Last May law no. 68/2015, on the protection of the environment through the introduction on new criminal offences entered into force in Italy. 

Law 68/15 introduced the following new environmental crimes in the Italian Criminal Code.

The most important are:

1. Environmental pollution: imprisoning from 2 years to 6 years for anyone who unlawfully causes a significant and measurable impairment or deterioration of the ground, the undergrounds, the waters or the air. 

2. Environmental disaster: imprisoning from 5 to 15 years for anyone who unlawfully provokes an environmental disaster, i.e. an irreversible alteration of an ecosystem, or the alteration of an ecosystem which would need extraordinary and expensive measures in order to be cured.

3. Omitted clean-up: anyone bound by the law or by an order of the court or of a public authority who fails to clean-up and restore the site (in the event of environmental pollution under point 1 above), is punished with the imprisonment from 1 to 4 years and with a fine

4. Transportation and abandonment of high level radioactivity material.

5. Obstacle to competent authorities to have access to areas to control environmental status.