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'We Won't Be Silenced,' Says Greenpeace as Big Oil Threatens Libel Suit
"It has become clear: Eni is trying to silence anyone who dares to speak up and denounce the company's contribution to the fueling of the climate crisis," says Chiara Campione of Greenpeace Italy.
Mar 13, 2024
Greenpeace Italy revealed Wednesday that the Italian multinational energy company Eni is threatening a libel suit against it over reports the organization published about oil and gas companies.
Greenpeace said the potential lawsuit is related to a report on temperature-related premature deaths that may be caused by emissions from oil and gas companies like Eni and a report on the concept of "climate homicide."
"We face yet another act of intimidation by Eni; it seems that threatening defamation lawsuits is the new sport which the company has decided to pursue most enthusiastically. But we won't be silenced," said Chiara Campione of Greenpeace Italy. "This new potential defamation lawsuit follows a similar case initiated by Eni against Greenpeace Italia only a few months ago."
OOOPS ENI DID IT AGAIN!
It seems that threatening defamation lawsuits is the new sport which the company has decided to pursue most enthusiastically. https://t.co/zZjhRdCa0f
— Chiara Campione (@ChiaraCampione) March 13, 2024
Eni was given an opportunity to respond to the findings of the Greenpeace reports, but the group said Eni offered "no substantive rebuttal" and threatened legal action. The organization claimed other oil and gas companies mentioned in these reports have not threatened legal action.
Greenpeace Italy and the climate advocacy group ReCommon are currently suing Eni over its alleged contributions to the climate crisis. The first hearing for that case occurred last month.
"It has become clear: Eni is trying to silence anyone who dares to speak up and denounce the company's contribution to the fueling of the climate crisis," Campione said.
The multinational oil giant Shell sued Greenpeace in November for alleged damages related to Greenpeace activists boarding one of the company's oil platforms. Shell is trying to get as much as $8.6 million in damages, which Greenpeace says would greatly threaten its ability to campaign.
The French multinational oil and gas company TotalEnergies is also suing Greenpeace France over a report that claimed it underestimated its 2019 greenhouse gas emissions.
Greenpeace said Wednesday that these companies are trying to "stop Greenpeace and other organizations from denouncing the damage the fossil fuel industry is causing to people and the planet."
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12 Climate Justice Milestones From 2023
2024 brings an opportunity for people most impacted by climate to tell their stories and leverage the power of the world’s courts.
Dec 24, 2023
2023 has been a watershed year in the climate justice movement. The number of climate justice cases in front of international courts and tribunals surged this year, and this is why.
This year saw youth from almost 100 countries across the Global South gather in Lebanon to co-create strategies and demands calling on decision-makers at COP28 and beyond to implement an equitable climate action framework. Soon after at the inaugural African climate summit, young people from across the continent demanded meaningful action to address the environmental challenges threatening their future.
Here is a summary of major updates, wins, pauses, and losses from the climate change litigation world in 2023.
Swiss Senior Women at the European Court of Human Rights
The Swiss Senior Women for Climate Protection (widely known as KlimaSeniorinnen) case is the first climate case ever heard at the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). It addresses the duties of Switzerland to reduce greenhouse gas emissions more ambitiously to protect the lives of at-risk people. The decision (expected in 2024) will impact national climate policies and cases in Europe and beyond.
In the Swiss Senior Women’s own words, “To sue one’s own government is no ‘Sunday picnic’ and can only be done by those who can prove that they are particularly affected. And in this process, we have come a long way,” said Elisabeth Stern in her personal reflections on the significance of the case.
International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion (ICJAO)
The United Nations held a historic vote, led by the Vanuatu government, to determine whether the matter of climate crisis and human rights is referred to the International Court of Justice. On March 29, 2023, the resolution for an advisory opinion on the obligations of States with respect to climate change and human rights was adopted by 132 co-sponsoring countries at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). For the first time in history, the UNGA adopted a resolution to the ICJ by consensus. This was a result of a global alliance campaigning to get the highest court in the world (the International Court of Justice) to determine what duties countries have to protect the human rights of current and future generations from the climate crisis; and what should happen under international law when countries breach these legal duties.
Dutch Citizens’ Legal Action Against the Netherlands
Residents and Dutch citizens of the island of Bonaire, in the Caribbean, together with Greenpeace Netherlands, in May launched a legal action over the government’s failure to protect the Caribbean island against climate change impacts. Bonaire, a former Dutch colony, has been a special Dutch municipality since 2010. According to the seven individual plaintiffs, the state is negligent in protecting the people of Bonaire from climate change and violates their human rights. They demand that the Netherlands meet its fair share when it comes to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and that the island of Bonaire is better protected against the impacts of climate change, while recognizing the roots of the issues, such as colonialism.
#EniKnew—The Call for Corporate Accountability
ENI Knew a report by Greenpeace Italy and ReCommon, revealed that the Italian oil and gas giant has known since the early 1970s about the damage caused by fossil fuels to the planet’s climate. This report follows a lawsuit filed by 12 Italian citizens, Greenpeace Italy, and ReCommon in May 2023 against the fossil fuel company for its contribution to global warming.
