Press release - May 27, 2003
Who is arresting who? Greenpeace busts Exxonmobil for climes against the climate.
Business at the international headquarters of the world's most
powerful company ground to a halt this morning as the Greenpeace
Global Warming Crimes Unit converged on ExxonMobil's compound in
Irving, Texas. Some members of the Unit are positioned across the
entrance while others have entered the building to serve a list of
charges against the company. The move comes as ExxonMobil's Board
of Directors and international executives attempt to gather from
across the world for tomorrow's Annual General Meeting.
As of 7:45 AM (CDT), 15 members of the Global Warming Crimes
Unit are secured to the main gates, where two police-style vans are
parked across the entrance used by staff and management. More than
30 members of the Unit have entered the compound, fabled for its
high security. Some members of the Unit, including a Baptist
minister, are actually inside the building, while others are on the
roof, holding a banner that brands the building a "global warming
crime scene." Employees arriving to work are turning away.
James Moore of the Global Warming Crimes Unit said, "This is
where ExxonMobil plots to sabotage all meaningful efforts to solve
global warming. Within these walls, ExxonMobil executives fight to
conduct business as usual while the catastrophe of global warming
-which impacts millions of ordinary people - is completely
ignored."
ExxonMobil stands accused of running a 10-year campaign of
sabotage against international efforts to solve global warming. The
company has used its influence and money to block agreements that
would reduce global warming pollution. Recent figures show the
company gives millions of dollars to ultra-conservative groups that
aggressively lobby against action to protect our climate and direct
President Bush's extreme energy policies.
The list of charges is accompanied by pages of evidence against
the company. Copies of classified documents and letters demonstrate
the unique role that ExxonMobil has played in sabotaging action on
global warming, fraudulently misrepresenting the science, and lying
to the American people.
"While 109 nations have signed the Kyoto Protocol to fight
global warming, ExxonMobil has done all it can to ensure the United
States sits on the sidelines," added Moore. "We will leave only
when the company agrees to stop sabotaging international action on
global warming. Meanwhile, everyone can help by refusing to buy gas
from ExxonMobil."