Eni SPA insisted on Wednesday it was pursuing a “just transition” towards net zero emissions by 2050, following a lawsuit claiming the state-controlled global energy giant has breached Italy’s international climate commitments.
It said it has reduced direct and indirect emissions by 17 percent from 2018 levels.
Eni “continued to implement the necessary measures to achieve net zero emissions of scope 1 and 2 in Upstream by 2030, investing in emission reduction technologies and developing low carbon projects”, the company said with headquarters in Rome in a press release.
Scope 1 emissions in business and industry usually refer to the carbon footprint directly from activities overseen by a company, while indirect emissions, such as those from outsourced company resources, are usually in the other two areas. According to the guidelines of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, scope II emissions come from the purchase of electricity, heat and steam. Scope III covers business travel via flights and public transport, among others.
Eni’s statement comes after environmental activists Greenpeace Italy and ReCommon, as well as 12 Italian citizens, took the company to court for what Greenpeace International said are “past and potential future damages arising from its contribution to change climate”.
The suit by the Rome Court seeks to compel the company “to review its industrial strategy to reduce emissions by at least 45 percent in 2030 compared to 2020 levels, as indicated by the international scientific community to maintain the “average increase in global temperature below 1.5 degrees Celsius as reported by the international scientific community. The Paris Agreement,” Greenpeace International said in a press release on Tuesday.
Italy’s economy ministry, which controls Eni, has also been named as a respondent to “adopt an ambitious climate policy to guide its participation in the company in line with the Paris Agreement.”
Cassa Depositi e Prestiti SPA, which owns more than 26 percent of Eni’s share capital, has also been named as a respondent.
Eni was quoted by The Associated Press on Wednesday as saying in a statement that the lawsuit was unfounded and that it would prove in court the “correctness” of its decarbonization plan based on the balance of sustainability, energy security and competitiveness .
On Wednesday, Eni, in a 2022 operations report, described its progress on its emissions reduction roadmap.
“In addressing the challenges in the energy sector that Eni faces, we keep our priorities firmly on track with a constant commitment to promote access to energy, local development and environmental protection,” said the councilor delegate Claudio Descalzi in a press release accompanying the report.
The company said in the statement: “To achieve a just transition, special attention was paid to initiatives to promote access to energy and education in the countries of operation. These include the projects in Costa d’ Ivory Coast, Mozambique and Ghana to facilitate access to clean cooking”.
To contact the author, please email jov.onsat@rigzone.com
