Environmental criminals to face prison in Italy

Italy's centre-left government on Tuesday approved a draft law setting maximum prison sentences of 10 years and fines of up to €250,000 for crimes against the environment.

The provisions, approved at a cabinet meeting in Rome, were among the strictest environmental protection measures ever announced by an Italian government. They must receive parliamentary approval before they can take effect.

The government is also considering whether to declare a state of emergency because of a drought in the first four months of this year that some experts say risks causing power blackouts from June onwards. The cabinet decided on Tuesday to discuss this issue at another meeting on May 4.

The most serious crime singled out under the draft law is that of "causing an environmental disaster", for which the penalties will range from three to 10 years in prison as well as fines of €30,000 to €250,000.

The illegal waste disposal business, which has close connections with the mafia and organised crime, is targeted under a provision that foresees prison sentences of one to five years and fines of €10,000 to €30,000 for criminal trafficking in waste.

Trafficking in nuclear or radioactive waste, or abandoning this type of waste in the countryside, is to be punished by prison terms of two to six years and fines of €50,000 to €250,000.

The tough measures reflect a rising public awareness of the damage done in recent decades to the Italian environment, including its forests, mountains, coasts and water supplies, by an often reckless or criminally inspired approach to the construction of new buildings and the disposal of waste.

On the question of declaring a state of emergency to deal with the drought, expert opinion appears divided. Alfonso Pecararo Scanio, environment minister and leader of the Green party, said on Monday there was no time for delay.

Italy experienced its warmest winter this year for 200 years, and the Po river has fallen this week to 6.5 metres below its normal level in one part of northern Italy.

However, the consumer group Aduc said on Tuesday the government would be making a mistake if it asked consumers to cut back on water consumption, because agriculture accounted for 70 per cent of water use in Italy, industry 20 per cent and ordinary consumers only 10 per cent.