The claimants are asking the Court of Rome to declare ENI liable for past and potential future damages to fundamental rights, such as the right to health, safety, and property and for putting and continuing to put in danger the same assets of the applicants because of the consequences of climate change.
Pacific Climate Justice Ship Tour
Throughout July and August, the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior sailed from Vanuatu to Tuvalu and Fiji as part of our Pacific Climate Justice Ship Tour. During the visit, Greenpeace Australia-Pacific campaigners met with community and government leaders to listen and engage in ‘talanoa’ or discussion, and to learn how best to support Pacific climate demands. They celebrated the beauty of culture and campaigned for an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice on the impacts of climate change on human rights.
Korean Constitutional Complaint
On September, 20, 2023, 167 South Koreans, backed by Greenpeace East Asia’s Seoul office, presented a petition at the Constitutional Court for the declaration of unconstitutionality of Article 159(2) of the Capital Markets Act, for its lack of requirement of climate disclosure of business enterprises. They argued that the lack of mandatory climate disclosure results in companies picking and choosing what elements to report in their sustainability reports, leading to increased greenwashing. Unfortunately, in November 2023, the Constitutional Court ruled that the complaint should be rejected, but this is only opening another chapter of people-powered legal work as an answer.
Advisory Opinion at the Tribunal for the Law of the Sea
Greenpeace International attended the opening day of three weeks of hearings at the Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) in Hamburg, Germany, in September 2023. The Tribunal was requested by a coalition of Pacific states to advise on the obligations of states to protect the marine environment from greenhouse gas pollution. The hearings were significant because three international judicial courts and tribunals currently are working to prepare advisory opinions on climate change, and ITLOS is the first to receive submissions and hear arguments. Greenpeace and Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) submitted a written statement, circulated to the parties involved, on the obligations of states to phase out fossil fuels.
Duarte Agostinho and Others v. Portugal and 31 Other States
On September 27, 2023, the Duarte Agostinho and Others vs. Portugal and 31 Other countries’ case had its big moment with a public hearing in front of 17 judges at the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), Strasbourg, France. Six courageous Portuguese children and young adults brought this case against 32 European countries to the European court. These young people are asking the courts to legally compel countries to ramp up their efforts to cut emissions in line with holding global heating below 1.5°C.
The Climate Justice Walk
In the lead-up to the 10th anniversary of Typhoon Haiyan’s (locally known as Yolanda) historic landfall in the Philippines, 12 core Climate Walkers and supporters from a diverse coalition of climate and human rights advocates began their solidarity walk from Manila to Tacloban for the Climate Justice Walk 2023: A People’s Journey for Climate Justice.
The 1,000-kilometer journey on foot and on bicycles culminated on November 7, 2023, on the eve of the 10th anniversary of Typhoon Haiyan, with the Climate Walkers converging with local storm survivors and impacted communities as they crossed the iconic San Juanico bridge on their way to Tacloban. The walk was in support of the wave of climate litigation cases worldwide, including the Philippine Commission on Human Rights’ landmark inquiry. It also demanded that world governments intensify their ambition for the Global Stocktake, mobilize essential resources for the Loss and Damage Fund of the UNFCCC, and elevate the call for climate reparations.
Greenpeace Nordic and Natur og Ungdom v. The Norwegian State
Greenpeace Nordic and Natur og Ungdom (Young Friends of the Earth Norway) took the Norwegian state to court again in a new trial from November 28 to December 6. The new climate lawsuit in Norway is part of the wider movement to hold states and corporations accountable for the climate and nature crises. The organisations argue that the recent approvals of three oil fields violate the Norwegian constitution and Norway’s international human rights commitments, including the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child. They demand an immediate halt to the ongoing development of the oil fields.
Climate Litigation Victory in Belgium
After nine years of procedure, a Belgian climate litigation case finally achieved a momentous victory. After a first symbolic win in 2021, where the judge held that the Belgium government breached its duty of care by failing to take necessary measures to prevent the harmful effects of climate change but did not rule on binding reduction targets, the Court of Appeal has now ruled in favor of such binding targets. The ruling of the Court of Appeal obliges the different governments in Belgium to collectively cut CO2 emissions by at least 55% by 2030, compared to 1990.
U.N. Human Rights Prize
In December, The Global Coalition of Civil Society, Indigenous Peoples, Social Movements, and Local Communities for the Universal Recognition of the Human Right to a Clean, Healthy, and Sustainable Environment was awarded the 2023 U.N. Human Rights Prize at a ceremony in New York, USA. Greenpeace is one of the members of the Global Coalition that comprises civil society, Indigenous peoples, social movements, and local communities. The Right to Healthy Environment Coalition is calling for accountability from governments to ensure we live in a world with a safe climate, nontoxic environment, clean air, access to safe water, and adequate sanitation, healthy and sustainably produced food, and thriving biodiversity, now and for the future.
What Next for Climate Justice?
2024 brings an opportunity for people most impacted by climate to tell their stories and leverage the power of the world’s courts. It is a global opportunity to shape and define government and corporate obligations to tackle the climate crisis and protect the rights of current and future generations. It is an opportunity to build collective and transformative power to fight toxic power led by those most impacted by the multiple crises today.
