The Ministry of Environment and Energy Security – MASE plays a central role in the Government's activities aimed at environmental protection. The MASE focuses on safeguarding land and water resources, terrestrial and marine ecosystems, endangered animal and plant species, on the remediation of polluted areas and waterways, and on reducing sources of pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, within the broader challenge of combating global warming. The Ministry ensures the safety of energy and geo-mining infrastructures and systems, the security of supply, the efficiency and competitiveness of the system, as well as the promotion of renewable energy sources.

It promotes good practices and environmental education, circular economy, sustainable mobility, and urban regeneration. The Ministry exercises joint control (with the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport) over Sogesid S.p.A.; it also provides strategic direction and oversight of the activities of the Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA), the National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA), the Energy Services Operator (GSE), and SOGIN (Nuclear Plant Management Company). It also oversees national natural heritage across terrestrial and marine areas (national parks, marine protected areas, river basin authorities, environmental consortia, and large lake management authorities).

Through a series of organizational reforms, public decision-makers have strengthened the tools available to political authorities over time, redefining functions and operational models, also in light of investments envisaged under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR). Within this framework, the constitutional reform adopted in February 2022, introducing environmental protection explicitly into the Constitution, reaffirmed the relevance of environmental issues within the hierarchy of interests safeguarded by the State. The renewed Constitutional Charter also emphasizes the centrality of sustainable development for future generations.