Oil giant BP has proclaimed a new identity for itself — British Petroleum now says it is "Beyond Petroleum".
For the world's second largest oil company to move beyond petroleum would be a boon for a world so addicted to oil. Yet what does BP mean by this new phrase?
Faced with the mounting evidence of, and public concern over, global warming, the oil companies have come to realise that they need to be seen to acknowledge the problem is real and needs addressing. They know that the world is desperate to get the oil majors on the side of climate protection.
So BP has come out claiming that its new greener image means "being a global leader in producing the cleanest burning fossil fuels: natural gas".
While it is true that natural gas is not oil, its impact on the world's climate and on local communities is not dissimilar.
Natural gas can lead to lower carbon emissions than oil. But if you count fugitive emissions (mainly from pipeline leaks and flares), the difference between gas and oil is slim. Natural gas is at best an incremental improvement over oil, and at worst a distraction from moving economies away from fossil fuels.
BP's claim to be "the largest producer of solar energy in the world" is more impressive. Unfortunately, being number one does not necessarily mean much.
BP was able to accomplish this feat by spending US$45 million to buy out Solarex Corporation. Meanwhile, according to SANE BP, a group of environmentally conscious shareholders, last year the company spent more on its new eco-friendly logo than it did on renewable energy.
What is clear is that BP's new image fits neatly into the time-honoured tradition of "greenwashing". It is carefully presented to hide a reality of environmental destruction.
This becomes very clear when you compare the figure of US$45 million that it cost to become "number one" in solar energy production to the US$5 billion it will spend over the next five years on oil exploration in Alaska.
According to the US Public Interest Research Group, BP was responsible for 104 oil spills in the Alaskan region between January 1997 and March 1998.
This region is home to one of the world's largest caribou herds as well as to grizzlies, polar bears, ringed seals, wolves, musk ox and 135 species of migratory birds. The Gwich'in native people fear that further development by oil companies such as BP will destroy not only the native fauna, but also their culture.
Another important company project is the Sebei-langhou gas pipeline, which will pump natural gas from the Sebei gas fields in the Tsaidam Basin in northern Tibet to Lanzhou in northwest China.
Despite opposition from Tibetans over control of the territory, BP has invested US$580 million in PetroChina, which will provide needed capital, plus a further US$2.5 billion in joint ventures with the Chinese National Petroleum Corporation, increasing economic activity in the area and thereby strengthening China's domination.
BP is also a part of the Greater Nile Operating Company, which has sent about US$500 million to the brutal regime of President Omar Bashir in Sudan. The World Food Program says 36,000 people have been displaced by oil development there, while a Canadian government-sponsored study found massive human rights violations and concluded that "oil is exacerbating conflict in Sudan".
Opposition to BP's human rights and environmental record has continued despite its attempts to paint itself as environmentally sound. Activists around the world continue to push for a boycott of BP's products, while the indigenous people who have been dispossessed of their land continue to struggle for their right to their own land and culture.
Here in Australia, activists will be making sure that BP's real record comes under the spotlight when they blockade the Commonwealth Business Forum in Melbourne on October 3. Gregory Bourke, the regional president of BP Australia/New Zealand, will be speaking at the forum, and is a member of the CBF 2001 Advisory Board.
BY FRED FUENTES