27 July 2007 - So it's
official. Climate change is in. Global warming
is hip. Pop stars are urging action. It
seems not a day passes without another big
business making a green pronouncement. The
scale of the problem is clear but there
are still very few big companies walking
their climate talk.
Live Earth was great for raising awareness
on climate change and promoting ways everyone
can help. To see global megastars urging
action on climate change to an audience
of billions warms the heart of many a hardened
Greenpeace climate campaigner. Today is
certainly light years away from when we
first started campaigning nearly 20 years
ago on what was then a little known issue.
Awareness raised, where's the corporate
action?
This year has seen the science debate (artificially
prolonged by dirty energy funded front groups)
settled. And Live Earth helped raise awareness
of the problem in many countries to an unprecedented
level. But even a quick scan of the Live
Earth sponsors reveals many companies who,
while spending millions on appearing to
be concerned about climate change, are profiting
from climate changing business as usual.
Nuon ad campaign. It should read 'climate
change powered by Nuon' if the company proceeds
with plans for new dirty coal plants.
Just down the road from our international
office in Amsterdam is a major Dutch energy
company called Nuon, which sponsored the
Dutch Live Earth event. But what Nuon isn't
so keen to highlight is that it's one of
the companies pushing ahead with the building
of five new coal power plants in the Netherlands.
If built these will guarantee the Dutch
government's 30 percent CO2 reduction by
2020 target will not be met. Dirty, polluting
business as usual.
As coal power stations are one of the biggest
single causes of climate change no new ones
should be being built. That's the sort of
serious action required. Yet most big power
companies are trying to forge ahead with
plans for massive new coal plants in Europe,
Asia and the Americas. The very same companies
you pay your energy bill to are telling
you they care, but spending that money like
they never knew coal was a bad idea.
Many big oil companies (now marketing themselves
as 'energy' companies) like BP, Shell and
even Exxon are throwing the odd million
or several at websites and ad campaigns
to say they are looking for solutions to
climate change. But in fact they are spending
billions finding and extracting more oil.
Exxon even still funds the climate skeptic
front groups that exist to attempt to muddy
the water and stall action on climate change.
Green cars?
General Motors (owner of Chevy) and DaimlerChrysler
(owner of the Smart car brand) were two
massive car makers hoping for some positive
association with Live Earth. However, what
you won't see on DaimlerChrysler's website
is the fact that their (and other big German
car makers) lobbying was crucial in preventing
the European Union from imposing tough new
efficiency regulations on cars in 2006.
Car manufactures had eight years to comply
with previous voluntary targets (that they
mostly failed miserably to meet), hence
the EU proposal for new strict legally binding
rules. Yet, European car manufactures (supported
by US car firms, like General Motors) lobbied
successfully that there should be significantly
weaker efficiency regulations, as car companies
should be free to sell lots of big, inefficient
and polluting cars. (Report on car industry
EU lobbying).
That's the real sign of how companies like
DaimlerChrysler have failed to change in
response to the climate challenge.
The lights are on, but there's no climate
champion home
One big area where a simple and significant
win for the climate can be made is lighting.
Old style incandescent bulbs are so inefficient
that by just switching from old to new efficient
lighting technology in the EU we could close
down 25 medium sized power plants, and possibly
save Europe 3-5 billion euros.
Right now major lighting manufactures like
Phillips, GE and Osram have mumbled about
a possible incandescent phase out in maybe
10 years time. But being the makers of most
of the inefficient lightbulbs on the global
market it's time they were more ambitious.
Why not a bold climate move now - stop making
incandescent bulbs to focus solely on selling
more efficient lighting. As the companies
obviously need some pressure to take this
step you can write to them now.
That was the UN head talking about the
need for a new political agreement on climate
change, but he could just have easily been
addressing business leaders.
New coal plants are not an option if we
are to avoid dangerous climate change.
If we are to have any chance to meeting
the necessary carbon emission reductions
required to prevent a climate crisis there
must to be major changes now. No new coal
plants should be approved. Old inefficient
lighting must be made a thing of the past.
Gas guzzling cars belong on the scrap heap.
While we can all do our bit individually
to combat climate change it's companies
taking real action that can massively magnify
our individual actions and be themselves
ahead of the competition when government
regulation on climate is enforced.
To date the signs have not been promising.
Examples of real action are few. Some power
companies have dropped plans for a handful
of coal plants in places like the US and
New Zealand. A handful of retailers, like
Currys in the UK, have stopped selling wasteful
incandescent bulbs.
But given the scale of the climate crisis
facing us all it's high time big companies
stopped just talking green and took action
to make their business climate friendly.
Anything less just results in more hot air.
