World oil summit long on pledges to better protect the environment
World oil summit long on pledges to better protect the environment
Bill Cormier, Associated Press, Rio de Janeiro
The world's oil producers met here Monday for an industry
summit aimed at cleaning up their image as enemies of the
environment.
More than 3,000 delegates from 59 oil producing or consuming
nations opened the 17th World Petroleum Congress, amid pledges to
safeguard the environment, seek cleaner-burning fuels and reduce
the gases blamed for global warming.
For the first time, environmental defenders such as
Greenpeace, Conservation International and the World Wildlife
Fund were invited to the meetings to witness the industry's
concern for "sustainable development."
"Oil companies have to continuously seek out new, alternative
ways of doing business which will have the least impact on the
environment," India's oil minister, Ram Naik, told the
convention.
Naik urged governments and oil companies to share "clean"
technologies and redouble efforts to protect the environment. He
said that India, with a market of about 1 billion people, has
followed Brazil's lead in mixing gasoline with ethanol to reduce
emissions of polluting greenhouse gases.
"It is no longer possible for any of us to carry out our oil
or gas exploitation activities without proper regard to the
broader issues of environmental protection," said Lew Watts,
group managing director of Shell Sustainable Development and
Latin America.
He told delegates that the energy industry is at least
"partially responsible" for the damage inflicted on the
environment by extraordinary population growth and human activity
this past century.
Under the banner of "The Petroleum Industry: Excellence and
Responsibility in Serving Society," the delegates invited 35 non-
governmental organizations to recommend social and environmental
programs for the oil industry. Even a recycling center for the
tons of garbage produced by the congress was set up at the site.
But for some groups, the environment-friendly spin was simply
for show.
"I think it's greenwash," said Frank Guggenheim, executive
director of Greenpeace in Brazil. "We are participating so they
can't say we're against dialogue, but I don't think the people at
the conference are serious about protecting the environment ...
They talk about environment, but from the point of view of
accidents, you have to be a little skeptical."