Hi John,

Shell has been lying to us…again. The company that hid damning climate science decades ago [1], lobbied against climate action [2], and who this year was finally forced to pay £80m to communities in Nigeria for devastating oil spills - is now lying to us and its business customers about carbon offsetting. [3] We shouldn’t be surprised.

Shell claims their customers can keep motoring with no climate impact using ‘drive carbon neutral’, their carbon offsetting scheme. [4] But our latest investigation proves otherwise - it revealed yet more damning examples of how offsetting doesn’t work. Shell’s offsetting projects around the world don’t contribute any additional benefit to the climate. [4] 

Shell needs to understand we’re sick of their lies. They need to stop hiding behind offsetting to solve the climate crisis while they’re looking for more oil and gas, making the climate emergency even worse. Can you add your name? 

Carbon offsetting is a favourite of oil companies and big corporations - it’s a hot topic at the UN climate talks in Glasgow next week. But it doesn’t solve the climate crisis. What it comes down to is companies admitting they’re harming the planet and our climate, but claiming that harm can be mitigated - or offset - by paying to protect a small piece of forest or other land. 

To tackle the climate crisis, we need to both protect these areas and stop expanding the supply, and burning of fossil fuels. Meeting the targets of the Paris Agreement means we need to cut global emissions nearly in half by 2030. Offsetting is just a smokescreen to continue business - and polluting - as usual. 

In Indonesia Shell claims it is protecting an area of peatland rainforest from timber and palm oil plantations. But an Unearthed investigation revealed that the area is already protected by the government, and has been for some time. [5] A project in Peru was found to have similar issues. In Scotland meanwhile, Shell is contributing to a tree planting project that is already backed by the Scottish government so would be happening anyway. Offsetting is no solution at the best of times, but Shell's version of it just amounts to dodgy bookkeeping.  

This isn’t ‘driving carbon neutral’, this is driving us to climate breakdown. Shell needs to stop hiding behind offsetting. The truth is, while they keep looking for more oil and gas this climate emergency is only going to get worse. Can you call on them to act?

The climate crisis is already here - but we can still minimise its worst impacts. But we cannot do it while burning ever more fossil fuels and continuing to look for more oil and gas. Offsetting is not going to get us there. We can only do it by cutting emissions while transitioning to sustainable and real solutions.

Thanks to people like you, we’ve pushed BP to make commitments to reduce production of oil and gas. [6] Now let’s make sure Shell stops misleading their customers, takes offsetting off the table - and invests in real action. 

Thank you for everything you do, 

Anthony and the Climate team 

Notes:

[1] Shell and Exxon’s secret 1980’s climate change warnings

[2] Despite its pledges, Shell funded anti-climate lobbying last year 

[3] Shell to pay $111m over decades old oil spills in Nigeria

[4] Shell: Drive Carbon Neutral

[5] Doubts over Shell’s ‘drive carbon neutral’ claim

[6] BP to cut oil and gas production by 40% by 2030  

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