Dear friends,
attached is a brief article on the report we are releasing for the 10th
anniversary of the Exxon Valdez oil spill.
Regards
Cam Walker
FoE Australia
EXXON: STILL TRASHING THE PLANET
New report released ten years on from Exxon Valdez
March 24th marks the tenth anniversary of the Exxon Valdez oil spill, one of
the worst oil disasters in history. Friends of the Earth (FoE) International
chose this date to release a report revealing that Exxon and its new partner
Mobil are two of the most environmentally- damaging corporations in the world.
The FoEI report, called the Exxon Files, catalogues the oil companies'
activities across six continents. These threaten important habitats and the
health and prosperity of indigenous people. The report also reveals that ten
years after the Valdez oil spill, Prince William Sound has not recovered.
Exxon and Mobil are also shown to be playing a key role in blocking
international agreements to fight dangerous climate change. Friends of the
Earth is calling on Exxon and Mobil to follow the lead of Shell and BP by
leaving the powerful industry lobby group, the Global Climate Coalition, and
increasing investment in cleaner, renewable energy technologies. At their
AGMs
in the USA in April, Friends of the Earth campaigners will call on the
companies to report to shareholders on their potential liability for damages
associated with climate change.
Among the case studies revealed in the report are:
� development of the Chad/Cameroon oil pipeline, which threatens fragile
rainforest, indigenous people's homelands and political stability;
� plans to drill for oil on the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area;
� blocking European legislation against PVCs in children's toys;
� a string of heavy fines for air and water pollution in the USA;
� oil exploration in Arctic waters in Russia's Far East and the
flouting
of Russian law by discharging toxic wastes into the sea, threatening important
wildlife habitats;
� anti-union activities at the massive and polluting El Cerrejon coal
mine in Colombia. This will be the longest mine on the continent (30 miles
long and
2-3 miles wide). The area is inhabited by the Wayuu, who initially received
employment as labourers. However, almost all were dismissed when the mine
commenced operations two years ago. Some of the remaining Indigenous workers
were fired for union organising. The mine has had considerable impacts on both
groundwater and local river systems.
However, it is Exxon and Mobil's forceful lobbying against action on climate
change that sets these companies apart from the rest of the oil industry.
Other
corporations have already accepted the need for precautionary action and have
started to invest in renewable energy. Exxon and Mobil still presume to
question the science of climate change and are actively blocking ratification
of the historic Kyoto Protocol. Exxon and Mobil have funded multi-million
dollar advertising campaigns claiming that policies to cut climate-changing
pollution will devastate world economies.
Tony Juniper, Policy and Campaigns Director at Friends of the Earth England,
Wales & Northern Ireland said: "Ten years after causing one of the worst oil
disasters in history, it is clear that Exxon has not learnt any lessons and is
still showing little respect for the environment and the local communities in
which it operates. �
�To cap it all, Exxon and its new corporate partner Mobil have been leading
the
fight against legislation to combat perhaps the most serious environmental
threat facing the planet - global climate change. It's time these fossil fuel
dinosaurs recognised the benefits to their shareholders as well as to society
as a whole of switching investment to cleaner, renewable energy technologies."
The FoE study on both Exxon and Mobil reveals the role these companies have
taken in lobbying against action on climate change. Exxon has funded
multi-million dollar advertising campaigns questioning the science of climate
change and claiming that cutting pollution will damage the economy and jobs
(this included a US $13 million ad campaign aimed specifically at negotiations
at Kyoto, telling consumers that they would be hit with a steep rise in gas,
electricity and petrol prices). It opposed the Kyoto Protocol and is now
lobbying against US ratification of this historic agreement to cut greenhouse
gas emissions. In what is a common strategy of changing the goalposts rather
than changing behaviour, the American Petroleum Institute (of which Exxon and
Mobil are leading members) also funded a large campaign which aimed to
undermine political confidence in climate science. According to leaked
documents published by the New York Times in April 1998, the campaign was to
be
sponsored by Exxon, Chevron and Southern Company.
Mobil has a poor track record around the world - including Nigeria, where over
40,000 barrels of crude oil spilt, affecting over 120 coastal communities; and
Peru, where Mobil and Shell signed a deal to develop three gas fields in the
Amazon. The area included the homelands of uncontacted Indian communities, who
were placed in direct danger by exploration activities. The companies
subsequently withdrew from the area in 1998 following an international
campaign.
The report marks the launch of an international campaign against Exxon and
Mobil involving Friends of the Earth groups in the following countries: UK,
United States, Canada, Argentina, Japan, Nigeria, Finland, Ireland, and
Ecuador. Campaigners in all these countries will be staging actions to mark
the tenth anniversary of the Exxon Valdez oil spill on 24 March.
For further information, contact FoE in Melbourne: ph 03 - 9419 8700, fax 03 -
9416 2081, email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
The background papers on the Exxon report are available on
http://www.foe.co.uk/climatechange/ or from Anna Stanford, the energy and
climate campaigner at FoE in the UK: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
end
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