McKibben slams Shell from Chatham House conference podium

Protestors highlight Shell sponsorship to delegates of Chatham House climate conference #CHclimate

This morning Platform and 350.org picketed the annual Chatham House climate change conference to protest against Shell’s sponsorship of the event.

The keynote speaker Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org, highlighted the hypocrisy directly from inside the conference:

“I didn’t know Shell was sponsoring this conference when I agreed to do it, but I’m glad for the chance to say in public that Shell is among the most irresponsible companies on earth. When they write the history of our time, the fact that Shell executives watched the Arctic melt and then led the rush to go drill for oil in that thawing north will provide the iconic example of the shortsighted greed that marks the richest people on our planet.”

The 18th Annual Chatham House Conference on Climate Change boasts speakers from the UNFCCC, UK government, academics, and industry, and advertises itself as “a unique opportunity to network with senior officials from businesses, government, NGO’s and academic institutions”.

Shell is the only listed corporate sponsor, alongside Climate and Development Knowledge Network, the Foreign Office, and the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries. Although the conference is held under Chatham House rules, Bill McKibben’s keynote speech is on record.

Most participants we spoke to on way into #CHclimate conference @ChathamHouse are shocked to hear sponsor is @shell pic.twitter.com/nYfVMRkouI

— 350.org Europe (@350Europe) November 4, 2014

Shell has been promoting its climate change commitments in the UK with a massive ad campaign. However, protestors from Platform and 350.org, who welcomed delegates to the conference, pointed out that Shell:

was last month accused of funding groups that oppose climate regulation in the US;
is seeking extension on its drilling leases in the US Arctic waters despite massive public outcry and regulator concerns;
has taken little action to clean up decades’ worth of pollution in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria;
relies in its projections on climate and energy supply on oil extraction continuing into the 2050s and reaching new frontier areas, despite it only being safe to extract 1/3 of the world’s proven fossil fuel reserves to have a 50% chance of avoiding catastrophic climate change, according to the International Energy Agency.

Protestors held up messages including:

“The people who profit set the agenda, the people on the frontlines aren’t invited” and inviting participants to use the conference hashtag #CHclimate to register their views on Shell sponsorship.

Anna Galkina of Platform said outside the conference:

“Shell’s role today is outrageous. Shell sponsors climate conferences and art galleries in order to prevent real climate action: leaving fossil fuels in the ground. Why are the people profiting from climate change celebrated as corporate sponsors, while the frontline communities aren’t even invited?”

Bill McKibben will speak later today at both King’s College London and the London School of Economics and Politics, where students are campaigning for their university’s endowments to divest from destructive fossil fuel companies like Shell.