The truth about the climate and ecological emergency
greenwash (noun): activities by a company or an organisation that are intended to make people think that it is concerned about the environment, even if its real business actually harms the environment.
BAnks leading climate destruction
our old friend the uk government...
Where to start? A good place would be summer 2019, the Government jumped on board along with most of the Councils in the country in declaring a CLIMATE AND ECOLOGICAL EMERGENCY. But what has that actually meant? We know they can respond to an emergency, they did so with COVID, so why are they sitting on their hands with the CEE? Worse than having done virtually nothing, including hosting the disastrous COP26 in Glasgow, they are now backtracking - new drilling licences, more fracking, refusing to invest in insulating homes, more roads, more airports..... more growth... It's more important to do what your friends want than what the people who you are supposed to be helping .... and use the tactics of GREENWASH to make it seem like you're helping.
The govt puts out a press release saying 'window for action is closing fast' Then they close it.
Read some of the evidence here
Great news: we can all carry on driving until 2050. Thank heavens for the far sighted vision of national highways
They say: Roads will be a vital part of zero carbon travel
haven't we already blown 1.5° ?
Statements from Barclays make the bank sound greener and greener - but the facts tell a different story
Whether on its website, in its annual Environmental Social Governance Report, via its Statements and policy positions, or elsewhere, Barclays misses no opportunity to present itself as a bank making strenuous efforts to help tackle climate change and ecosystem destruction. Under scrutiny, the claims begin to appear misleading, as shown in some examples here
You'd never guess who was nominated for an award in the 'Green Finance' category?
Luckily someone came to their senses and Sharklays didn't win - but what a completely ridiculous choice. A company who has invested $145billion in Fossil Fuels since the Paris Agreement in 2015. Reference here
the tricks and lies of the oil and gas companies
why did COP26 fail? Because of a highly paid network of politicians, lobbyists and investors in the shadows blocking climate action. Putting short term profit before the future of humanity. These people are the biggest threat to our future right now. Watch this video and find out more.
our old friend innocent drinks...
Having been reprimanded by the Advertising Standards for their misleading advert on whether their bottles could be recycled, Innocent drinks are at it again. If you believed everything you they wrote you'd think they were the greenest most sustanable company in the world. Well .... Read the story about their misleading claims here
In case you'd forgotten .. Innocent drinks is owned by Coca Cola. "Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo are ranked as the world's top plastic polluters for the 4th consecutive year according to Break Free From Plastic, whose latest global Brand Audit report also charges the same leading plastic polluters for fueling the climate crisis.". Read all about it here
Their website is full of claims about keeping average temperature rises to under 1.5 degrees, now widely considered to be impossible. Science Based targets and 'official' approval for their plans and actions. Net zero by 2030 ?? And Carbon Offsetting forms a big part of those plans. Read why Carbon Offsetting is a problem?
Sam Akinluyi, managing director at innocent drinks, said: ‘Our Big Rewild campaign aims to show how we can use the power of nature for positive impact; all while making urban communities and the planet healthier places to be.
hsbc - at it again. misleading customers
City A.M. understands that a preliminary, unpublished decision by the advertising regulator rules that a number of HSBC’s climate-focused ads are misleading, and that the watchdog demands that future marketing must not omit significant information about its contribution to rising emissions. Read the story here
and bp claiming they are helping the country - presumably by making record profits and continuing to drill for oil and gas.
plenty of aiming and planning .... how about real action?
and one of the biggest investors in fossil fuels claims it's one of the good guys ...
At their recent AGM, shareholders voted by 83% "To endorse the Company’s net zero by 2050 pathway, as published on 28 October 2021, noting it may be amended from time to time." Noting that is the same as saying it will be changed if they feel like it - perhaps if their profits are falling ? ... talk about a GET OUT OF JAIL FREE card.
They could have supported the alternative "To authorise the Board, as directed by a group of Shareholders, to implement a revised net-zero strategy and mandate annually reporting under that strategy... "
but presumably felt that was too much of a threat to their profits.
You can read a report from pressure group Market Forces on this here
Want to find out more about Standard Chartered? Read it here:
download the document: facts and figures with references
when is sustainable not sustainable ?
A Travel Retail exclusive, The Macallan Harmony Collection is a new limited annual release that
highlights our sustainability journey and intrinsic connection to nature. Please savour The Macallan
responsibly. #TheMacallan.
You can only buy this at International Airports ... so please savour it responsibly and don't drink it on the plane. Actually don't get on the plane.
and here come the airlines ....
Climate change: Airlines miss all but one target - report
"Companies set grand-sounding targets with a lot of fanfare and announcement. They talk about them for a couple of years - then the targets sink without trace, never to be seen again," Leo Murray from Possible told BBC News. Read the story here.
And if you'd like to read the full report from POSSIBLE - here
They say ....... With a track record as a sustainability leader for more than a decade, Virgin Atlantic has committed to achieving net zero by 2050. Today, 100% of its fleet is twin engine and 70% next generation, making it one of the youngest and most fuel-efficient in the skies. This follows a multi-billion-dollar fleet renewal programme that has already delivered a 20% reduction in carbon emissions between 2007 and 2019.
