Greenpeace v. Eni | |
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Court | Civil Court of Rome |
Full case name | Greenpeace Italy v. ENI S.p.A., the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance and Cassa Depositi e Prestiti S.p.A. |
Greenpeace v. Eni is a 2024 human rights law and tort law suit heard by the Civil Court of Rome, Italy related to efforts by several NGOs to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by multinational corporations.[1][2] The lawsuit was brought by the Italian branch of Greenpeace, the advocacy group ReCommon, and twelve civil plaintiffs. The suit was filed against energy company Eni and two of its co-owners, the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance and the investment bank Cassa Depositi e Prestiti.[3][4]
The case, which is based on the 2021 Milieudefensie v Royal Dutch Shell court case, is the first climate change lawsuit filed against a privately owned company in Italy.[3][5]
Further information: Climate change in Italy |
In April 2019, Milieudefensie (the Dutch branch of Friends of the Earth), Greenpeace, ActionAid and four other NGOs, together with 17,379 Dutch individual claimants, filed Milieudefensie v Royal Dutch Shell, a class-action lawsuit against Shell plc, arguing that the oil corporation should change its business model to reduce their carbon emissions by 45% by 2030, in line with the goals set by Paris Agreement.[6][7] According to the plaintiffs, by failing to adjust to a more sustainable model, Shell had failed to uphold the unwritten duty of care laid down in Book 6 Section 162 of the Burgerlijk Wetboek (Dutch Civil Code), as well as articles 2 and 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.[7][8] Hearings at the district court of The Hague were held in December 2020;[7] in May 2021, judges ordered Shell to reduce its global emissions by 45% by 2030, compared to 2019 levels, with the reduction targets including emissions both from its operations and products.[9][10] Although Shell appealed the ruling, the case was considered the first major lawsuit to hold a corporation accountable for insufficient measures taken to reach the goals of the Paris Agreement.[10][11]
On 5 June 2021, a group of 24 associations and 179 civil plaintiffs (17 of whom were minors), led by non-profit association A Sud (To South in Italian), filed a lawsuit against the Italian government in the Civil Court of Rome, with the main goals of holding national institutions "accountable for the state of danger caused by [their] inertia in tackling the climate change emergency", and securing a ruling that Italy must cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 92% by 2030, as compared to 1990 levels.[12][13] While the co-plaintiffs included members of the Italian branch of Fridays For Future,[12] as well as meteorologist Luca Mercalli ,[12][13] other notable environmentalist organizations, including Legambiente and the Italian branch of Greenpeace, opted not to support the lawsuit. The president of Greenpeace Italy, Giuseppe Onufrio, justified the decision by stating that court cases should focus on influential companies, rather than institutions, to be more effective.[12][13]
The first hearing of the court case took place on 16 February 2024.[1][2][17] Eni appointed liberist economist and Bruno Leoni Institute co-founder Carlo Stagnaro, as well as Polytechnic University of Milan professor Stefano Consonni,[1][2] as their consultants.[1][2] The decision received some criticism for the perceived lack of independence and competence of both consultants:[1][2] Stagnaro and the IBL had openly supported climate change denial theories and groups throughout the 2000s and the 2010s, while the academic résumé of Consonni stated that, since 1993, he had been directly involved in research financed by multiple oil and gas companies, including Eni itself, ExxonMobil and BP Alternative Energy, as well as the U.S. Department of Energy.[2]
On the other hand, Greenpeace, ReCommon and the civil plaintiffs received consulting, among others, from CNR research director Nicola Armaroli, psychotherapist and eco-anxiety expert Rita Fioravanzo, and climate change experts Richard Heede and Marco Grasso.[1] Armaroli was already known for being an advocate for sustainable energy transition,[22] while Heede and Grasso had estimated in a 2023 joint-study, published in One Earth,[23][24] that the 21 "major" fossil fuel companies in the world would owe $209 billion every year, from 2025 to 2050,[23] in compensation for their contributions to climate change.[1][23] Moreover, Grasso had notably resigned from his post as director of an energy transition-related research unit at the University of Milano-Bicocca in October 2022, over the academic institution's failure to provide clarification regarding funding and management of a five-year joint research agreement with Eni.[25][26]