[A-List] Europe/US rivalry: capitalism & the environment

["Michael Keaney" <michael.keaney@xxxxxx>]

Shell chief delivers global warming warning to Bush in his own back yard

Terry Macalister
Wednesday March 12, 2003
The Guardian

Shell chairman Sir Philip Watts risks stirring up a controversy in America
today when he calls for global warming sceptics to get off the fence and
accept that action needs to be taken "before it is too late".

At a presentation in Houston, the back yard of ExxonMobil, one of the most
vocal antagonists to the Kyoto climate change treaty, the British oilman
will say "we can't wait to answer all questions [on global warming] beyond
reasonable doubt", adding "there is compelling evidence that climate change
is a threat".

Sir Philip expresses deep concern about the growing gulf between Europe and
America over climate change and other issues - most notably Iraq. His
purpose, he says, is not to create further discord but to argue for both
sides to work together to remove what he describes as "the lingering
animosity".

Shell and BP have been keen over the past couple of years to be seen as
progressive on green issues while ExxonMobil has been labelled a fossil fuel
dinosaur by environmentalists.

President Bush refused to sign the Kyoto protocol on global warming and
Texas - based ExxonMobil has been a significant cheerleader for this
position - although it, too, has been researching renewable technologies.

Sir Philip's speech at the opening of a new Shell Center for Sustainability
at Rice University in Houston shows the group's determination to be seen as
a moderniser.

"We know that greenhouse gas emissions from human activities ... largely
burning fossil fuels ... bring about long-lasting atmospheric changes likely
to affect climate. And our world does appear to be warming.

"There are huge uncertain ties about the risks and the impact. Further
research is essential. But we can't wait to answer all questions beyond
reasonable doubt. There will always be uncertainty which we need to cope
with."

Shell has "seen and heard enough" to believe there is a problem related to
the burning of fossil fuels. Because of this "we stand with those who are
prepared to take action to solve that problem ... now ... before it is too
late ... and we believe that businesses, like Shell, can help to bridge
differences that divide the US and Europe on this issue".

Shell has been pushing ahead with its own investments in wind, solar and
other renewable fuel sources but still believes that hydrocarbons will not
become scarce at least until 2025 - and probably quite long after that.

And Sir Philip argues that "sustained expansion of renwable energy" will
only start after developments in energy storage around the same period of
2025.

It will be only by the middle of this century that renewables will take a
serious grip on energy supply, possibly providing a third of the world's
needs by 2050. Sir Philip argues there is no quick fix, with many hurdles to
overcome before renewables can offer affordable mass energy.

"Flying over for this speech, I had the distinct impression that the
Atlantic is getting wider. Today the focus of that rift is on Iraq. But
differences over environmental issues have hardened attitudes," Sir Philip
argues.

"With a $30bn footprint in the United States and a similar presence in
Europe, we have a vested interest in the best possible relations on both
sides of the Atlantic," he adds.