Issue 1, 25 November 1997

Your first questions may well be; What is Essowatch? And what are Greenpeace doing here outside Esso in London and in Leatherhead today? Over the next few days in London we'll be answering these questions in detail so that you are fully aware of Esso's part in attempting to derail important international efforts to protect the climate.

While Esso goes to great lengths to publicise its work with communities, its support of conservation work and its good deeds in the arts world, in a different arena intense lobbying is going on which makes a sham of any kind of corporate conscience or responsibility.

Esso is putting its short-term profits before the danger of climate change, and before our common future. Esso (with its American parent company Exxon), one of the biggest oil companies in the world, is using its financial might to aid attempts to derail the Climate Convention negotiations in Kyoto, Japan. Esso is taking risks with society, economies and the environment.

Greenpeace lays at the door of Esso the charge of irresponsibility. Esso is wilfully ignoring scientific consensus, political concern and public opinion about the dangers of climate change. It is attempting to derail the Climate Convention and to keep alive the outdated notion that our future can cope with burning an ever increasing amount of fossil fuels. Esso risks, as a senior executive of Ford Motors put it, being marginalised in the court of public opinion.

"The balance of evidence suggests a discernible human influence on global climate", Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 1995.

Not only is there broad scientific concensus that human-induced climate change is real and is happening, but even Esso's fellow oil companies acknowledge that it is a problem that needs precautionary action: "we have to address the key concern - the possible threat posed by climate change. We in Shell believe that precautionary action should be taken to tackle this global challenge", Heinz Rothermund, Shell UK Expro, November 1997. The Financial Times reported a Confederation of British Industry poll taken in advance of the Kyoto Climate Change conference, in which firms were asked whether the world community should agree tough reduction targets (ie. 15%) for greenhouse gases by the year 2010. 83% said yes, while 9% said no.

In stark comparison to this is what Exxon/Esso is saying about climate change, in an effort to deny its part in the problem:

"The scientific evidence regarding the existence of a human impact on climate and the impact of man's activities on… climate change effects is still inadequate." Keith Taylor, Esso, March/April 1997.

"Proponents of the agreements say they are necessary because burning fossil fuels causes global warming. Many people - politicians and the public alike - believe that global warming is a rock-solid certainty. But it's not." Lee Raymond, Exxon, October 1997.

"So the case for so-called global warming is far from air tight. You would think that all the uncertainty would give political leaders pause. Unfortunately, it hasn't, and officials continue to insist that agreement is needed in Kyoto." Lee Raymond, Exxon, October 1997.

While world leaders meet in Kyoto next week to find a solution to the threat of climate change, Exxon/Esso's words characterise the part it is playing in undermining any chance of co-operation or an outcome that will protect the climate.

Coming soon at Essowatch in London. The story that will unfold outside Esso's offices over the coming days will show you how Lee Raymond and Esso are gambling with our future. We will compare statements like those above, and others made by Raymond, with those of the 2,500 scientists of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, some of the world's most powerful political leaders, leading academics, advisors to the Government, the UK's biggest environmental and public interest groups and, perhaps most importantly for employees of Esso, major competitors in the oil industry. It will become clear just how regressive and dangerous the position on climate change adopted by Raymond and his colleagues is. We will expose the tactics used by Esso and the industrial lobby to wreck the Climate Convention negotiations, and show how Esso is attempting to play developed countries off against developing to ensure that the Climate Convention negotiations end in failure, regardless of the risks to society, economies and the environment. We will explain the 'carbon logic' to you; that is the rationale that leads us to the conclusion that we can only afford to burn a fraction of fossil fuel reserves if we are to avoid serious and possibly irreversible damage to the climate. This is an analysis that has defied the challenge even of the oil industry. We invite you to debate it. We will show you some of the impacts predicted to result from human-induced climate change; rising sea levels, spreading disease, changes in agricultural patterns, more storms, droughts and floods. These are impacts that will affect us all in one way or another, unless action is taken to limit the burning of fossil fuels in the future. Once the Climate Convention negotiations begin in Kyoto, we will ensure that you are kept up to date with the lobbying efforts of Esso to derail the process. We will also be asking you what you feel the outcome of the negotiations should be and how much importance you place on corporate responsibility for climate change. We will also be focussing on what the future is or could be for the oil industry and those who work in it. And finally we will be showing some of the solutions to the problem of climate change caused by the burning of fossil fuels. Companies like Shell and BP are already beginning to realise that the future of energy production lies in renewable sources and are investing to secure their place in this growing market.

When will Esso realise that climate change is too serious a problem to gamble with? When will Esso realise that it is going against the tide of scientific, political and public opinion? And when will it stop using its power to put short term profits before long term security?

Greenpeace calls on you to get involved. You are well placed to make Esso behave responsibly in the face of public opinion.

Don't let Esso wreck the climate. Register your protest: ring or write to Keith Taylor at Esso, 96 Victoria Street, London (tel: 0171 834 6677) or fax him on 0171 245 2803

If you want to know more about any part of Greenpeace's campaign to stop Esso wrecking the climate, or help us express public opinion, then you can call 0171 865 8222 or email exxoff@uk.greenpeace.org

Greenpeace, Canonbury Villas, London N1 2PN
http://www.greenpeace.org.uk
Membership hotline 0800 269065