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."