Greens/EFA, NGOs and associations file a legal appeal against Italian oil company ENI’s harmful business plan
Today, a group of Italian environmental organisations, movements and groups, supported by the Greens/EFA group and Europa Verde, submitted a legal appeal to the National Contact Point of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) denouncing the inadequacy of the industrial plan of the Italian oil company ENI with respect to international commitments aimed at fighting the climate emergency.
The appeal raises the fact that the strategic plan does not provide for sufficient emission cuts over the next few years, as well as the lack of a climate impact assessment of the company's activities, the absence of transparent and adequate information and the failure to draw up a risk prevention and mitigation plan, as required by the OECD Guidelines.
Philippe Lamberts, President of the Greens/EFA group, comments:
“Our group strongly supports this initiative. The business plan presented by ENI is in clear contradiction with the recommendations of the IPCC and the EU climate objectives and undermines the necessary goal of cutting emissions. It is time for big polluters to be made accountable to the public."
"ENI has voluntarily declared its intention to commit to the objectives set by the Paris Agreement by signing the Paris Pledge for Action. In spite of the Italian oil company's declared commitment to climate change, the business plan foresees a 4% annual increase in the amount of oil and gas extracted over the next three years, an emissions reduction trend that is not in line with the scenarios identified by the scientific community for meeting the Paris Agreement's long-term targets, and the use of controversial and ineffective techniques such as CCS (CO2 capture and storage) or blue hydrogen production. Proposals that are in fact only diversions with unproven effectiveness, rather than concrete solutions to the emissions problem.”
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The initiative is based on the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, which set out a series of principles, inspired by international standards, aimed at promoting socially and environmentally responsible conduct and the protection of human rights in companies. These include obligations of transparency and the adoption of company policies that take into account current scientific knowledge.
A mediation procedure is initiated, as provided for in the Guidelines themselves, in the event of corporate conduct being deemed contrary to the principles set out. The NCP - National Contact Point of the OECD, at the Ministry of Economic Development (MISE), is called upon to evaluate the petition and declare its admissibility. The decision, which in case of acceptance decrees the start of the procedure, is taken by the NCP after about 30 days of receipt of the application. If ENI decides not to adhere to the procedure, the initiative could move from public denunciation and campaigning to the judicial level. We hope that the fact that ENI is controlled by the State, which constitutes a potential conflict of interest for the MISE, will not be an obstacle to the impartiality of the NCP.
The promoters of the initiative are: Legality Network for Climate, A Sud, Environmental Forum, Future Generations - Mutual Aid Cooperative, Fridays for Future, Extinction Rebellion Milano, Per il clima fuori dal fossile, Emergenzaclimatica.it, Europa Verde, Greens/EFA in the European Parliament, Direct Right.
