Archived press release

Shell claims action on climate change

9 May 2006

Oil giant Shell claimed it put sustainability at the heart of its business today with the publication of it ninth annual report on the environmental and social performance. But Friends of the Earth said the

oil giant, which this year banked £12.93bn profits on the back of fossil fuels, said the company was more interested in spin than in looking after the environment [1].

The company, which highlighted the urgent need to take action to tackle climate change and future energy supplies in the report, showed an increase of 45 per cent in earnings from its exploration and production division, and is committed to increasing production to 3.8-4.0 million barrels of oil equivalent in 2009.

Shell's environmental and social performance has also faced sustained criticism from communities around the world who experience the direct impacts of Shell's pollution. In Nigeria, where whole areas have been devastated by oil pollution, the company has been ordered to stop gas flaring because it violated a community's rights of life and dignity [2].

Friends of the Earth Corporates Campaigner Hannah Griffiths said:

"Shell's claims demonstrate the inherent weakness in allowing companies to decide what goes into the CSR reports. Shell would like us to believe it is a green company that puts sustainability at the heart of its operations. But in reality, Shell is a dirty polluting oil company that ignores local laws, ignores local people and all too often ignores the environment. This is why we need clear legally-enforced standards for environmental and social reporting which will call a halt to this kind of spin."

Shell appears to be pinning great hopes on "greener fossil fuels" and the use of carbon capture and storage to reduce its emissions of carbon dioxide, one of the main gases responsible for climate change. But Friends of the Earth said the technology could only be used in limited cases and was not a long-term sustainable solution. For example it cannot be used to capture carbon dioxide from transport emissions, a significant and growing source of greenhouse gases.

The company is also investing massively in its Sakhalin II project which will form part of the world's largest integrated oil and gas project. But experts have warned that the project could result in the eradication of the world's only remaining population of Western Pacific Grey Whales, as well as damaging the unique wildlife habitats found on Sakhalin Island [3].

The environmental campaign group highlighted the need for more investment in genuinely sustainable energy sources, including wind, solar and tidal power which do not rely on expensive extractive fossil fuels.

Notes

[1] www.shell.com

[2] Shell ordered to appear by Nigerian court

[3] No public subsidy for Shell's Sakhalin project

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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust