The former head of Enel says that governments cannot ignore the energy transition

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The former head of Italy’s largest state-owned utility said all governments will face the green transition regardless of their beliefs about climate change.

Francesco Starace, who will join private equity firm EQT in June after being ousted from Enel by Giorgia Meloni’s government, said in an interview that even the most reluctant politicians would “converge” on the goal of decarbonising the economy.

“Not everyone understands this well and some politicians don’t understand where the transition is going, but we shouldn’t worry,” Starace said. “Eventually they will all converge.”

He added: “During my nine-year tenure as chief executive officer of Is in the I met six [Italian] governments, the transition takes place anyway”.

While Starace downplayed his departure from Enel saying “it was time to use my experience elsewhere,” the energy group’s international investors saw Rome’s decision to replace him as a sign that its transition-focused strategy could be reversed. Starace said: “I don’t think this will happen because investors want the transition and it’s the obvious direction [in which] go for companies like [Enel].”

The Roman executive transformed the 60 billion euro utility into one of the world’s largest producers of renewable energy after taking over in 2014. However, the group’s debt has also grown to more than 60 billion euros, another sticking point with the government. Starace launched a €21 billion asset disposal plan last year in a bid to reduce net borrowing.

Enel declined to comment on the new management’s strategy. The president of the group Paolo Scaroni declared in March, before his appointment, that “the energy transition is a necessary objective but I am convinced that nuclear [as opposed to renewable] energy is the only technology that can help us leave fossil fuels behind”.

Nuclear power for electricity generation was completely phased out in Italy after a referendum in the country in 2011.

Meloni’s right-wing coalition has opposed plans to ban the sale of combustion engine cars from 2035. Earlier this year he said the government is not made up of ‘dangerous climate change deniers’ but that a “more pragmatic and step-by-step approach [to energy transition] it was necessary”.

Starace said the transition will affect all sectors: “[It] it starts with the energy sector, but it will pass through the economies of the world”.

As a partner of EQT, Starace said he will lead global investment in renewable energy. “The need for private capital to make the energy transition happen is enormous,” she added.

EQT announced in February that its new fund is seeking to raise €21bn to invest in key infrastructure and energy assets. Earlier this month the Swedish company’s infrastructure fund acquired a majority stake in the network company of Italian mobile phone provider Wind Tre.

Starace had previously hinted at the possibility of retiring after stepping down from his top job at Enel. “It’s time to give back [what] I have learned and help others avoid mistakes, EQT is a great vehicle [for this],” he said. “What I have promised myself is never to be CEO again.”