EXXONMOBIL SPREADS CLIMATE CHANGE PROPAGANDA TO SCHOOL CHILDREN - HUHNE

11.26.03am GMT Tue 6th Mar 2007

Young children who are unable to assess scientific evidence have become the latest target for propaganda on climate change from the world's top oil company ExxonMobil, according to the Liberal Democrat Shadow Environment Secretary, Chris Huhne MP.

Speaking at a climate change meeting in Westminster today, Liberal Democrat Shadow Environment Secretary said that the world's oil companies are split between the dynamos that were attempting to respond to climate change and dinosaurs that denied it.

“Any sensible buyer of petrol who cares about their children’s future will prefer BP, Shell or any other oil company to this outfit of toxic Texans.”

Mr Huhne cited the ExxonMobil sponsorship of a website aimed at UK primary school children that is being read by 30,000 people a month which claims that the cause of global warming is uncertain, contrary to the overwhelming scientific consensus that man-made fossil fuel burning is responsible.

The Energy Chest website features a cute climate sceptic robot, and is further evidence of the extent to which ExxonMobil is trying to foster doubt about the existence of man-made climate change, following a recent report in the United States detailing the company's efforts.

This follows a report of the Union of Concerned Scientists published this month, "Smoke, Mirrors & Hot Air", which demonstrated how ExxonMobil has adopted the tobacco industry's disinformation tactics, as well as some of the same organisations and personnel, to cloud the scientific understanding of climate change and delay action on the issue.

According to the report, ExxonMobil, the world's largest oil company whose products are responsible for more carbon emissions than Germany, has spent nearly $16 million between 1998 and 2005 to a network of 43 advocacy organisations that seek to confuse the public on global warming science.

In the UK, the Royal Society highlighted the ExxonMobil campaign in a report recently, which a representative of the oil company attempted to undermine in background briefings. Mr Huhne raised the issue in the House of Commons.

Now, the Liberal Democrats have uncovered evidence that ExxonMobil are funding a schools website which uses language seeking to create doubts and question the existence and seriousness of climate change. The website states, for example, that:

· Oil and gas could be in short supply in about 50 years time

· The earth is believed to be getting warmer

· Sea levels appear to be rising

· More research is required to assess what is causing these apparent changes

The website goes on to encourage burning of waste, placing much greater emphasis upon this than recycling, and states that achieving 10% of UK's electricity from wind power is "highly unlikely [to] ever be achieved"

Commenting, Mr Huhne said:

"ExxonMobil is now unique among the big oil companies in its aggressive funding of organisations and activities that continue to deny the overwhelming scientific consensus on climate change. The exact parallel is with the big tobacco companies' attempts in the sixties to deny the link between smoking and cancer.

"Teachers should beware using such materials with their insidious propaganda line. ExxonMobil is behaving in a thoroughly irresponsible manner, doing itself and its shareholders no favours by failing to recognise reality and in its underhand attempts to undermine its opponents.

"Any sensible buyer of petrol who cares about their children's future will prefer BP, Shell or any other oil company to this outfit of toxic Texans."