Greenpeace today challenged the oil industry to announce publicly how it will move away from fossil fuels production to renewable energy in response to climate change. A letter to 25 oil companies operating in the UK calls on each to publish a carbon transition strategy by the end of the year.
At the same time, the campaign group put the issue of carbon transition before BP's one million investors by formally submitting a shareholder resolution to the company's AGM. The resolution will be put to the vote on April 19th.
Greenpeace Climate Campaigner Stephanie Tunmore said, "There is no longer any reasonable doubt that climate change is upon us nor that it is chiefly caused by burning fossil fuels. The only logical response is to leave most of the world's oil and gas safely under the ground. "
"If today's oil companies want to remain going concerns they will have to transform themselves into sustainable energy companies. In a world of increasing emissions controls and public alarm over climate change, 'business as usual' is not an option. Renewable energy will be the growth market of the 21st century and that's where the smarter investors will be putting their money."
The BP resolution is backed by 170 shareholders holding over 4.5 million shares - worth more than £6 million - calls on BP's Board to publish a report by the end of 2001, to include quantified targets and clear timescales for switching from oil to renewable energy. The resolution is also supported by US socially responsible investor, Trillium Asset Management Corporation, US Public Interest Research Group (US PIRG), WWF the London Borough of Hounslow and the London Borough of Islington.
"When BP rebranded last year its message to customers and shareholders was that the company was moving 'beyond petroleum'," Tunmore continued. "But BP plans to spend 50 times more on fossil fuels than on renewable energy over the next few years. This is not 'beyond petroleum' it's 'business as usual'."
An unprecedented 13% of BP investors voted for a Greenpeace resolution last year. The resolution called on the company to cancel its Arctic development, Northstar, and switch investment to a solar factory. The resolution also demanded that the company publicly commit to staying out of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Notes to Editors
1. A report published last week by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded that climate change is caused by human activities, chiefly the burning of fossil fuels. Sir John Houghton, the British scientist who led the 500-member Panel, said that global warming is "inevitable" and "it will affect the world's economy".
2. Three other shareholder resolutions are also expected to be submitted to the BP AGM:
A resolution calling on BP to provide a risk assessment on drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, submitted by PIRG, supported by Greenpeace and others.
A resolution filed by the Free Tibet Campaign calling on BP to disinvest from PetroChina, a Chinese oil company building a gas pipeline across Tibet without any impact assessments.
A resolution filed by the Ecumenical Council for Corporate Responsibility calling on BP to formulate human rights policy commitments to apply to their strategic investments. PetroChina's activities in Tibet as well as its parent company's activities in Sudan are cited as the catalyst for this resolution.
3. Backgrounder on shareholder activism, copies of the shareholder resolution and supporting statement and stills and video footage illustrating climate change are all available from the Greenpeace Press Office.
Further information:
Please contact:
Greenpeace Press Office: 020 7865 8283
