Power of fossil fuel producers exposed
Copyright 1999, Environmental News Network
July 30, 1999
The economic and political power of the world's major energy companies must be overcome before an effective policy to combat climate change can be implemented, according to a report released Thursday by a coalition of environmental groups.
The report, "Kingpins of Carbon: How Fossil Fuel Producers Contribute to Global Warming," tabulates carbon pollution based on 1997 fossil fuel production. The figures show that just a few companies are responsible for most of the world's carbon pollution.
"It is time for fossil fuel producers to take responsibility for the global warming pollution they cause," said Dan Lashof, a spokesman for the Natural Resources Defense Council, one of the groups that issued the report.
In 1997, the world energy industry produced 5.2 billion tons of coal, 26.4 billion barrels of petroleum and 81.7 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. When these carbon-based fuels were consumed, their combustion resulted in emissions of 6.2 billion tons of carbon into the atmosphere, according to the report.
Nearly 80 percent of that carbon came from fossil fuels produced by 122 companies. 22 percent of the world's carbon pollution comes from fuels produced by just 20 private companies, according to the report.
"There are no mandatory sentences for carbon pushers, but we can expose them in the court of public opinion," said Katherine Silverthorne of the U.S. Public Interest Research Group Education Fund, a group that collaborated on the report.
A component of the report demonstrates how energy companies on one hand promote fossil fuel use in developing nations while on the other hand argue that the United States should not sign a treaty to combat climate change through reduced carbon emissions until there is meaningful participation from developing nations.
The fossil-fuels industry adopted the stance that the United States should not enter such a treaty until there is participation from developing nations in a $13 million ad campaign that aired during the December 1997 climate change meeting in Kyoto, Japan.
At the same time, according to the report, the chief executive officer of Exxon addressed the World Petroleum Congress in Beijing, China, with the following remarks:
"The most pressing environmental problems of the developing nations are related to poverty, not global climate change. Addressing these problems will require economic growth, and that will necessitate increasing, not curtailing, the use of fossil fuels."
The report urges Congress to take a stand against the fossil-fuel industry and invest in clean energy technologies that both reduce carbon emissions and improve the technological leadership of the country.
"Rather than providing additional tax breaks to the 'Kingpins of Carbon,' Congress should provide incentives for clean cars, renewable energy, energy efficient homes and other technologies that would reduce U.S. dependence on fossil fuels," said Alden Meyer, a spokesman for the Union of Concerned Scientists.