NJPN conference: Oil companies: Hold them accountable!

Michael Chambers

Michael Chambers, a second year student at the University of Kent, who has served as Co-President of the Catholic Society gave the following address at the 2021 NJPN conference in Swanwick on Sunday.

The climate crisis is, arguably, one of the most important issues that young people face in this day and age. We are constantly thinking about what sort of world we will inherit, when we're the ones in power and we're making decisions.

There has been a growing trend in the last decade or so that has caused increasing concern amongst us young people, and it's the fact that more and more companies are shirking their responsibilities when it comes to protecting the environment.

We are seeing companies like Royal Dutch Shell that tell us how we - the general public - can "save the planet", if we just do what we're supposed to. And then, after a moment's thought, you realise the company telling you this was Royal Dutch Shell...the oil company. The same company which, on its website boasts about decades worth of experience in fracking.

We won't even mention the fact that they're going to go ahead with constructing a new oil field to the west of the Shetland islands.

If you have the time, I highly recommend reading an article in The Guardian called: "Shell is not a green saviour. It's a planetary death machine", at this point it's a couple of years old, but the information is all still valid. The article speaks about how Shell is attempting to make itself appear like a "greener" business, and yet behind the scenes refuses to practice what it preaches.

To paraphrase one of the more pertinent sections in this article: Ben van Beurden, CEO of Shell, held a lecture in 2019. In this lecture he criticised consumers for not eating seasonally, with the example of people eating strawberries in the winter.

Unfortunately for us, companies are well-aware that we need their products. And as we need their products, we will continue to buy them. And provided we continue to buy them, they know they don't have to change their ways.

For example: if we continue to pay our energy bills, energy companies won't have to change their production model from non-renewable/non-sustainable energy resources, to renewable/sustainable ones. Today 55.9% [check on the day] of our national grid power coming from fossil fuels, these companies have no reason to shift to greener energy.

Another problem that we face is the fact that companies take part in what is referred to as "greenwashing", for those that don't know: this where these companies advertise themselves to be environmentally friendly, or they take part in small, environmentally friendly initiatives to appear as if they truly care about the planet. The reality being that these companies still take part in harmful practices which endanger our home.

It's this sort of performative gesture that has led to the use of paper straws over plastic ones. The reality in this situation is that it's rather unlikely that these straws will actually ever be recycled. This is because they cannot be recycled if they are contaminated with food or drink. If they can't be recycled, they go to landfill. And if they go to landfill, they can't biograde, as oxygen is removed at landfill sites in order to stop things decomposing and leaching into the surrounding soil.

I'm not saying that we consumers and the general public shouldn't have to be responsible for our actions regarding the climate crisis, instead what I suggest is that we don't lose sight of those who truly need to be held responsible: the companies. The companies who, as we have seen in the past, will quietly push back against things like the Paris Accords because the sanctions or directives are considered to be 'too harsh' on these large, billion pound, multinational corporations.

To quote another article: The great tragedy of the climate crisis is that seven and a half billion people must pay the price...so that a couple of dozen polluting interests can continue to make record profits.

My hope for the future is less of these companies parading around, pretending to care. I hope for a sense of morality amongst board members. And I hope for less of these companies, like Shell or BP, investing in our schools. Lord knows we need the money, just not from them.

And so my friends, my challenge to you all is to think. To think whenever a company tells you, you need to do more. Remind yourself that they are in no position to do so.

And my COP26 challenge is simple: Hold. Them. Accountable. Just as much as they tell us to hold ourselves accountable.

Links to articles:

www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/oct/09/revealed-20-firms-third-carbon-emissions

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jun/26/shell-not-green-saviour-death-machine-greenwash-oil-gas"