Jagger dossier reveals Esso's 'weapons of mass deception'
More than six hundred volunteers from around the world have spread out over Luxembourg this morning to shut down the entire Esso operation in the country. The move is a Greenpeace protest against the corporation's continued sabotage of international efforts to fight global warming.
Volunteers from 31 countries are present at every one of Esso's 28 petrol stations in Luxembourg - including the biggest Esso station in the world on the Luxembourg/German border.
The protest is taking place as 178 countries meet in India for the next round of talks on the Kyoto Protocol - the only international agreement on protecting the climate. The USA is responsible for 25% of global greenhouse gases but, with Esso's backing, will not be participating in the Kyoto talks.
Greenpeace is today publishing a dossier detailing Esso's "Weapons of Mass Deception". The evidence presented in the dossier is a damning indictment on the company's role in George Bush's war on the climate. Documents presented in the dossier show how Esso:
- Denies global warming is happening
- Got Bush to remove the respected head of the UN's global warming panel
- Sabotaged international efforts to tackle climate change
- Funds front organisations that influence Bush on environmental matters
In a foreword for the dossier Bianca Jagger writes: "The climate change negotiations have sustained a ten-year, systematic attack by the world's largest oil company. Esso's war has resulted in a weak Kyoto Protocol then, under George W Bush, the ditching of it by the US government altogether. But still, Esso continues in its efforts to sabotage what is left of the process."
The Luxembourg protestors - some dressed in tiger suits and George Bush masks - are blocking vehicle access to petrol pumps, locking on to equipment and handing out information to motorists. At each station banners reading "Esso - No 1 climate criminal" have been hung.
Greenpeace campaigner Rob Gueterbock said, "This company has run a dirty political campaign against our climate, throwing big bucks at its friends in Washington and playing fast and loose with accepted science. But now people are fighting back. Today Luxembourg is an Esso-free zone and the campaign is spreading around the world. It's becoming clear that if we want to stop Bush, we have to stop Esso."
Esso, which is also known as ExxonMobil and Mobil internationally, denies that burning oil, coal and gas contributes to climate change, despite the opinion of the world's best scientific bodies and the evidence of severe climate change impacts, such as more frequent and dangerous extreme weather events, the retreat of glaciers and the destruction of coral reefs.
Gueterbock added, "Esso was a major influence in George Bush's decision to walk away from the Kyoto Protocol. This company is still trying tried to hijack the climate debate through the use of front groups, flawed science and large political contributions, and refuses to spend any of its billions on clean renewable energy. Some US corporations are cooking the books for profit, but Esso is cooking our planet. The level of support we've got today shows how angry people are."
Luxembourg is known as the fuel pump of Europe for its cheap petrol. Drivers from many countries travel long distances to buy petrol there. The country makes ten per cent of its tax revenue from petrol. Particpants in the protest have come from the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Lebanon, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Norway, Mexico, Portugal, Russia, Slovakia Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the USA, Turkey, Yugoslavia.
Further information:
Contact:
Greenpeace UK press office on 0207 865 8255
