I PROCEDIMENTI AMMINISTRATVI IN MATERIA AMBIENTALE. TUTELA DELL'AMBIENTE E SEMPLIFICAZIONI

The study reconstructs the path that led to the introduction of environmental matters into international, European, and national law, through the analysis of the main international agreements and European treaties, starting with the 1972 Stockholm Convention. The analysis was crucial to understanding how the environment became first a matter and then a matter of public interest, culminating in the enshrining of fundamental principles in Law No. 1 of 2022. The study highlights the importance of environmental administrative proceedings as a key step in protecting these interests, while respecting certain international and European principles that guide the proceedings themselves. Specifically, the study analyzes environmental assessments, integrated environmental authorization, and the single procedure, reconstructing the process of each procedure and highlighting its critical issues. These include administrative discretion and the difficult balancing of competing interests. In this regard, the study focuses primarily on the conflict between environmental and landscape interests, also reconstructing the relevant regulatory framework and the differing case law that has led to the distinction between the two interests, despite the fact that they share the same “element”: the territory. Given the international and European momentum surrounding environmental matters, it seemed necessary to highlight the main simplification measures affecting the subject matter. These measures, especially in recent years, have had a significant impact on environmental matters. To this end, it seemed necessary to highlight some critical issues with the simplification measures adopted, insofar as they focused on reducing procedural deadlines. Among the simplification measures, the one contained in Legislative Decree No. 190 of 2024 is analyzed, which alsoaims to streamline the administrative regimes for renewable energy sources, closely related to environmental matters.