Rosanna Fusco – Operational Environment Manager

As Eni's head of the Environment can you tell us what the principal elements in Eni's strategy are in the fight against climate change?

Quite apart for the ongoing scientific debate on the causes of climate change, Eni is conscious of the need to act. The range of options available for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels is extensive: there are, for example, a great many technological solutions that can be adopted that are different in terms of cost, time frame for development and potential. Eni has decided to act on a number of fronts, putting in place a series of measures that together constitute an action plan for the mitigation of climate change. This includes actions, some of which give, or will give, results in the short term, such as the gradual elimination of gas flaring (the burning of associated gas from petroleum extraction) and a wide range of energy saving initiatives.

This is a concrete and relevant commitment if one considers that the project for the elimination of gas flaring on its own will lead to a reduction of 10 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions by 2012. Projects for the capture and sequestration of carbon dioxide, the development of renewables and new energy vectors are just some of the other examples of Eni's commitment to the development of new technologies aimed at generating long-term benefits.

Moreover, Eni aims to expand its actions fro the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions also to the consumers of its "products". In fact, this is the aim of the energy saving awareness campaigns launched by Eni and aimed at both the general public and the company's big clients. In particular, I'm thinking of the Eni 30perCento information and training campaign.

Among the elements that you have indicated, which, in your view, is the most fundamental; that on which the effectiveness of Eni's actions ultimately depends?

The fact that, in the short and medium term, fossil fuels cannot be substituted is something that we absolutely cannot ignore in a strategy to mitigate the effects of climate change. A serious energy saving plan is therefore the most effective way of immediately reducing energy consumption with low investment, in some cases wholly marginal, costs, and with truly substantial potential. Eni is investing substantially on an issue that it considers a priority, while attempting to achieve ever-growing levels of efficiency.

A tangible demonstration can be seen in the energy saving programmes introduced at the production level and thanks to which we expect to see overall energy savings of around 470,000 tep over the four-year period 2009-2012, just in the refining and petrochemicals sectors.  Of similar importance are consulting and assistance activities aimed at end users and well as promotional activities for the spread of a energy saving culture.

In the future prospect of a gradual replacement of fossil fuels by new types of energy, Eni is promoting investments in research in the area of renewables such as solar energy and biomass, in the belief that these have greater potential for large-scale exploitation, in a way that is economically sustainable in the medium-long term.

The international debate on policies for mitigating climate change have continued with the aim of reaching a post-Kyoto international agreement; this agreement is expected to be implemented in December 2009 in Copenhagen.

In the meantime, the EU has already approved a energy policy for 2020 whose aim is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20% with respect to 1990.  Within this environment, the strategy for combating climate change developed by ENI has already allowed for the attainment of significant results in the past years, particularly with regards to the efficency of processes for the transformation of petroleum products (refining , petrochemical , electricity generation) due to adopted technologies and the carbon density of the utilized fuels.

The strong presence of Eni within the gas market and the simultaneous production of high-efficiency fuels also mark ENI as a company which promotes the utilization of highly efficient energy products amongst its customers. In 2007 and 2008, was included in the Carbon Disclosure Project Leadership Index, that selects the leading companies  based on their carbon emission management strategies among the 500 largest companies by market capitalisation on FTSE Global Equity.

The Carbon Management strategy for the next five years confirms and strengthens this commitment on the part of Eni:

• Defining a reduction target within the activity sector which most strongly affects greenhouse gas emissions  (the exploration and production of petroleum products);
• Continuing to constantly improve the efficiency of its industrial facilities;
• Consolidating its commitment to R&D of new technological options (such as geological underground isolation, biofixation of co2) and new renewal energy sources;
• Promoting energy savings behaviors amongst consumers

In particular and within the Exploration & Production sector, ENI has continued its reduction of gas flaring by developing projects, including the projects promoting the recognition of a Clean Development Mechanism(CDM). The gas associated with oil is generally burned (flared) in developing countries, particularly within the African continent, thereby resulting in large amounts of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere. The recovery of the gas associated with the oil in these countries requires the realization of costly infrastructures such as new gas pipelines, highly efficient electrical plants and gas liquefaction facilities; this would contribute to the economic development of the producing countries while simultaneously reducing effects on global climate change.

Current projects for the reduction of gas flaring aim at reducing gas flaring emissions by 70% within 2012 with respect to emission levels of 2007: these emissions are one third of the overall GHG emission of Eni.

The reduction of energy consumption within production facilities is a positive process which has been carried out for many years and has allowed for the gradual reduction in energy consumption within "historical" plants (such as petrochemical facilities and refineries) as well as the completion of new efficient joint cycles within the electrical sector (forecasted for 2012).