It is a real spending review that implements the 2027 budget maneuver on the funds intended for interventions for natural disasters. Over 1.2 billion euros less in about three years, a choice that comes at a time when the Italian territory continues to deal with floods, landslides and extreme weather events, and which reignites the debate on the state’s ability to support emergencies and finance reconstruction.
The data emerge from Annex 5 to the budget bill, in the section dedicated to the rationalization of ministerial expenses. In particular, the reduction affects the “Civil Relief” program of the Ministry of Economy and Finance and, within it, the item relating to interventions for public disasters.
Natural disasters: over 1.2 billion less in the three-year period 2027-2029
With numbers in hand, the distribution of cuts expected for the next three years is as follows:
- in 2027 reduction of resources equal to 448.9 million euros;
- in 2028 reduction of resources equal to 412.1 million euros;
- in 2029 reduction in resources amounting to 350.9 million euros.
The overall reduction in the three-year period 2027-2029 amounts to 1,211.9 million euros. The largest reduction is expected for 2027, when the resources allocated to interventions for public disasters will suffer a contraction of almost 449 million. The reduction will continue in the following two years, albeit with progressively lower amounts.
Why cuts are worrying: the cost of natural disasters
The reduction of resources takes on particular relevance when considering Italy’s exposure to natural risks. The national territory has numerous areas vulnerable to floods, landslides and earthquakes. Added to these phenomena are the effects of extreme meteorological events, which can cause extensive damage to homes, production activities, infrastructures and transport networks.
The economic consequences are not limited to the expenses necessary to deal with the emergency. In fact, after a flood or an earthquake, it is necessary to finance the safety of the affected areas, restore essential services, support businesses that have suffered business interruptions and accompany the reconstruction of damaged properties.
Families and small businesses often pay the highest price, especially when they are in areas already characterized by economic and infrastructural fragility. For these realities, the timing of aid disbursement and the availability of public resources can make the difference between the possibility of resuming the activity and the risk of having to interrupt it permanently.
According to estimates recalled in an analysis by Greenreport, the economic damage caused by extreme weather events in Italy has reached a total of around 145 billion euros. A substantial part of the losses was concentrated in more recent years, confirming the growing weight that climate emergencies have taken on public finances and the national economy.
Funds for earthquake prevention have also been halved
Another measure that affects the management of natural risks concerns the seismic prevention of public buildings. Article 116 of the maneuver intervenes on Fund for the structural mitigation of seismic vulnerabilitymodifying the calendar of available resources.
The allocations are reduced from 60 to 30 million euros per year for 2027 and 2028. The total 60 million postponed will however be recovered in the following two years, with 30 million expected for each year, 2029 and 2030. In this case, therefore, it is not a question of a definitive cancellation of the resources, but of a temporal remodulation. The overall allocation of the Fund remains unchanged, while the actual availability of financing in the first two years of the period considered changes. Furthermore, the decree distributing the appropriations must be updated by 31 March 2027.
The other funds for reconstruction and flooded areas
The framework of resources provided for by the Budget Law is, however, more complex and also includes funding intended for specific territories affected by natural disasters. The measures envisaged include, for example, an overall contribution of 17.1 million euros in the two-year period 2027-2028 for interventions linked to the floods that affected Emilia-Romagna, Marche and Tuscany in May 2023 and Emilia-Romagna in September and October 2024. The resources are divided into 12.8 million for 2027 and 4.3 million for 2028.
The use of the Fund for financing reconstruction interventionsestablished with the previous Budget law, which has an allocation of 1.5 billion euros for 2027 and 1.3 billion per year starting from 2028. A part of the resources is also allocated to interventions for the reduction of hydraulic and hydrogeological risk in the territories affected by the floods of 2023 and 2024. These allocations must be considered separately from the reduction of the allocations for public disaster interventions. The measure, therefore, does not eliminate all the funding intended for the reconstruction and support of the affected territories, but intervenes in a differentiated way on the different expenditure items.
