26/05/2004

Q: Do these ads mean that Esso has faced up to the realities of climate change?

A: No. Esso’s position goes against the scientific consensus and the view held by all but a few national governments. Esso has very cleverly worded some of its documents to talk about climate change, but still says that the science is “inconclusive” and that human interference with the climate “may” have negative impacts. However the world’s top climate scientists strongly disagree and have concluded that climate change is already having negative impacts and will get much worse unless we tackle it now by cutting fossil fuel use. Meanwhile, Esso continues to pour money into lobbying activities disputing the science and stopping the world from taking action to curb emissions.

Q: Esso’s ads say that the company is cutting greenhouse gas emissions – isn’t this good for global warming?
A: Esso’s ad campaign is designed to convince the customer that the company is taking the issue of global warming seriously, by cutting its own emissions and putting money into research However, whilst giving lip service to the issue of climate change, Esso continues to try to stop the world from taking meaningful action to tackle the problem. Esso funds climate sceptic lobby groups and, unlike Shell and BP, is a staunch opponent of the Kyoto Protocol, the only international agreement which deals with global warming.

Q: Esso is investing in alternative fuels for the future – does this mean it is investing in renewable energy?
A: No. The ‘alternative fuels’ which Esso is developing will still use petrol as the main source of energy. Esso is working on hydrogen fuel cells as an alternative to the combustion engine. Fuel cells require hydrogen to be produced from another energy source and Esso is developing to fuel cells that would use petrol for this. It is equally viable for hydrogen fuel cells to be powered by clean renewable forms of energy, such as wind or solar, but Esso refuses to accept this, and prefers to see the world staying hooked to oil.

Q: If it is true that there are trillions of barrels of oil left in the ground, then why are we worrying about running out?
A: The problem with oil is NOT the availability, but rather what it does to the climate when you burn it. To stop the most catastrophic effects of global warming, we can only afford to burn a tiny fraction of the world’s available fossil fuel resource. If oil were used at the rate Esso proposes, it’s likely that we’d be taken over the ‘safe’ level of climate change by the middle of this century.

Q: What about renewable energy – Esso says this is only going to make up a tiny portion of world energy supply by 2020.
A: Renewable energy is a massive growth industry across the world and, along with energy efficiency, provides a solution to global warming. Esso downplays the importance of renewable energy because it wants to protect its own interests as a fossil fuel producer. On the other hand the UK government has set a target for 20% of electricity to be produced from renewable sources by 2020. The world must decide if it wants a future in which energy is produced from clean, renewable sources or dirty fossil fuels.

The UK Government's Energy Review in 2002, estimated the costs of the different technologies which could be used to generate generating electricity by 2020. They concluded that the cheapest energy source will be onshore wind energy (1.5-2.5 Pence/kWh) and that fossil fuels, with the inclusion of the inevitable need for expensive technologies to attempt to capture C02, will be the most expensive (3-4.5 Pence/kWh).

It is the continuing presence of dirty and unsustainable energy sources like fossil fuels and nuclear that are hindering the realisation of this potential.

Q: But Esso says that energy demand is increasing, can this be met through renewable energy?
A: Meeting our future energy needs whilst preventing the worst effects of climate change is going to be a challenge. Global energy demand is increasing, particularly in the developing world, where many people still don’t have access to electricity. However, the good news is that the technology already exists to meet this new demand from clean, renewable forms of energy such as wind and solar, rather than dirty fossil fuels.

Esso is hiding the potential of renewable energy: Even conservative estimates show that by 2020 windpower will generate 11% of world electricity. Using only the technologies already available, renewable resources could provide 5.9 times the current global energy demand.

Q: Esso says it is funding research into reducing greenhouse gases. Surely that is a good thing?
A: Esso is funding research into reducing the emissions of fossil fuels, to literally make them ‘cleaner’, but this is no solution to climate change. In order to make the sorts of cuts in carbon dioxide emissions necessary to slow global warming, fossil fuels will have to be phased out and replaced with renewable forms of energy such as wind, solar and tidal power – using cleaner forms of fossil fuels is not enough. All Esso is doing is prolonging the shelf-life of their core business – oil.

[Previous press release: "Esso's ad campaign: blatant greenwash"]
[Next press release: "British newspapers quoting Exxon funded 'climate experts'"]