EU Soil Strategy for 2030: A Focus on Contaminated Sites and the Case of Italy

The European Commission has adopted a set of proposals to make the EU’s climate, energy, transport, and taxation policies fit for reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030. These ambitious objectives will be achieved within a framework known as European Green Deal. In the context of strategic choices and actions, there is also the EU soil strategy for 2030 which is also a is a key outcome of the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030. The European Commission has recognised how it is important to avoid the risks and impacts that continued soil degradation has on the economy and people’s well-being; soils deserve the utmost and urgent attention of governments, parliaments, and public authorities at all levels. Among the various medium-term objectives by 2030, there is the need to make significant progress in the remediation of contaminated sites. This kind of problem is also addressed by EU Action Plan: ‘Towards Zero Pollution for Air, Water and Soil’. Contaminated sites are the result of decades of environmental policies with little concern for the environment and directed strong focus on industry and consumption. Many of the contaminated sites in Europe are the product of the industrial activities of the last century. In the absence of specific regulations and policies, profound alterations of ecosystems were produced with particular reference to soil and groundwater. Restoration of these areas is also important to eliminate or reduce soil consumption. Although the ‘polluter pays’ principle has been in force in Europe in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union since the 1970s and in the Directive 2004/35/EC, a common policy for the management of contaminated sites has not yet been identified. Italy began tackling the problem as early as the 1990s with some regional legislation to arrive at the first national legislation in 1999, which provided for the identification of these areas, the definition of reference concentrations, and technical standards for characterisation and remediation. Also with the Italian contribution, more and more works are being done on a network of industry experts to share the best positive and negative experiences. The aim of this contribution is to illustrate the European framework in terms of soil protection and remediation of contaminated sites, also reconstructing the historical and legal path of the ‘polluter pays’ principle and acknowledging the progress that is being made at the EU and Italian national level.