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11 Aug 1998
BP withdrew in 1996 from the Global Climate Coalition, a US based grouping of oil,automotive and energy generation firms who lobby against legal controls to curb greenhouse gas emissions. BP's Chairman, John Browne, subsequently made important speeches on the need for action to combat climate change and committed the firm to large scale investment in solar power.
Amoco remains a key member of the GCC. Lobbying by the GCC has been instrumental in blocking US ratification of the Kyoto climate change protocol and continues to conduct public campaigns against official action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Budget moves in the US Senate threaten to make any Federal spending on preparing to implement the Kyoto agreement illegal.
Tony Juniper, Policy and Campaigns Director at Friends of the Earth, said:
“BP withdrew from the Global Climate Coalition to show its opposition to industrial lobbying efforts against the climate change treaty. But the Amoco deal puts it right back in again. Can BP drag Amoco into the twenty-first century by getting its new partner out of the Global Climate Coalition, or will BP be dragged back into the climate change dark ages? If Amoco stays in, it will jeopardise BP's positive recent positioning and hand over the oil company lead on climate change to Shell”.
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