‘Slapp addict’ Italian oil firm accused of trying to silence green activists | Environmental activism

When Antonio Tricarico was summoned to his native police station in October and advised he was being investigated for defamation, he was pressured however not shocked. Months earlier, Tricarico, the director of the Italian setting NGO ReCommon, had filed a joint authorized problem in opposition to the nation’s largest oil firm, Eni, which he knew had a historical past of utilizing legal professionals to clamp down on critics.The corporate had beforehand restricted itself to civil defamation lawsuits, together with in opposition to ReCommon, however in Tricarico’s case it initiated legal proceedings over statements he had made in a tv interview.“There’s intimidation in opposition to myself, for certain, which isn’t good and is impacting day by day work,” mentioned Tricarico, who’s now contemplating the power and sources that may be wanted if the case goes to trial. “However I believe the intimidation is broader.”Setting teams say Eni is partaking in a marketing campaign to stifle critics, with the corporate having filed not less than six defamation lawsuits in opposition to journalists and NGOs since January 2019.The publicly traded firm, which is beneath the de facto management of the Italian economic system ministry, is among the many world’s largest historic polluters when it comes to planet-heating gasoline. It plans to extend its underlying manufacturing by 3-4% a yr over the course of the last decade, whilst roadmaps to cease the planet from heating name for fast declines in fossil gasoline use.Court docket paperwork present Eni has initiated authorized proceedings in opposition to critics together with the Italian public broadcaster Rai, Greenpeace and a number of newspapers. The corporate has sought greater than €10m (£8.6m) in damages throughout the identified circumstances, based on evaluation shared solely with the Guardian by Aria, a non-profit analysis organisation. Eni’s newest lawsuit doesn’t search compensation.Greenpeace activists unroll a banner on the Eni headquarters in Rome in 2023. {Photograph}: Andrew Medichini/APJudges have dominated in opposition to Eni in three of the circumstances and one other was resolved in a settlement settlement. Two extra circumstances, together with the legal investigation into Tricarico and a civil case in opposition to Greenpeace and ReCommon, are persevering with.Simona Abbate, a local weather and power campaigner at Greenpeace Italy, mentioned: “Eni is attempting to silence dissent. It’s a world technique that fossil corporations use to restrict the environmental motion.”Campaigners say the circumstances are examples of “strategic lawsuits in opposition to public participation”, generally known as Slapps, which might bully journalists and watchdogs into silence with the specter of spurious authorized motion that stands little likelihood of success. Eni disputes the characterisation.In April, a coalition of NGOs together with Reporters With out Borders and Transparency Worldwide awarded Eni the title of “Slapp addict of the yr” for its defamation lawsuits. The teams highlighted Eni’s 2024 case in opposition to Greenpeace and ReCommon after they sought to carry Eni accountable for local weather damages.The corporate is chargeable for 0.46% of world emissions for the reason that Industrial Revolution, based on figures from the Carbon Majors database that embody emissions launched by prospects burning its fuels. Eni’s case in opposition to the NGOs seeks to cease them from characterising its actions as “crimes” or utilizing comparable language in campaigns.A spokesperson for Eni mentioned it “has not solely the suitable however the responsibility to show to the judicial authorities when confronted with false and defamatory statements that injury its popularity”.skip previous e-newsletter promotionThe planet’s most necessary tales. Get all of the week’s setting information – the nice, the dangerous and the essentialPrivacy Discover: Newsletters might comprise information about charities, on-line advertisements, and content material funded by exterior events. For extra data see our Privateness Coverage. We use Google reCaptcha to guard our web site and the Google Privateness Coverage and Phrases of Service apply.after e-newsletter promotionThey mentioned: “It is very important be aware that Eni has not initiated any Slapp fits in opposition to environmental teams, because it has not sought any monetary compensation, however solely the judicial fact to which it’s entitled.”In earlier defamation lawsuits that Eni misplaced, principally regarding protection of the acquisition of a Nigerian oilfield licence, the corporate had sought damages of €5m and €350,000 from the Italian newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano and €5m from Rai. Eni was ultimately acquitted of legal prices within the corruption trial, which was caused by NGOs together with ReCommon.Local weather activists and oil corporations are more and more turning to the courts as fights over air pollution and public opinion have develop into extra fraught. Whereas a number of oil and gasoline corporations have been criticised by free speech campaigners for utilizing authorized threats to battle off critics, Eni has filed extra lawsuits in opposition to journalists and setting teams than different European oil majors are identified to have finished.Tricarico mentioned there had been “a change of tempo” since Eni’s makes an attempt to say damages from media organisations had failed, and it was now taking a extra delicate strategy by not asking for cash.“The corporate realised that in all probability this was not sufficient to cease the few important voices – and truly was a fairly dangerous consequence in court docket,” he mentioned. “My feeling is that they’re transferring to a special strategy that you simply may name a ‘Slapp 2.0’.”