ExxonKnews
August 23, 2023
This issue is a special collaboration with DeSmog, one of the leading outlets working to expose misinformation from fossil fuel interests.
In May, NGOs and citizens sued Italian oil giant Eni for its decades of lobbying and greenwashing to delay climate action. Barely two months later, Eni has laid the groundwork for a lawsuit of its own, alleging it has been harmed by a “massive campaign” of “serious defamatory declarations.”
The move is indicative of a worldwide escalation of a legal tactic intended to cow critics into silence: SLAPPs — or strategic lawsuits against public participation. Enmeshing activists in lengthy legal proceedings can drain their time and resources — a win for the company even if it loses in court.
Greenpeace Italy and ReCommon have alleged in their climate lawsuit — Italy’s first — that despite knowing at least as early as 1970 that burning fossil fuels posed a serious climate risk, Eni went on to promote “natural” — or methane — gas as a safe energy source for decades.
