FURY AT BRITISH CYCLING SHELL DEAL
Well, o’il be damned if British Cycling ain’t in the news again for all the wrong reasons.
This past decade the historic victories by British riders in the Olympics and Tour de France lost a little of their shine when British Cycling and Team Sky came under scrutiny of WADA and UK Anti-Doping; and then followed accusations of bullying and sexism.
Now they’re getting it in the neck for agreeing a
sponsorship deal with the fourth biggest polluter on the planet, oil company Shell Energy.
Brings to mind the controversy when petrochemical giant INEOS signed up to sponsor David Brailsford’s World
Tour pro team formerly backed by SKY.
The governing body claim their partnership with
Shell will “help our organisation and sport take important steps towards net
zero.”
Net Zero being the handy catchphrase meaning zero
pollution to stave off the worst of climate change.
What should we make of British Cycling’s decision?
Well, money talks. That’s about it.
They need lots of it to keep their hugely successful
organisation and international racing programme on course. Keep the medals
coming in even as the science warns of melting ice caps and sea level rise,
dying crops in intense summer heatwaves, torrential rain causing flooding and all
of it directly linked to global warming caused by burning fossil fuel extracted by oil companies.
To which British Cycling has hitched a ride. Perhaps
they are climate change deniers. At least insofar as what has caused it.
Shell is keen to claim their green credentials, as
the statement in this ad plucked off the internet shows:
“We are
committed to playing our part in meaningful change to the energy system. In the
UK, we are contributing to eight of the UK government's 10-point plan for a
green industrial revolution. We are also developing nascent businesses,
such as CCS and hydrogen, that will need to scale up after 2030 to meet the
Climate Change Committee’s sixth Carbon Budget and help the UK towards the
government target of reaching net zero by 2050.
“Shell provided input to
the Committee for Climate Change’s 2019 report which recommended that net-zero
emissions should be achieved in the UK by 2050. The government has subsequently
accepted this recommendation, and on June 27, 2019, it became law, making the
UK the first G7 country to pass such legislation, marking an important milestone
in the global fight against climate change.”
Reach net zero by 2050, say Shell! Too late for coastal towns in Lancashire which, coincidentally that very year, are told to expect many residential streets will be under water from rising sea levels.
Critics say Shell’s deal is “greenwashing”. By associating with an environmentally-clean (or cleaner) mode of transport, they are saying, look, we are doing our bit to save the planet.
Well, they might be, but their main business
remains unchanged, oil extraction.
The BC-Shell announcement resulted in a storm of
protest on social media, with BC members threatening to resign. Greenpeace UK Policy Director Dr Doug Parr told The Guardian that the “idea of Shell
helping British Cycling reach net zero is as absurd as beef farmers advising
lettuce farmers on how to go vegan.”
The Daily Telegraph reported Carr saying that after being booted out of museums and other cultural institutions, “Big Oil is looking at sports as the next frontier for their brazen greenwash. But their aim hasn’t changed – to distract from the inconvenient fact that the fossil fuel industry is making our planet uninhabitable.”
Friends of the Earth agreed, saying “Cycling is the epitome of environmentally friendly travel…and it is deeply disappointing that UK Cycling (sic) could think it’s appropriate to partner with a fossil fuel giant.”
Shell UK, keen to publicise their “green” shoots, now run the country’s
largest public network of electric vehicle (EV) charging points. According to
the website Road CC, Shell will also
support British Cycling’s aim to move towards a fleet made up entirely of EVs.
Well, that’s good, for global cycling leaves a large carbon footprint from
transport and travel in moving their green machines and riders around the world. This
needs to be and is being addressed, according to an in-depth look at the
problem in a recent issue of Cycling Weekly.
What a dilemma.
But we’re all in this, one way or another, aren’t
we? Market forces leave us with little choice when it comes to buying oil-free
products.
Clearly there is an urgent need to find an alternative
to oil. For our lives are inextricably linked with the evil stuff, not just for
powering the vehicles we use, on road, rail and in the air, but in our use of some
of the many thousands of products made from by-products of oil.
Here’s a few of them:
Solvents, ink, floor wax, ballpoint pens,
upholstery, sweaters, bicycle tyres, nail polish, dresses, tyres, golf bags…..and
on and on……………
Who recalls Shell's unique selling proposition?
Here it is - tweaked to suit the moment.
“Keep
going well, keep going Shell."
"We're all going to Hell with Shell."
