Campaign against Climate Change

EXPOSE EXXON DAY

Photos Donald Lyven, Barnet Green Party

"Die-in" at the gates of ExxonMobil UK headquarters, near Leatherhead Surrey, on Good Friday April 6th, 2007 the day of the release of the "Climate Impacts" section of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) report, which outlined the devastating effects unchecked climate change will have on the world's poorest and most vulnerable people.

We brought our anger at Exxon's cynical campaign of disinformation on climate change right up to the gates of their UK HQ for 24 hours, from 5.00pm Thursday 5th to 5.00 pm Good Friday April 6th. It started with a lonely 2 protestors putting together our 'globe-in-a greenhouse' under the scrutiny of the assembed forces of the law drawn up to defend the corporate miscreant in anticipation of our (moral) assault. Then there were tree climbing antics to string up our giant banner with the message "Climate Disinformation Kills", as more demonstrators arrived to leaflet the departing workers and blast out our message via megaphone. As the night drew in the curtain-sided truck for the stage arrived and a small band of overnighters from all around the country could gather within to stare out the defenders of the Exxon compex, with their floodlights, on the other side of the barrier. Later another gathering formed around a campfire in a lonely copse by moonlight, before collapsing into sleeping bags as the candles of the all-night vigil burned on.

In the morning the Nathalie Koerfer breakfast-van swung into operation as protesters stirred into life or trickled into our 'protest camp' from Leatherhead railway station. Lining the barrier in front of the Exxon complex, by now, were cut-out heads of the numerous stooges that make up the 'hydra' of the Exxon climate disinformation network. Phil Thornhill then took a few of these to illustrate his talk on just a small selection from the Exxon catalogue of 'dirty tricks'. Numbers, slow to build at first, now began to increase as the 'Brixton Tea Party' arrived to keep them all refreshed. Duncan Law gave a seminar on 'reducing personal carbon foorprints' while Cornelius gave us a musical interlude. Soon it was time for speeches - from Derek Wall, Green Party Principal Speaker(1 of 2) and Elaine Graham-Leigh, environment spokesperson from the RESPECT party. These were interrupted by wild clapping to greet the arrival of the cyclist party from London - which had been marauding 'Esso' garages en route, and then, later, the hard-core band of cyclists all the way from Brighton. After the speeches came the 'mass moment' when everybody lay flat for a symbolic 'die-in' in front of the Exxon gates to illustrate the deadly imacts of climate change (as substantiated by the UN report) - and more specifically the deadly impact of Exxon's campaign to delay effective action to deal with climate change. Extra poignancy was given to this by Chris Bluemel's melancholy violin solo - sufficient to dispel for a few moments the busy clamour of the present reality and allow a frightening comtemplation of the depth of the climate crisis we face. Shane Collins, veteran environmental campaigner and Green Party stalwart, then delivered us back to the present and the politics of what we can do now to resolve the crisis. There was performance poetry, too, from Dennis just Menis and Grassy Knoll, as well as a lively number to jig to from Chris on the violin. Phil returned to wrap up the speeches by reminding everyone of the very real damage done by Exxon and the need for our campaign to continually confront those with most power and most responsibility for blocking progress or failing to take action to deal with the huge threat to humanity posed by the climate crisis.

The protest on this beautiful bright Spring day then gradually wound down as musicians Sarah Behr and Rob arrived late, yet again, but rewarded those who had stayed the full course. The small bunch of lively dancers reluctantly terminated proceedings as the truck had to be driven away and the gear packed up. But a few ballons remained stuck in the trees with the message: "Exxon's Lies Kill".

More info on Exxon here.

Public Meeting, London, Monday March 5th 2007, 7.00 pm :

"Is ExxonMobil the World's Worst Climate Criminal?"

Hosted by SOAS Green Group

This was a lively, well-attended meeting, held on the Vernon Square campus of the School of African and Oriental studies. First to speak was Mika Mina Paluello, from Platform , who filled us in with details about the curent status of ExxonMobil's oil business, and the massive investment they have made in finding new oil reserves - an investment they are determined to protect at all costs. Next was Claire Fauset, from Corporate Watch, who explained why she thought "genocide" might not be an inappropriate term to describe the impacts of Exxon's climate disinformation campaign over the last ten years or more. She went on to say that now that we were winning the argument about the seriousness of the climate threat we had to face the problem of the "decoy" - that is things that purported to be part of the solution - like carbon "offsetting" - but which were really nothing of the sort. Brief contributions followed from Derek Wall, principal speaker of the Green Party who reminded us that the people who were "murdering the planet had names and addresses" (as in the famous quote) and Martin Empson from Respect, who emphasised the need for a popular movement to force governments and companies to act. Jeremy Legget, Director of 'Solar Century' and author of "The Carbon War" and "Half gone", then returned the focus squarely onto Exxon and their misdeeds over the last ten years and his personal experience of their devious manouevres. He emphasised that campaigning against them had had results and that in certain areas they were already on the retreat.

