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BP and Climate
Change
Below are extracts of
letters between the oil company BP (British Petroleum) and Peter Shullot about
climate change. The letters in full are at the bottom of the page. This is one
of 65 sets of letters so you can find out what your supermarket, energy supplier
and car manufacturer, and oil companies, airlines, house builders and other
companies really think about climate change. The name Peter Shullot is
made up – it is an anagram of The Polluters.
To Tony Hayward, Chief
Executive –
I am a regular user of
your petrol stations. Particularly in King’s Cross at three o’clock in the
morning. You must be proud to run such a great organisation as BP. One of the
largest companies in the world, known across the globe for its work, which has
met the energy needs of billions of people. Not many people can say that. BP –
Best on the Planet.
I’m concerned that BP’s days are
numbered. The reason I say this is not errant behaviour by you or your board,
alleged human rights abuses, interference in a country’s internal affairs,
apparent damage to natural resources or oil spills and burst pipelines.
But it’s not as if we are about to run out of oil. Only
a third of known resources have been tapped, and the Arctic is ready for
exploitation. Your industry has always been able to create new technology and
I’m sure it will do so again. I don’t read that in any of the “green”
propaganda.
I know that you have other things to do right now, following the departure of
your predecessor for jogging in Battersea Park.
PS. Excellent advert last night for BP. Mrs Shullot and I chuckled all the way
through it.
BP replied –
You rightly mention the innovation of the oil and gas industry over the last 100
years and no doubt there will be further innovation in the next several decades.
You also allude to the fact that the provision of energy has been a major
contributor to improving the health and well-being of billions of the world’s
population.
However, I cannot agree with you that climate change is a fallacy – we have for
over 10 years acknowledged that it is a real issue that needs to be addressed.
Our view is that our long term interests are best served by encouraging
governments to adopt early and rational climate policy and for us to plan
long-term business strategy in that context. This is a significantly better path
than if governments delay taking action until a crisis emerges and then have to
take ill-thought through and very severe measures.
Letter to BP
Reply from BP
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