SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Shell logo. (Photo: Mike Mozart/flickr/cc)
Shell Lobbied to Thwart EU Renewable Energy Targets: Guardian
Documents obtained by British paper show energy company lobbied EU executive body head to pursue gas-friendly climate pact
Apr 27, 2015
A climate change pact reached by EU leaders last year followed several years of successful lobbying by oil giant Shell "to undermine European renewable energy targets," the Guardian has reported.
The agreement for 2030 goals, which include a 40 percent reduction in greenhouse gases and 27 percent renewable energy in the EU as a whole, was reached in October. It was denounced by environmental organizations who charged that it fell far short of what is necessary to address the climate crisis.
But it was touted by then-European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, who called the pact "very good news for our fight against climate change" and said that "No player in the world is as ambitious as the EU."
According to documents obtained by the British daily, Barroso was the target of Shell's lobbying efforts, which focused on the expansion of gas as a greenhouse gas reducing measure rather than renewables. Shell urged him
to scrap the bloc's existing formula for linking carbon-cutting goals with binding renewable energy laws.
Shell argued that a market-led strategy of gas expansion would save Europe EUR500bn (PS358bn) in its transition to a low carbon energy system, compared to an approach centred on renewables. "Gas is good for Europe, and Europe is good at gas," the firm's upstream executive director, Malcolm Brinded wrote in a five-page letter to Barroso.
The paper also reports that the UK had not been "an advocate of EU-wide renewable energy target," and that the UK stance had weight, as it held a leadership role in reaching EU consensus on the targets for the pact.
Brook Riley, climate justice and energy campaigner for Friends of the Earth Europe, said in October, "This deal does nothing to end Europe's dependency on fossil fuels or to speed up our transition to a clean energy future. It's a deal that puts dirty industry interests ahead of citizens and the planet."
An Unconstitutional Rampage
Trump and Musk are on an unconstitutional rampage, aiming for virtually every corner of the federal government. These two right-wing billionaires are targeting nurses, scientists, teachers, daycare providers, judges, veterans, air traffic controllers, and nuclear safety inspectors. No one is safe. The food stamps program, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are next. It’s an unprecedented disaster and a five-alarm fire, but there will be a reckoning. The people did not vote for this. The American people do not want this dystopian hellscape that hides behind claims of “efficiency.” Still, in reality, it is all a giveaway to corporate interests and the libertarian dreams of far-right oligarchs like Musk. Common Dreams is playing a vital role by reporting day and night on this orgy of corruption and greed, as well as what everyday people can do to organize and fight back. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
A climate change pact reached by EU leaders last year followed several years of successful lobbying by oil giant Shell "to undermine European renewable energy targets," the Guardian has reported.
The agreement for 2030 goals, which include a 40 percent reduction in greenhouse gases and 27 percent renewable energy in the EU as a whole, was reached in October. It was denounced by environmental organizations who charged that it fell far short of what is necessary to address the climate crisis.
But it was touted by then-European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, who called the pact "very good news for our fight against climate change" and said that "No player in the world is as ambitious as the EU."
According to documents obtained by the British daily, Barroso was the target of Shell's lobbying efforts, which focused on the expansion of gas as a greenhouse gas reducing measure rather than renewables. Shell urged him
to scrap the bloc's existing formula for linking carbon-cutting goals with binding renewable energy laws.
Shell argued that a market-led strategy of gas expansion would save Europe EUR500bn (PS358bn) in its transition to a low carbon energy system, compared to an approach centred on renewables. "Gas is good for Europe, and Europe is good at gas," the firm's upstream executive director, Malcolm Brinded wrote in a five-page letter to Barroso.
The paper also reports that the UK had not been "an advocate of EU-wide renewable energy target," and that the UK stance had weight, as it held a leadership role in reaching EU consensus on the targets for the pact.
Brook Riley, climate justice and energy campaigner for Friends of the Earth Europe, said in October, "This deal does nothing to end Europe's dependency on fossil fuels or to speed up our transition to a clean energy future. It's a deal that puts dirty industry interests ahead of citizens and the planet."
A climate change pact reached by EU leaders last year followed several years of successful lobbying by oil giant Shell "to undermine European renewable energy targets," the Guardian has reported.
The agreement for 2030 goals, which include a 40 percent reduction in greenhouse gases and 27 percent renewable energy in the EU as a whole, was reached in October. It was denounced by environmental organizations who charged that it fell far short of what is necessary to address the climate crisis.
But it was touted by then-European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, who called the pact "very good news for our fight against climate change" and said that "No player in the world is as ambitious as the EU."
According to documents obtained by the British daily, Barroso was the target of Shell's lobbying efforts, which focused on the expansion of gas as a greenhouse gas reducing measure rather than renewables. Shell urged him
to scrap the bloc's existing formula for linking carbon-cutting goals with binding renewable energy laws.
Shell argued that a market-led strategy of gas expansion would save Europe EUR500bn (PS358bn) in its transition to a low carbon energy system, compared to an approach centred on renewables. "Gas is good for Europe, and Europe is good at gas," the firm's upstream executive director, Malcolm Brinded wrote in a five-page letter to Barroso.
The paper also reports that the UK had not been "an advocate of EU-wide renewable energy target," and that the UK stance had weight, as it held a leadership role in reaching EU consensus on the targets for the pact.
Brook Riley, climate justice and energy campaigner for Friends of the Earth Europe, said in October, "This deal does nothing to end Europe's dependency on fossil fuels or to speed up our transition to a clean energy future. It's a deal that puts dirty industry interests ahead of citizens and the planet."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.