INVESTIGATION REPORT
FOSSIL FUEL
CRIME CARD
Accused: Ente Nazionale Idrocarburi
HQ: Rome, Italy | 2022 Profits: $14.12 billion
Some criminal and civil offences attributed to ENI:
HQ: Rome, Italy | 2022 Profits: $14.12 billion
- Environmental crime: ENI was convicted in 2021 for the illicit disposal of waste at a plant in Basilicata, southern Italy. Senior staff were handed prison sentences. Also, Eni was fined EUR 700,000 in the case.
- Money laundering and Fraud: ENI has been accused of corruption in a USD 1.3 billion deal in 2011 to purchase drilling rights at the OPL 245 deepwater offshore oil field in Nigeria.
- Greenwashing and Air pollution: ENI was fined EUR 5 million in January 2020 for deceiving consumers over so-called ‘green’ diesel. It is the first ruling against greenwashing in Italy’s history.
FOSSIL FUEL
CRIME CARD
Accused: TotalEnergies SA
HQ: Courbevoie, France | 2022 Profits: $36.2 billion
Some crimes attributed to TotalEnergies, formerly TOTAL/Elf Aquitaine:
HQ: Courbevoie, France | 2022 Profits: $36.2 billion
- Ocean pollution: Total was found to be criminally liable in 2012 by the Cour de Cassation for causing pollution in French waters and on the shoreline after the ERIKA 1999 oil spill.
- Corruption and Embezzlement of public funds: In November 2003, former executives of oil giant Elf Aquitaine, now known as TotalEnergies, were sentenced to jail. Loïk Le Floch-Prigent was sentenced to five years of prison and fined EUR 375,000 for misuse of corporate assets and concealment of this offence.
- Bribery and Corruption: Total was fined EUR 500,000 by a French court in 2018 for corruption of a public foreign agent after it was reportedly convicted for paying USD 30 million in bribes to help secure the rights to the South Pars natural gas field in the Persian Gulf in 1997.
FOSSIL FUEL
CRIME CARD
Accused: Shell Plc
HQ: London, United Kingdom | 2022 Profits: $40 billion
Some criminal and civil offences attributed to Shell:
HQ: London, United Kingdom | 2022 Profits: $40 billion
- Environmental degradation: In 2021 a Dutch court ordered Shell to compensate communities in Nigeria for causing multiple oil pipeline leaks in the Niger Delta. In December 2022, while continuing to deny culpability, Shell ultimately agreed to pay the communities EUR 15 million.
- Money laundering and Fraud: Shell has been accused of corruption in a USD 1.3 billion deal in 2011 to purchase drilling rights at the OPL 245 deepwater offshore oil field in Nigeria. Although Shell was controversially acquitted in Italy, three NGOs are seeking an investigation into Shell in The Hague for money laundering, membership of a criminal organisation and other crimes based on the same set of facts.
- Misleading advertising: Shell lost its appeal against the Dutch advertising watchdog’s ruling that an ad campaign that promoted carbon dioxide emission credits was misleading and must be withdrawn.
FOSSIL FUEL
CRIME CARD
Accused: Repsol SA
HQ: Madrid, Spain | 2022 Profits: €4.251 billion
Some crimes and accusations attributed to Repsol in Spain:
HQ: Madrid, Spain | 2022 Profits: €4.251 billion
- Ocean Pollution: In January 2022, Repsol was found to be responsible for spilling 6,000 barrels of oil into the ocean off the central coast of Peru. In January 2023, Peru reportedly fined Repsol for almost EUR 17 million and is also pursuing a EUR 4.3 billion civil lawsuit for causing the “ecological disaster”.
- Pollution: Repsol is the most polluting company in Spain, according to Descarbonización 2023, the annual emission report by Observatorio de Sostenibilidad and GrandMother, with CO2 emissions of around 12.5 million tonnes in 2022 - an increase of 16% from 2021.
- Greenwashing: According to Greenpeace Spain’s report Words vs Actions, 78% of Repsol's investments between December 2019 and April 2021 were in fossil fuel production. But meanwhile, 48% of Repsol's adverts and promotions claimed the company was green or eco-friendly in some way. This just doesn't add up, which is why the report makes the claim that Repsol was greenwashing.
FOSSIL FUEL
CRIME CARD
Accused: Equinor
HQ: Stavanger, Norway | 2022 Profits: $74.9 billion
Some criminal acts attributed to Equinor:
HQ: Stavanger, Norway | 2022 Profits: $74.9 billion
- Antitrust violations and Environmental degradation: STATOIL (Equinor since 2017) was reportedly fined NOK 50 million in February 2005 for price manipulation in Sweden. Reportedly, Statoil has a history of at least 15 major financial penalties since 2000, totalling over NOK 360 million for offences ranging from violating stock market rules, environmental safety regulations and cartel activities to environmental degradation.
- Bribery and Corruption: STATOIL (Equinor today) admitted corruption and entered into a settlement of NOK 140 million in 2003 for corruption in Iran, in which the company tried to buy access to an interesting market by bribing Iranian officials.
- Safety regulation violation: In 2020, a fire broke out at Equinor's LNG facility on Melkøya, an island in Norway. Norway’s Petroleum Safety Authority identified “serious breaches of regulations” and ordered urgent compliance measures. In August 2022, Equinor was reportedly charged with breaching Norway’s Petroleum Act regulations.
ADD YOUR NAME
We demand that fossil fuel companies must:
- Stop their climate wrecking activities including their involvement in new fossil fuel projects.
- Admit and apologise for their crimes.
- Repair and pay for the damage they have caused.
LET'S END FOSSIL FUEL CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY AND THE CLIMATE.
People everywhere are rising up in resistance against the fossil fuel criminals because they are driving us deeper into the climate crisis, causing death, destruction and displacement around the world.
The fossil fuel industry is built on colonialism and injustice. From systemic pollution and environmental damage to displacement of communities, murder, fraud, misleading greenwashing marketing campaigns and now the global energy crisis.
Fossil fuel companies are responsible for countless crimes against the environment and humanity and they have been getting away with it for far too long.
For a fair, green and peaceful world, we need climate justice. Our message to the fossil fuel criminals is clear: End the crimes, we want justice!