HEAD OF SHELL OIL SAYS WORLD ENDANGERED BY CO2 EMISSIONS
17 June 2004

Ron Oxburgh, chairman of Shell, says he is "really very worried for the planet", due to the effects of climate change as brought on by excessive emissions of greenhouse gases, like carbon dioxide. He specifically suggested there is an urgent need to begin the complex process of sequestration, which effectively contains CO2 emissions, thus reducing their release into the atmosphere. Lord Oxburgh added that "No one can be comfortable at the prospect of continuing to pump out the amounts of carbon dioxide that we are pumping out at present".

Robin Oakley, from Greenpeace, said the statement is welcome, but must lead to an active pursuit of the policies suggested. He went on to call for Lord Oxburgh to work to convince his counterparts throughout the oil industry who still wish not to act to abate climate change, or indeed deny the very science at issue. The Guardian newspaper noted a 3,000m deep ice core from Antarctica shows carbon dioxide levels "are the highest for at least 440,000 years".

Climate activist Bryony Worthington also noted the need to follow through and expressed skepticism about Oxburgh's intentions. Worthington criticized the absence of a definitive plan for Shell to begin the sequestration process. She reiterated the long-standing demand of climate change scientists for better emissions standards on new vehicles, and increased investment in efficient, clean and renewable resources. [For more: Guardian]

DEALING WITH EMISSIONS:

Sequestration is one of the methods for dealing with the emissions crisis now facing the planet. Many political and corporate figures argue that emissions trading is a more efficient, realistic and effective process for reducing emissions. The idea stems from the notion that regulators can assign maximum emissions thresholds, leaving businesses and governments to buy and sell "credits" which are comprised of the difference between actual emissions (if below maximum threshold) and the maximum allowable.

Ecologists have argued that the major problem is a lack of economic awareness of the value inherent in the services provided by natural ecosystems, upon which so many of our resources are directly reliant. Many environmentalists argue that emissions trading promotes pollution and slows innovation of more efficient technologies. Another criticism is that it may cause the larger polluters (businesses and nations) to become less competitive over time, as their dependence on credits swells and technology trends away from such standards.

Some companies have already begun trading environmental credit, as a means of market-based speculation and in order to finance the move to renewable resources. Critics say this process reduces the strength of regulations that impose clean air and clean water standards, and there is evidence that trading can create hot-spots where pollution intensifies, leading to accelerated environmental degradation and endangering public health. Environmental Finance publishes news about innovations in environmental trading; Cantor Environmental Brokerage is an example of a traditional trading firm that has entered the environmental credits market.