We say ..... TOO LITTLE toO LATE.
Possible points out that between 2010-12 Virgin Atlantic said that 10% of its fuel would be biofuel by 2020. Possible says the target wasn't mentioned again. In 2021 Virgin Atlantic announced it will use 10% alternative fuels by 2030. The charity also claims that $3bn promised by Virgin Group founder Richard Branson to fight global warming was not delivered.
Virgin did not respond to a request for comment.
Duke Energy ... changing their minds, doing nothing. Duke Energy’s Green Facade Isn’t Fooling People Anymore. Cities and towns in. north Carolina are demanding better from a utility company with a dreadful environmental record. Read this story
press release from reuters on behalf of exxon mobil
HOUSTON, April 19 (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM.N)estimates there will be a $4 trillion market by 2050 for capturing carbon dioxide and storing it underground, the company said in a presentation on Tuesday. That is about 60% of the $6.5 trillion market the U.S. largest crude producer estimates for oil and gas by then. Read the whole story here
So, are Exxon Mobil saying the oil and gas that is not subject to Carbon Capture will have a value of $2.5 trillion by 2050. Aren't we supposed to have stopped using it by then? But hang on - Carbon Capture (the unproven, non-existing at any scale, technology) will be ubitquous enough by 2050 to mean they can carry on business as normal.
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The oil & Gas authority: “the very epitome of greenwashing”
The UK regulator announced on Monday it would now be known as the North Sea Transition Authority, a change it said reflected its “expanding role” in the country’s energy sector. But climate campaigners denounced the move as “meaningless” and said it would “fool no one”.
Caroline Lucas, the Green Party MP for Brighton Pavilion, said rebrand was “the very epitome of greenwashing” and that as much as the authority talked up transition its intentions were clearly “to wring every last drop of oil and gas out of the North Sea, to the detriment of our climate”. “Unless that changes, this name change will fool no-one,” she added.
Danny Gross, a climate campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said “no amount” of rebranding could make the authority greener.“Not when its central purpose is to extract every profitable drop of oil and gas from UK waters,” he added.
Announcing its new name Monday, the authority said last year it revised its strategy to put net zero “at the heart” of its work alongside stewarding production. The North Sea Transition Deal between the government and industry last March set out an ambitious programme for the path to net zero and the “crucial” role the UK’s oil and gas industry should play, it added.
Hard to square that with an increase in drilling.
Greenwash from energy companies
Greenwash in meat production
Greenwash in aviation
As if anyone's surprised .... read all about it in the Guardian
The clean energy claims of BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil and Shell: A mismatch between discourse, actions and investments
Read the original research here
A precis version .....
The long and the short of it is that if we're to stand a hope in hell of keeping anywhere near 1.5° (or under 2°) we have to absolutely 100% stop digging up more. fossil fuels and very quickly stop burning the ones we already have. Simple really - but the oil companies either don't believe that, think they can somehow sidestep it or think some technological fix will appear out of nowhere.
Carbon offsetting is not warding off environmental collapse – it’s accelerating it
Wealthy companies are using the facade of ‘nature-based solutions’ to enact a great carbon land grab ....
Watch this explanation - 'Carbon Offsets 101'
The biggest myth of all is that we can look forward to infinite growth. In 1961 the UN produced statistics to show that the world population was living within what nature could support. Since then the estimated level of resources and ecosystem services required to support human activities today is just over 1.7 Earths, fast moving to becoming 2 Earths by 2030. (reference). If everyone on the planet lived like the population of the UK we would need 3 Earths. That's pretty simple to understand; what we urgently need to do is slow down, stop some of our destructive habits and help nature recover. We carry on, the truth manipulated, destructive behaviour continuing and denial all around. Companies and governments across the world making it look as if they are trying and doing something. Watch carefully.
greenwash: mind your language
You've been hearing them all year, the way the government and big business talk about their progress in reducing emissions. Admittedly from time to time the stories are true, but are mostly exaggerated and are mostly just deceiptful. They want to tell us about all the great things they are doing but it's important to understand how they tell their stories and how in doing this how they mislead us all - into believing they're actually doing something positive. A recent article suggests we must be on alert all the time to spot Greenwash - "To survive this post-Cambridge Analytica world you must treat everything you encounter as if it might be a #sponsoredpost". Read the article here
In spite of the occasional bit of good news, most of the landscape is pretty bleak. Big corporations and governments around the world are finally starting to say the right things about the Climate And Ecological Emergency; it's only taken them 50 years since science showed unequivocally what a catastrophe we are heading towards. Unfortunately their fine words are often accompanied by lies, half truths and disinformation. We will be highlighting some of the most spectacular examples of this cynical behaviour and awarding them "Certified 100% Greenwash". If you have any examples of Greenwash you'd like to share or would like to get in touch, please use greenwash.earth@gmail.com