Italy

Founded in 1977 in Rome as the ‘League for the Alternative Energies and the Anti-Nuclear Struggle’,  Friends of the Earth Italy gained its current name when  they joined Friends of the Earth International in 1978. Today Friends of the Earth Italy has 16,000 members, six regional groups and 57 local groups spread around the country. They promote ethical practices towards citizens from companies, and lobby for strong environmental policies from national and European institutions.

Friends of the Earth Italy's work involves awareness-raising campaigns, research projects, environmental information dissemination, education, and regional initiatives. Study and research activities provide a solid scientific basis to campaigns, with a rational, non-dogmatic approach to environmental issues, free from ideological prejudices and independent from specific interests.

In recent years, Friends of the Earth Italy has focused on campaigning for energy efficiency, the promotion of geothermal renewable sources and the recovery of residual heat. They continue to mobilise against the resumption of nuclear exploitation in Italy and for the implementation of policies for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in Europe.

They campaign for the development of measuring external costs, in particular in the transport sector, and promote the principles of minimising natural resource use and waste production, including active recycling and re-use. They promote the protection of land and biodiversity either directly, as administrative authority of areas under natural protection, or in collaboration with the Butterfly Arc and other initiatives for environmental protection.

Friends of the Earth Italy is conscious of the need for a global commitment to environmental issues. It takes action in every relevant international arena and supports dialogue, negotiations, agreements and initiatives that have a transnational dimension.