What do we want? Climate Justice! When do we want it? NOW!
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ENI Knew, Too: Probe Shows Italian Oil Giant Was Aware of Climate Impacts in 1970
"ENI joins the long list of fossil fuel companies that... have been aware for decades of the destructive impacts of greenhouse gas emissions from coal, gas and oil" the report's research coordinator said.
Sep 25, 2023
Italian oil company ENI also knew its product would contribute to the climate crisis as early as 1970, a report published Monday by Greenpeace Italy and ReCommon revealed.
The news comes as Greenpeace Italy, ReCommon, and 12 plaintiffs are in the midst of a lawsuit against ENI seeking damages for the past and future impacts of its emissions.
"Our investigation adds evidence to the cynical attitude of energy majors," Felice Moramarco, a communication expert at Greenpeace Italy who coordinated the report's research, said in a statement. "ENI joins the long list of fossil fuel companies that, according to numerous international investigations conducted in recent years, have been aware for decades of the destructive impacts of greenhouse gas emissions from coal, gas, and oil on the climate, but chose to ignore what they knew."
The report details several internal documents showing that the fossil fuel company knew that burning oil, gas, and coal could disrupt the future climate.
In 1969, ENI—while entirely owned by the state of Italy—charged its center the Istituto per gli Studi sullo Sviluppo Economico e il Progresso Tecnico (ISVET) with completing a technical-economic survey. The survey, completed the next year, acknowledged the potential impact of greenhouse gas emissions in the introduction to its summary.
"The carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, according to a recent report by the U.N. Secretary, due to the increased use of mineral fuel oils, has increased over the last century by an average of 10% worldwide; towards the year 2000 this increase could reach 25%, with 'catastrophic' consequences for the climate," the introduction read.
The next piece of evidence dates from 1973. As the environmental movement began to pick up steam in the early 1970s due to pollution concerns, ENI founded a company called TECNECO in 1971 whose sole purpose was to tackle pollution. Two years later, TECNECO published the First Report on the Environmental Situation of the Country. The report included a table that stated carbon dioxide's "increase in the atmosphere is considered a potential cause of climate change."
Another TECNECO report from 1978 included this passage:
Various hypotheses have been made about the effect of fossil fuel emissions on climate. On a local scale, even considerable changes to climate have been noted. Similar climatic changes may occur on a regional scale due to the continued, increasing consumption of fossil fuels, and this may become a major problem by the end of the century. As already noted, the best available data indicate that the CO2 content of the atmosphere will reach 375-400 ppm in the year 2000; this would increase the temperature of the atmosphere by 0.5°C.
In the 1980s, ENI's company magazine Ecos also acknowledged the potential climate crisis on multiple occasions. For example, a 1988 article read, "The tremendous development of combustion processes during this century has led scientists to fear the greenhouse effect that could lead to climate change with devastating effects on the entire earth's ecosystem."
"It can therefore be said that ENI—like other oil and gas majors—was already aware from the very early 1970s that its core business, the exploitation of fossil fuels, was a serious danger not only to people's health, but also to the planet's climate," the report authors wrote.
Despite this, in the 1980s ENI also advertised natural gas as a "clean fuel" and participated in the International Petroleum Industry Environmental Conservation Association (IPIECA). IPIECA was used by ExxonMobil to sow climate denial and work against national climate policies during this decade, as a 2021 study found. Coauthors of that study Ben Franta, a senior climate litigation researcher at Oxford's Sustainable Law Program, and Christophe Bonneuil, who directs France's National Center for Scientific Research, both contributed to the Greenpeace report.
"It is time companies like ENI take responsibility for their harmful policies."
Bonneuil told the report authors that IPIECA, because it had many state-owned oil companies as members, played a key role in "international oil diplomacy" as nations sought to regulate the industry due to concerns over air pollution, oil spills, and global heating.
"Although IPIECA has never described itself as a pressure group, from 1988 to 1994 it clearly became a channel through which oil companies from around the world shared information and strategies regarding the work of the United Nations on the road to the 1992 Rio Earth Summit and the details of the negotiations on the Climate Change Convention," Bonneuil said.
In 1992, ENI co-hosted an IPIECA in Rome. During that meeting, and despite the more definitive statements in internal company documents, ENI's manager of its Safety, Quality, and Environmental Protection department Ennio Profili said it was "necessary to obtain data" about how oceans and clouds might contribute to climate change "before taking political decisions, such as adopting a carbon tax, which could lead to dire and unexpected economic consequences."
In response to Greenpeace's report, ENI toldDesmog in a statement that it had "already responded to the claims of the two organizations in the court of Rome, through the procedural tools provided and within the timeframe assigned by the law."
"The complexity of the matter is such that it merits spaces which are not compatible with journalistic reductions," the company continued.
However, for Moramarco, the situation is not complex.
"Carbon majors have contributed to and exacerbated the climate crisis and, despite the evidence in their hands, they have blocked progress towards effective regulation," Moramarco said in a statement. "It is time companies like ENI take responsibility for their harmful policies and invest in ambitious action to limit the impacts of the climate crisis on people and the planet."
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