ROME – The Antitrust Authority fines Eni 5 million for the misleading advertising of EniDiesel+, as Rome city extends Diesel ban by two days, official sources say.

  On Wednesday, the day that Rome’s Diesel ban was extended to lower pollution after exceeding legal limits, the Italian energy company Eni was also found to have wrongly attributed environmental benefits to its Eni Diesel + fuel in its advertising messaging.

  In a press release, The Competition and Market Guarantor Authority stated that “the deception of the messaging derived firstly from the confusion between the advertised product EniDiesel+ and its biodiesel component HVO (Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil), called by Eni ‘Green Diesel’.” In their own press release, Eni stated its surprise at the decision to impose the fine, defended the environmental benefits of EniDiesel+, and said it will launch an appeal.

  EniDiesel+ is created by combining diesel with a Bio Diesel developed from technology in Eni laboratories and produced in Eni’s Venice biorefinery. Eni claim that its product performs better than traditional biodiesels. Their promotional campaign marketed the product as the best diesel for performance and the environment, which drew complaints from environmental associations in Feb 2018. The advertisements for EniDiesel+ were partially replaced in April 2019, but remained in petrol stations and on the company website, according to Il Salvagente.

  The allegations against Eni were brought to court by Legambiente, an Italian organization committed to cleaner energy and environmental causes. “The colossal enemy of the climate was found guilty of having advertised,” claimed the Legambiente twitter account on Wednesday.

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