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Claudio Descalzi

Chief Executive Officer and General Manager, Eni

Search every verified Claudio Descalzi interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Claudio Descalzi, Chief Executive Officer and General Manager of Eni, addressed the Coldiretti Forum in October 2026 via a video message, discussing energy policy and investment challenges. He stated that the European and global energy systems were already fragile due to over 12 years of underinvestment in traditional energy sources before recent crises, including the pandemic, the Russo-Ukrainian war, and the conflict in Israel. Descalzi argued that the industry has been conditioned by past forecasts predicting a decline in petroleum product demand by 2025 and 2030, scenarios he said have not occurred, and he called for a departure from ideological approaches to technology, suggesting that energy sources are typically added rather than completely replaced. He also highlighted Eni's investments in biofuels, CO2 capture, nuclear fusion, and quantum computing as responses to current emergencies. In a separate appearance on October 14, 2026, Descalzi proposed suspending the European Union Emissions Trading System (ETS) until the end of conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. He was quoted as saying that while a tax on polluters is appropriate in principle, the revenues should be invested in improving polluting processes, and he described the current system's implementation as a "farce." Descalzi expressed concerns that the ETS has harmed industries such as automotive, ceramics, cement, and chemicals, warning of the consequences of exported refining capacity.

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Notable quotes

“We must move away from ideological approaches and return to looking at technologies for what they are: tools at the service of industrial policy. In all industrial cycles, energy sources have been added, they have never been completely replaced. The simple reason is that adapting infrastructure and changing processes and regulations requires capital, time, and above all, economic sustainability. And above all, becaus”

“If we look at our European but also global energy system, even before the crisis of recent years, we were starting from a situation of fragility determined by over 12 years of underinvestment in traditional energy sources. After that, in a very short period, a cycle of less than 5 years, we went from the pandemic to the Russo-Ukrainian war and finally the conflict in Israel. All this has made the global energy system”

“The ETS is right, probably giving a tax to those who pollute is right if then the ETS money is invested to improve polluting processes. We know very well that it's not so, so it's a farce, but let's say it's not a farce, it's a serious thing, but even if it's a serious thing, since we have practically killed the automotive industry, all its supply chain, we risk killing also all the ceramics and cement plants. Chemis”

“L'Europa ha fatto di tutto per distruggere la chimica e ce lo dice in faccia che dovete andare via dall'Europa. Questo è quello che la Commissione Europea ci dice. Nessuno ci ha dato una mano, non abbiamo avuto una singola, non ho chiesto a nessuno, un singolo contributo di nessuno e l'Europa ci ha continuato a combattere.”

“C'è una gara in corso sulle AI, sulle hyperscale data center, sui minerali critici, sulla raffinazione degli stessi per cui ci vuole moltissima energia. In questa corsa ci sono solo due concorrenti, due partecipanti che sono gli Stati Uniti e la Cina. Noi non siamo assolutamente e nessun altro.”

“Noi abbiamo tutte le attività in dollaro, in dollari, quindi per noi è terribile, nel senso che perdiamo centinaia centinaia e centinaia di milioni. E per quello che è stato anche eccezionale i risultati che stiamo facendo quest'anno, basta guardare il terzo trimestre dove abbiamo battuto tutto il consensus, considerando un cambio assolutamente favorevole, abbiamo centinaia di milioni proprio dovuti dovuti al cambio.”

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