Rome, 20 May 2026 – The mega-project by Eni and Snam for the capture, transport and storage of CO₂ in the Northern Adriatic presents very serious concerns. For this reason, Greenpeace Italy and ReCommon have lodged a complaint with the Lazio-Rome Regional Administrative Court (TAR) seeking the annulment of the decree issued by the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security on 30 January this year. The decree gave a positive environmental impact assessment regarding the “CCS Pianura Padana” infrastructure development project submitted by Snam. The appeal is contesting in particular the splitting of the project, carried out by taking advantage of a more “streamlined” authorisation process. This could have potential negative effects on the environment and landscape of the fragile coastal areas and the provinces of Ferrara, Ravenna and Rovigo, as well as the Northern Adriatic.
“CCS Pianura Padana” consists of the first 100 kilometres of onshore infrastructure and gas pipelines to expand the already underway “Ravenna CCS” project, which in turn is the cornerstone of the “Integrated Callisto CCS” project that would also involve France. The ultimate aim of the entire project is to store up to 16 million tonnes of CO₂ per year in various depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs off the coast of Ravenna, and to develop the network of infrastructure necessary to establish a CO₂ market in the Mediterranean. Snam plans to invest €800 million in the Ravenna CCS project, which includes both the onshore infrastructure of the CCS Pianura Padana and the offshore CO₂ storage in a joint venture with Eni.
The grounds for the appeal to the Regional Administrative Court stem from the decision – which Greenpeace Italy and ReCommon deem unlawful – to split a single project by commencing the offshore storage pilot phase without a comprehensive environmental impact assessment of the entire project. The only part that has so far been subject to an actual environmental impact assessment is that relating to the onshore infrastructure, known as CCS Pianura Padana project. However, the interdependence of the offshore and onshore parts of this same large-scale project is evident, including Phase 2 and its future international development, which has secured it the status of ‘Project of Common Interest’ from the European Commission. In industrial phase 2, which is expected to begin in 2027, the project plans to transport and store in the offshore reservoirs near Ravenna a portion of the CO₂ emitted by French industrial plants in Fos, Etang de Berre and the Rhône Valley, which would be transported by ship and/or truck.
A futuristic, energy intensive project, whose energy implications are not at all taken into account in the ministerial environmental impact assessment, and for which the cost-benefit analysis requested by ReCommon from the European Commission has not yet been made public.
Greenpeace Italy and ReCommon took part in the public consultation phases as part of the environmental assessment procedure for the CCS Pianura Padana project. Between September 2024 and April 2025, they submitted various comments and counter-comments, most of which did not receive adequate responses from the proposing company. The procedure fell within the scope of the NRRP-NIECP (National Recovery and Resilience Plan/ National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan) and was the accelerated procedure applied to projects defined as ‘energy security’, with time for public consultation reduced by half.
Greenpeace Italia and ReCommon identified shortcomings in the environmental impact assessment (VINCA), particularly regarding the impacts on the 12 protected areas that are expected to be directly or indirectly affected by the CCS Pianura Padana project.
«In our view, the project documentation reveals critical issues that were not adequately addressed prior to the issuance of the EIA in terms of safety, the environment and the impact on protected areas. For this reason, the organisations have decided to appeal to the Regional Administrative Court. If these procedural shortcomings are confirmed by the administrative judge, this would also validate concerns regarding the risks of significant impacts that the CCS Pianura Padana project could entail, without sufficient guarantees of its long-term sustainability’, commented lawyers Luca Maria Brigida and Matteo Ceruti, legal representatives of the appealing organisations.
«Furthermore, the appeal highlights shortcomings in the assessment of the actual impact of seismic activity, soil liquefaction and the effects of subsidence and flooding, which are increasingly affecting the Emilia-Romagna region» added the lawyers.
“What energy security? This project aims to extend the life of fossil fuel infrastructure and even build new facilities, under the false promise of ‘permanent’ CO₂ capture – a claim that remains to be proven. This is in addition to the significant issues we have identified not only regarding construction but also the operation and maintenance of the project, which could generate social, environmental and economic costs for the State in the scale of tens of billions” said Elena Gerebizza of ReCommon. «The CCS Pianura Padana project risks becoming a black hole for public finances, accelerating climate change rather than reducing it» concluded Gerebizza.
“Italy’s and Europe’s energy security is built by accelerating a genuine transition towards renewable sources, energy efficiency and electrification, not by investing billions in false solutions such as carbon capture and storage. For Greenpeace, CCS is above all a way for the fossil fuel industry to pull the wool over the public’s eyes: promising to capture emissions tomorrow so they can continue to secure profits from oil and gas today and slow down the energy transition we urgently need,” said Simona Abbate, energy and climate campaigner at Greenpeace Italy.
