PUBLIC ASKED TO PUT NAME TO SHELL ADVERT
PETITION
People around the world are being called
on to add their name to an advert petition in
which thousands of individuals ask Anglo
Dutch oil giant Shell to invest its profits
in reducing the damaging impact of its
operations around the globe. [1]
Friends of the Earth and community groups
from all over the world, working together in
the Shell Accountability Campaign, will use
the signatures to publish large
advertisements in Dutch and UK newspapers
when Shell announces its 2006 results on
February 1, 2007.
Shell has failed to meet its own standards
or live up to the green promises used in
publicity campaigns and, despite many
promises, is still causing enormous
environmental and social problems at a
variety of locations around the world.
Friends of the Earth International
Corporates Campaigner Paul de Clerck said:
“This is the public’s chance to tell Shell
that they want it to take responsibility for
the social and environmental damage it
causes. Shell can no longer ignore this
message”.
In 2005 Shell reported the highest profits
ever made by a Dutch company and expectations
for 2006 are equally high.
Shell is a prominent member of the Global
Compact, an ineffective initiative of the
United Nations to promote Corporate Social
Responsibility. Shell also developed Business
Principles and was one of the first companies
to produce a yearly Sustainability Report.
Despite all the promises within these
initiatives, people living around Shell
facilities and the environment are still
loosing out.
Case Studies:
NIGER DELTA, NIGERIA – November 2005: the
Nigerian High Court ruled that gas flaring
was a ‘gross violation' of the rights to life
and dignity. One year later Shell continues
to flare more than 600 million cubic metres
gas in Nigeria. The amount flared in 2001
equalled 40 per cent of gas consumption on
the entire continent of Africa. In spite of
all its promises to stop flaring gas, a good
deal more gas was flared in 2005 than in
2002. The flaring causes serious air
pollution. The population of the Niger Delta
suffers from a range of health problems: an
increased risk of asthma, chronic bronchitis,
leukaemia and increased child mortality.
According to the World Bank, smoke emitted
during the flaring is the major source of
greenhouse gases in Sub-Saharan Africa. For
more information:
www.foei.org/publications/pdfs/gasnigeria.pdf
Dr. Saro-Wiwa, brother of Ken Saro-Wiwa who
was executed by the Nigeria government in
1995 for his protest against Shell, says: “I
do believe Shell knows that they are gassing
the community and no company in this world
should be allowed to gas its community.”
SAKHALIN, RUSSIA – Shell is engaged in the
world’s largest oil and gas production
project, off the coast of the Russian island
Sakhalin. The oil pipeline runs through the
island, crossing 55 seismic faults and more
than a thousand rivers. The environmental
permit for the project was recently suspended
by the Russian government, due to a large
number of violations of Russian environmental
law. The Russian government is even
considering criminal prosecution. This would
be justified: the environmental permit should
never have been issued. The 1200 kilometres
of the pipeline that have already been
laid led to major social and
environmental problems over the p-ast few
years. Erosion and pollution pose a threat to
wild salmon. This is an enormous problem for
the indigenous people, who are mostly
fishermen. The project also places the last
100 West Pacific grey whales in the world
under threat. Russian environmental
authorities estimate that damage from the
project amounts to 10 billion rubles (295
million euros).
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Friends of the Earth International: Paul
de Clerck, Tel: +32-494380959 (Belgian
mobile)
Friends of the Earth England, Wales, and
Northern Ireland: Hannah Griffith, Tel: +44
20 7566 1666
South Africa: Groundwork/Friends of the
Earth South Africa, Bobby Peek, Tel:
+27-824641383
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