Greenpeace have released a document that outlines who they believe is responsible for holding the planet back from a worthy move towards a sustainable future. It is a very eye opening read and I wanted to share a few of the points that I found interesting.
It reveals that a large percentage of the companies involved with the US Chamber of Commerce were involved in lobbying Governments against a move forward with Sustainable Energy and a positive action towards a cleaner future. I was pleased to read that Apple deliberately left the Chamber of Commerce over the Chambers positions in this matter.
It also came as a huge shock to me that the Executive Committee for the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) comprised of the top carbon-intensive companies in the world who actually benefit financially from inaction on Climate Change. These companies, including Shell and Koch are heavily involved in lobbying Governments around the world, in the US alone for the tune of $3.5bn.
The report breaks down the current state of affairs for each of the following place:-
The European Union – The United States – South Africa – Canada.
Whilst there are many disturbing facts relating to each one of these geographical areas, the one I would like to highlight is that the Canadian Government provides $1.3bn CDN in handouts to the oil industry every year. The report also states that the Oil Sands emissions numbers, were left out of the recent national inventory of Canada’s greenhouse gas pollution submitted to the UN, but given to lobbyists from the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers!
The paper highlights who is on the executive committee of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and who they are lobbying. It also offers up some suggestions of how we can move forward. Feel free to read the report for yourself. This is the ‘executive summary’. The full report along with other writings can be found on the Greenpeace website.
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