Eni facing lawsuit over alleged role in climate crisis

(ANSA) - ROME, MAY 9 - Greenpeace Italy and the ReCommon association said Tuesday that they and 12 individual Italian citizens were suing energy giant Eni for its allegedly role in the climate crisis.
    Eni rejected the allegations and said it was confident it would win the case.
    The plaintiffs said in a statement that the civil lawsuit regarded past and potential future damages resulting from Eni's contribution to climate change, saying the company had been well aware of this for decades but chose to ignore it.
    They accuse the oil-and-gas group of practices that breach the Paris Agreement on climate change, which was signed by the Italian government.
    The lawsuit also cites Eni's two main shareholders, the Economy and Finance Ministry and State lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti S.p.A.
    "ENI scored record profits in 2022, yet it continues to invest in expanding its fossil fuels business, dismissing climate impacts and ignoring local communities in Italy and around the world who are suffering the consequences of the climate emergency," said Chiara Campione, the Head of the Climate Unit at Greenpeace Italy.
    The lawsuit asks a Rome Court to rule on whether Eni has violated the individual plaintiffs' human rights to life, health, and private and family life.
    The suit also demands that Eni revise its industrial strategy to reduce emissions by at least 45% by 2030 compared to 2020 levels, so that it is in line with what the international scientific community says is needed to keep the average global temperature increase below 1.5 degrees Celsius.
    "The region where I live, Piedmont, is already suffering the effects of dramatic drought, as the very low level of rainfall recorded this winter show, a problem that is likely to get worse in the future," said Rachele Caravaglios, one of the individual plaintiffs.
    "That is why I decided to join this legal action.
    "I don't think it's fair that Italy's main energy supplier, of which the State is the largest shareholder, can continue year after year, an investment programme that goes against what the best available climate science recommends, limiting our options to create a sustainable, resilient and equitable future for all".
    An Eni spokesperson the company would show in court that the accusations were "groundless" and demonstrate the "correctness" of its activities and of its "transformation and decarbonization strategy".
    The spokesperson said this strategy "puts together and balances the essential objectives of sustainability, energy security and competitiveness" for Italy.
    The spokesperson also said Eni would evaluate taking legal action to protect its reputation from the "repeated defamatory actions staged by ReCommon". (ANSA).