In the debate about climate change, it is often said that us “deniers” are “well funded”. Cash from interested parties has been given to a few sceptics, who have managed to turn the entire political debate in our favour. That’s why Copenhagen failed to produce an agreement. That’s why Kyoto failed. That’s why even the countries who wanted a deal at Copenhagen continue to emit more CO2 than they did when they wanted the Kyoto protocol.
So it is a bit of a surprise to learn that the government’s climate change adverts – a concoction of lies, distortion, doom-saying, and guilt-tripping - cost the taxpayer six million quid. Here they are, if you had forgotten...
The ASA has ruled that the claims made in the newspaper adverts were not supported by solid science and has told the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) that they should not be published again.
So what would you do with £6 million?
What the government did with £6 million is to cast themselves as the heroic Prince Charming in the bedtime story. He saves the damsel in distress – the entire world.
But now that the ASA has rapped the government over the knuckles, it is clear that this expensive fantasy has left the government instead looking more like the evil monster it claimed it would vanquish.
As I said recently, Greenpeace see themselves as above the law, and use their considerable cash resources to blackmail companies into doing as they say.
Greenpeace...
... Threaten business, jobs, and the economy
... Use lies and bad science to terrify the public and to blackmail companies and governments
... Have been a significant cause of our energy infrastructure’s imminent collapse
... Hold an illegitimate influence over the democratic process
... Put lives at risk here and around the world
... Force governments to make policies which cause deaths
... use fear and terror to spread their propaganda and secure their ideological goals
... are almost completely unaccountable for their actions
... are completely undemocratic
This is their new campaign.
As you can see, the campaign urges you to "Stop Nestle buying palm oil from companies that destroy the rainforests".
But it's not as if Nestle are destroying the rainforests. And it's not as if - as the advert seems to want to claim - you're killing primates by tucking into a Kit Kat. Greenpeace claim that
Nestlé uses palm oil in Kit Kat and many other products which is bought from suppliers that destroy rainforests in Indonesia to grow their plantations. As a result, threatened species like orangutans are being pushed into extinction and huge quantities of greenhouse gases are being released, accelerating climate change. Nestlé have so far refused to stop buying palm oil from the worst suppliers, so it's time to make them change their minds.
Because of this, Greenpeace has issued a list of demands, that it is holding Nestle hostage for, [PDF]
To protect Indonesia’s last remaining forests, and to live up to its own commitments, Nestlé must immediately: 1. STOP THE PROBLEM: NO MORE TRADE WITH THE SINAR MAS GROUP
Stop trading with companies within the Sinar Mas group. This includes Golden Agri Resources and its subsidiaries, as well as Sinar Mas Forestry and Asia Pulp & Paper (APP).
Stop buying Sinar Mas palm oil and pulp products from third-party suppliers.
2. START THE SOLUTION : SUPPORT ZERO DEFORESTATION
Engage with the Indonesian government and industry to deliver a moratorium on forest clearance and peatland protection.
But who are Greenpeace to make such demands of Nestle, and the Indonesian people? Who do Greenpeace think they are?
This is another case of Greenpeace using a perfectly legitimate business to create a bigger profile for itself, risking income and jobs. It is essentially a mugging. It is flexing its muscles at companies saying, "do as we say, or we'll do you over". It is a protection racket, nothing more.
