Environmental activists cheered when Italy adopted a ban on oil and gas exploration within 12 miles of its coast in 2016. But Rockhopper saw an opportunity for a desperate lawsuit to keep its struggling oil and gas exploration company afloat.

Rockhopper just announced it has “commenced international arbitration proceedings” against Italy. Which is legalese for saying it’s trying to get taxpayers to pay for “lost profits” caused by Italy’s environmental protections.

Companies have no right to take entire countries to court -- especially to fight environmental protections that help keep people and the planet safe. That’s why we’re coming together now to call on Rockhopper to drop its desperate lawsuit that would force Italian taxpayers to pay a hefty price for a cleaner, more sustainable Italy.  

Call on Rockhopper to drop its desperate lawsuit against Italy’s oil and gas exploration restrictions.

The embarrassing truth behind Rockhopper’s legal action? The company’s share value is collapsing -- falling 25 percent over the last year alone. But it’s not up to Italian taxpayers to keep the failing company afloat.    

This is what happens when corporations have the power to take entire countries to court for “lost profits” stemming from laws that protect workers, consumers, and the planet. That’s why a mass movement opposing secretive global corporate courts -- from TTIP to the proposed EU Multilateral Investment Court -- are so important.

Together we’re standing up to demand corporations be subject to the same laws and court systems as the rest of us. It’s up to us to make sure Rockhopper doesn’t undo crucial environmental protections with a secretive corporate lawsuit. By bringing a public fight against Rockhopper, we can convince more shareholders to end their support for a lawsuit that aims to take taxpayer money as a quick fix to a failing company’s woes.