'Fossil criminals': the definition with which 200 environmentalists attacked an Eni construction site in San Donato Milanese the other day was intended to obscure the company's commitment to the ecological transition. Something is obviously not working, because more or less at the same time the Chief Executive Officer Claudio Descalzi presented eni for 2020, 15th group sustainability report. The two events, however, stimulate some reflection.
In recent weeks, very different opinions and political positions have flocked to the Italian ecological transition. They certainly don't help the collective effort to make Italy better from an environmental and energy point of view. Eni is the largest Italian energy company and operates in 68 countries. Its history since the time of Enrico Mattei is marked by light and shadow, scandals and successes, victories and mysteries, intertwined with the political and economic history of Italy. On an industrial level, there is no doubt that the company is discounting today an epochal passage that goes beyond the Italian borders and therefore the transition just structured by Minister Cingolani. For Eni, switching from fossil fuels to renewables has meant (and is ongoing) practically starting from scratch. Let's be clear: no official defense is made here, but reality is never one-way.
The truth is that either society accepts the challenge of moving from traditional sources to future ones or its survival is called into question. Let green activists spot the old ones company oil & gas as enemies of the planet, it's known. The same companies should have realized that their business damaged the environment, health, created economic and social inequalities in the world. They didn't. When the environmental movements were born, they realized (some more, some less) that the time had come to renew themselves and stand on the side of those who brought such innovative requests. Companies are subject to external pressures. But hasn't energy accompanied all civilizations? It is the history of industrialized countries that confirms us inseparable pairs such as progress-energy, growth-utility, well-being-resources. Of course, the use and research in the subsoil, in the seas, has produced endless disparities and disasters with harmful consequences for entire populations. For better or worse, we have arrived at the new millennium and no one can say that we have arrived without responsibility. Political, economic, social, moral due to the desire for redemption from the previous condition. Pope Francis often reminds us of this.
Looking at Eni, what is interesting to understand is the real desire to hook up to the future. Environmentalists may doubt, it is within their right. The sustainability report describes the commitment to a "fair and inclusive energy transition, which guarantees access to energy for all, while preserving the environment," said Descalzi. Three volumes contain the sense of a profound transformation and incisiveness of the company. If on the one hand the sustainability performance of the last 5 years is described, on the other hand the path towards carbon neutrality by 2050 is illustrated. Two elements converging towards a single goal. Why don't green naysayers bring it to their own green capital? If the management in such important documents talks about the evolution of the old business model which involves hundreds of thousands of employees – a fact overlooked in the protests – why not “go and see” like in a poker game?
The company says that its concrete mission is "inspired by the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, to respond to universal challenges in an increasingly challenging context also in light of the 2020 health emergency". Well. The confrontation-clash with the company, at this point, should concern the analysis of the data exposed to the whole world. The best analyzes tell us that the era of fossil fuels will not end so soon. There are all the alternatives, but environmental competition needs dialogue. Over the past six years, countering the extraction of oil and gas still required by millions of inhabitants with marches and sit-ins alone has not radically changed the need for traditional energy. Only the demand for oil this year will grow by 6% and whole countries do not know exactly how to go on without gas, oil, coal. Hard to call them criminals.
The fact, then, that Eni in the three volumes reports testimonials in partnership with international organizations in Mexico, Angola, Ghana, can be verified and become a factor of success for greens if those testimonials are extended to climatic and environmental factors of those countries. Finally the money. Eni takes care of writing a chapter on sustainable finance. Last year the company continued to consolidate its commitment in this area, obtaining "recognitions from the main sustainability indices used in the economic sphere to measure environmental, social and governance performance". Not even these descriptions are made with a light hand, due to the economic implications that move trillions and in the specific case for a company owned by the State, therefore by the citizens. Ultimately there can be no suspensive condition of dissent, it would certainly be better if it helped everyone to move forward.
