Feature story - August 26, 2002
The United States is currently the largest emitter of greenhouse gases, the main cause of global warming. With President Bush backing out of the Kyoto Protocol, and his consistent support for the oil, coal, and natural gas industry, it has become clear that legal action is necessary to hold the Bush Administration accountable for increased global warming.
Global warming is the largest environmental threat we face. The United States is currently the largest emitter of greenhouse gases, the main cause of global warming. Greenpeace has determined that legal action is necessary to persuade the Bush Administration to take meaningful action on global warming.
Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and the City of Boulder Colorado are representing their members in a lawsuit against the United States government. The plaintiffs (who are members of Greenpeace and Friends of the EArth, and U.S. citizens) are victims of global warming, and claim that the government's use of tax dollars to fund dirty fossil fuel projects is what is driving global warming around the world.
The suit charges that the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im) and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) two governmental agencies, financed dozens of fossil fuel projects that significantly contribute to global warming, in violation of federal environmental law. By bringing on the lawsuit, the plaintiffs want to force OPIC and EX-Im to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which requires all federally funded agencies to conduct an environmental review of programs and project-specific decisions having a significant effect on the environment.
Your Tax Dollars at Work
Instead of funding renewable energy solutions to global warming, federal agencies like the Ex-IM and OPIC are funneling taxpayer dollars to increase the profits of corporate polluters such as ExxonMobil who is the #1 corporate villain on global warming.
With millions of dollars of financial assistance from Ex-Im and OPIC, ExxonMobil, in partnership with Chevron, is constructing an oil pipeline from Chad to Cameroon in Central Africa that will result in 445.9 million tons of CO2 emissions during its anticipated life. The oil extracted from Chad will be shipped from the coast of Cameroon to international markets including the United States.
Ex-Im and OPIC did not comply with NEPA before deciding to finance this project.