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Article

9 May 2023

Author:
The Local,
Author:
Olivier de Souza, Agence Ecofin (Suisse)

Italy: NGOs & citizens sue energy giant ENI over human rights & climate change impacts in Italy's first climate lawsuit

"Greenpeace sues energy giant Eni in Italy's first climate lawsuit", 9 May 2023

Greenpeace Italy is suing Italian energy giant ENI for its contribution to global warming, it said on Tuesday, in the latest in a growing number of climate lawsuits around the world.

The environmental organisation along with fellow green campaign group ReCommon filed the suit along with 12 private citizens from areas of Italy severely affected by extreme weather events, Greenpeace said in a statement.

The suit was "for past and potential future damages resulting from its contribution to climate change, of which ENI was well aware but chose to ignore for decades," it said.

The lawsuit also includes ENI's two main shareholders, the economy ministry and Italy's state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), which own the Italian government’s one-third ownership stake in Eni between them and which "strongly influence the company's policies".

Greenpeace said ENI's policies were "in blatant violation of the Paris Agreement" signed by Italy, which it said had direct implications for the climate commitments of companies like ENI...

The plaintiffs have asked the court in Rome to rule on whether or not ENI has caused damages through "violations of their human rights to life, health, and private and family life".

Eni rejected the allegations made in the lawsuit and said it was confident it would win the case, Italian news agency Ansa reported.

An Eni spokesperson said the company would show in court that the accusations were "groundless".

The lawsuit is the first of its kind filed against a private company in Italy, and comes following two landmark climate cases in the Netherlands.

In recent years, a growing number of organisations and citizens worldwide have turned to the courts in an attempt to force companies and governments to rapidly cut climate-heating carbon emissions...

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