Green MEP lambasts sponsor at climate conference
10 June 2007
GREEN MEP and 'politician of the year' Caroline Lucas has hit out at themain sponsor of a leading climate change conference - Shell - forundermining efforts to tackle the problem, during a speech at the eventtoday.
Dr Lucas said she applauded Shell's decision to be lead sponsor of theGuardian Climate Change Summit for key policymakers and businesses, butcondemned the company's record of investing around just 1% of its researchbudget in renewable energy compared to some 70% looking for yet more oil andgas.
And the South-East England Euro-MP, who was named 'Politician of the Year'in a central London ethical awards ceremony last week, criticised BAA'sassociation with the event while the firm is seeking to expand massively itsairports at Stansted, Heathrow and elsewhere.
"Tackling climate change means changing the way we do business and measureeconomic success, and until businesses like Shell and BAA recognise thisthey will remain part of the problem rather than the solution," said DrLucas.
"I smell the whiff of greenwash about their involvement with this event. Weknow that these firms are masters of marketing and spin after all: just lastmonth, for example, BAA joined the 'Flying Matters' coalition, which seeksto resist further action to curb aviation's growing greenhouse gasemissions."
Dr Lucas made her comments as she addressed The Guardian Climate ChangeSummit, alongside Government advisors Jonathan Porritt and Sir David Kingand business leaders from a range of firms including BSkyB, Boots and Marksand Spencer as well as Shell and BAA.
The MEP, who sits on the European Parliament's Environment and Climatechange committees, said we knew what to do to tackle climate change - andthe reason we weren't doing it was that Government had failed to exercisesufficient political leadership to set binding emissions targets and makeboth the financial and regulatory commitments to meeting them.
She said: "We have to stop treating climate change as an environmental issuealone, and start treating it as an international emergency.
"Only then will Governments take the necessary action required to keepatmospheric CO2 levels at or below 400 ppm - necessary if we are to keepglobal average temperature rises below 2 degrees C."
ENDS
Editors' note:
A full copy of Dr Lucas's speech to the summit can be downloaded fromwww.carolinelucasmep.org.uk - or obtained on request from Ben Duncan.
