From The Huffington Post by Chris d'Angelo
“Action now is seen as the only safe insurance.”
That was among the many
clear warnings that oil giant Shell issued in a film it produced about
climate change more than 25 years ago.
Many environmentalists, however, argue that the company has largely ignored its own alarm bells.
Many environmentalists, however, argue that the company has largely ignored its own alarm bells.
The 1991 film, “Climate of Concern,” resurfaced Tuesday on the Dutch online news outlet The Correspondent.
It’s the latest in an ever-growing body of evidence that suggests the oil industry has long known about the climate risks associated with carbon dioxide emissions — and has actively worked to cover them up.
If Shell knew climate change was dire 25 years ago, why still business as usual today?
“The need to understand the
interplay of atmosphere and oceans has been given a new sense of urgency
by the realization that our energy-consuming way of life may be causing
climatic changes with adverse consequences to us all,” the nearly
30-minute video notes.
The film is eerily
prophetic, warning of spiraling global temperatures, a sea level rise
that could prove “disastrous,” wetland habitats inundated by salt water
and ferocious storm surges brought on by warming ocean temperatures.
“What is now considered abnormal weather could become a new norm,” the film’s narrator says.
“In a crowded world subject to such adverse shifts of climate, who would take care of such greenhouse refugees?”
Along with linking fossil fuel consumption and rising carbon dioxide emissions to warming global temperatures, the film celebrates renewable energy technologies, including solar and wind.
Although Shell does recognize climate change and made investments in wind energy, it is also a key player in the destructive and dirty Canadian tar sands.
What Shell knew about climate change in 1991 – video explainer
According to The Correspondent, which shared the video with The Guardian,
the film was produced for the public eye, particularly for viewing in
schools and universities, but has gone largely unseen for many years.
In a separate 1986 document reviewed by both publications, Shell reportedly wrote of the uncertainties regarding climate science but noted that “changes may be the greatest in recorded history.”
In a separate 1986 document reviewed by both publications, Shell reportedly wrote of the uncertainties regarding climate science but noted that “changes may be the greatest in recorded history.”
In an interview with The
Correspondent, professor Tom Wigley, the former head of the Climate
Research Unit at the University of East Anglia, which assisted Shell in
creating the film, spoke about the accuracy of its predictions.
“It’s amazing it’s 25 years ago,”
Wigley said. “It was quite comprehensive on what might happen, what the
consequences are, and what we can do about it. I mean, there’s not much
more.”
Along with linking fossil fuel consumption and rising carbon dioxide emissions to warming global temperatures, the film celebrates renewable energy technologies, including solar and wind.
Although Shell does recognize climate change and made investments in wind energy, it is also a key player in the destructive and dirty Canadian tar sands.
In an email Tuesday to The
Huffington Post, a Shell spokesman said, “Our position on climate change
is well known; recognizing the climate challenge and the role energy
has in enabling a decent quality of life. Shell continues to call for
effective policy to support lower carbon business and consumer choices
and opportunities such as government lead carbon pricing/trading
schemes.”
But environmental groups aren’t convinced that the company has walked the walk when it comes to acting to combat climate change.
“The fact that
Shell understood all this in 1991, and that a quarter-century later it
was trying to open up the Arctic to oil-drilling, tells you all you’ll
ever need to know about the corporate ethic of the fossil fuel
industry,” Bill McKibben, the co-founder of 350.org, said in a statement.
“Shell made a big difference in the world ― a difference for the worse.”
In the film (which can be seen in full here),
Shell warned that while global warming was not fully understood, “many
think that to wait for final proof would be irresponsible.”
“Whether or not the threat
of global warming proves as grave as the scientists predict, is it too
much to hope that it might act as the stimulus, the catalyst, to a new
era of technical and economic cooperation?” the narrator asks.
“Our numbers are many and infinitely diverse, but the problems and dilemmas of climatic change concern us all.”
Links :
“Our numbers are many and infinitely diverse, but the problems and dilemmas of climatic change concern us all.”
Links :
- The Guardian : ‘Shell knew’: oil giant's 1991 film warned of climate change danger / Shell's 1991 warning: climate changing 'at faster rate than at any time since end of ice age' / Keep it in the ground: Shell's 1991 film warning of climate change danger uncovered
- Mashable : In an ironic twist, a 1991 Shell ad contains a warning about climate change
- Good.is : The VHS tape that could have slowed climate change
- InfluenceMap : How much big oil spends on obstructive climate lobbying
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