports come from Russia.

"We may need to reopen our coal-fired power plants if there is a shortage of gas in the near future," said Prime Minister Mario Draghi in the Italian parliament recently.

"Made us dependent on Russian gas"

After two years of pandemics and shutdowns, the already strained Italian economy is even more strained, and for the country's government it is of the utmost importance that industry and food production do not get into trouble due to possible gas shortages.

"Unfortunately, we are in this urgent situation now because we have not invested in greener energy but have become totally dependent on Russian gas," says Sergio Andreis.

He works for Kyoto club, an Italian organization that works with renewable energy and does not want to believe that the government will really open coal power plants.

- The talk about coal power and nuclear power, it scares, it would be like going back in time.

I want to believe that this crisis, on the contrary, can mean that we as a country are finally investing in sustainable energy, such as more wind and solar power, says Sergio Andreis.

"Hard to get around"

However, these are long-term investments and the crisis is here and now.

In the worst case, the government can introduce gas rationing, which in practice this summer could mean that Italian offices and households, for example, are not allowed to use air conditioning and that in winter the heat on the elements must be reduced.

All of the country's beautiful monuments, such as the Colosseum and St. Peter's Church in Rome, may also be extinguished.

- The mayor of Rome has explicitly said that it can be so, says Sergio Andreis.

The 3Emme factory in Fabriano manufactures steel structures for kitchens.

The machines run around the clock and require large amounts of energy.

- If gas deliveries fail, we must close.

We are very worried, prices have also increased so much, says Marco Antonelli, at the factory.

He also worries about the staff.

- We have 30 employees, 30 families who every month are dependent on our salary.

It's very difficult to get it going right now.