Phil Thornhill (CCC national coordinator) emphasised that even if they were no longer "denying' climate change Exxon (and the people they funded) were still dangerously undermining the arguments for action, in other ways - like suggesting we did not need mandatory emissions cuts because "new technologies" would solve the problem. He also drew everyone's attention to the demo at Exxon HQ on Good Friday and said that all creative contributions to this would be really welcome. Then the floor was open for discussion until Chris Huhne MP - the Lib Dem shadow environment secretary - arrived. He had been expected late because of a vote in parliament, but was now able to tell us about his personal experience of Exxon, who, in a personal phone call to him, had tried to discredit the author of a letter written on behalf of the Royal society, criticising Exxon's funding of climate disinformation. Chris Huhne went on to outline some of the Lib Dem plans for tackling climate change and, once the floor was open, a lively debate ensued with different political approaches exlored and various aspects of climate policy explored. Jeremy Legget argued the need for "positive feedback loops" between consumers and companies while Claire Fauset and Derek Wall were sceptical about whether companies would ever really be part of the solution. What was apparent, above all, however was that people from a very wide spectrum of differing views were united in their abhorrence of ExxonMobil's climate disinformation record. The vigorous debate was chaired - with his usual Solomonic wisdom - by Nick Hutton. All in all a lively and interesting evening before participants retired to the Golden Lion and/or to consider their imaginitive contibution to the great Day of Anti-Exxon Action on Good Friday.

Exxon and Climate Disinformation

Climate Disinformation continues to do damage as in the spring 2007 Channel 4 "Great Global Warming Swindle". See refutation here and here . See how one of the scientific contributors felt misled here . See further this Climate Denial Website (scroll down to "The Great Channel 4 Swindle"), where you can see many of the people involved (eg Fred Singer, Patrick Michaels) have been part of the ExxonMobil funded climate disinformation industry over the years. Exxon-funded disinformation is still doing damage !

"Die-In" at Climate Disinformation HQ

On Saturday 21st October 2006 Campaign against Climate Change staged a 'die-in' outside the Bedford Chambers, on the Piazza, Covent Garden. The aim was to promote the coming November 4th demonstration by focussing on some of those most responsible for holding up the urgent action on climate change that we are demonstrating for.

Bedford Chambers is the adress of the "International Policy Network" which is a notorious corporate-funded lobbying group, though it poses as a "think tank" or "educational charity". Director John Morris has called global warming a "myth" and continues to try and pretend that there is a controversy over whether it is being caused by human activity. He has attacked Sir David King, the chief scientific adviser (on his warnings about the seriousness of climate change) as has Myron Ebell of the Competitive Enterprise Institute - a major anti-Kyoto US lobby group which the IPN has close links with. Both the CEI and IPN are funded by ExxonMobil and other fossil fuel interests.

As George Monbiot has pointed out the IPN also gets money from a tobacco company and Roger Bate, previous director, has been involved in the tobacco industry's campaign to confuse the science over the health impacts of smoking. Basically people like Bate and Morris are prepared argue for anything that will ensure funds from rich corporations. They are part of a "disinformation industry" that previously worked for the tobacco companies but has now been hired by ExxonMobil and other fossil fuel interests to confuse the science of global warming. Monbiot reckons that this disinformation "industry" has put back the action we need to curb global warming by years ....the point of our die-in was to emphasise that this delay will cost LIVES. It is costing lives even now - and could cost an incalculable amount in the future. Julian Morris and the IPN are responsible for deadly disinformation.

For more info try chapter 2 of George Monbiot's new book (see below) or these links....
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=International_Policy_Network
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/george_monbiot/2006/09/post_437.html
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,1361276,00.htm
http://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2005-02-08a.1353.1#g1355.1
http://www.exxonsecrets.org/html/orgfactsheet.php?id=108
http://www.gmwatch.org/profile1.asp?PrId=155

Main UK Climate Campaigns:

Heathrow & Aviation
KIngsnorth and New Coal
The Climate Bill
Biofuels

Get your Union to support the Campaign

Main UK Climate Campaigns: Heathrow & Aviation KIngsnorth and New Coal The Climate Bill Biofuels

Get your Union to support the Campaign

Main UK Climate Campaigns:

Heathrow & Aviation
KIngsnorth and New Coal
The Climate Bill
Biofuels