'French Champions of Pollution' Announced as Paris COP21 Sponsors

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The first batch of corporate sponsors for Decemberโ€™s climate negotiations in Paris has officially been revealed. Among them are big-name polluters Engie (formerly GDF Suez), Air France, and the European bank BNPย Paribas.

Pierre-Henri Guignard, the COP 21 organiser, announced the corporate sponsors yesterday during a press conference where he asserted that โ€œall of these companies are friends of theย climateโ€.

However, campaigners argue this is merely another case of โ€œgreen-washingโ€. Oxfam France has criticised the sponsorships, stating that the climate conference โ€œwill be financed by French champions ofย pollution.โ€

โ€œThe French government had pledged to work with โ€˜climate-compatibleโ€™ companies, but its hypocrisy is now clear,โ€ the NGO said.

Corporateย Financing

The Paris conference will cost an estimated โ‚ฌ170m (ยฃ120m) according to Guignard. Of this, he hopes up to 20 percent will be financed by corporateย sponsorships.

It has yet to be announced by how much each company is financially sponsoring the conference. Other companies announced as sponsors yesterday include car company Renaultโ€“Nissan, Suez Environment, French investment banking firm Axa, andย Michelin.

French utility company EDF, Swedish furniture company IKEA and Italian insurance company Generali are also among this first batch of corporateย sponsors.

The cartoon reads: COP21 financed by polluters. Big Business: โ€œMy checkbook is made of recycled paper!โ€ Delegate: โ€œPerfect!โ€

Guignard explained that one of the main aims behind these partnerships is to โ€œensure a high degree of environmental standards at the conferenceย itselfโ€.

For example, the companies will help to put in place green transportation and contribute to optimising the buildingsโ€™ energy use, heย explained.

Renault-Nissan Alliance just announced that it will be providing the climate conference with 200 pure electric vehicles for delegates as well as establishing more than 50 renewable-powered charging stations in and aroundย Paris.

Privateย Interests

However, Pascoe Sabido of research and campaign group Corporate Europe Observatory said: โ€œWe cannot negotiate a climate agreement with those who are responsible for climate change: states must listen to citizensโ€™ interests, and not the private interests of lobbies andย multinationals.โ€

Corporate sponsorship is a regular feature of the UN climate negotiations. The UNFCCC has consultative guidelines about the nature of sponsors and prominence of logos when used in connection with the event. So just how green are some of this yearโ€™s corporate climateย partners?

There is some good news. French investment firm Axa made headlines last week as it announced that it will be divesting from high-risk coal funds due to their climate change threat. However, this applies only to the companyโ€™s generalย account.

Malika Peyraut of Friends of the Earth said: โ€œMost of these companies are big emitters of the very greenhouse gases responsible for climate change, such as EDF or Engie whose coal plants alone are equivalent to nearly half of France’s entireย emissions.โ€

โ€œWhile the French government had said that they would look for businesses with flawless reputations, many of them are involved in projects harmful to people, their quality of life and work. Putting the most important climate conference of the decade under the patronage of climate-incompatible businesses does not bodeย well.โ€

Energyย Transformation

In April, GDF Suez transitioned to the new โ€˜Engieโ€™ name in an effort to reflect the transition towards a decarbonised world and the companyโ€™s involvement in renewable power. The company has also officially stated that it โ€œagrees on the need to reach a fair, worldwide agreement that will limit global warming to 2ยฐC between now andย 2050โ€.

But Engie, which is partly owned by the French government, is also heavily involved in coal and fracking. According to March 2015 figures, natural gas accounts for 62 percent of its projects, coal at 16 percent, with renewables representing 19.3 percent (this includes wind, hydro andย biomass).

Engie owns more than a third of Suez Environment, also a COP21 sponsor. Both Engie and Suez Environment are members of the Centre for Non-Conventional Hydrocarbons, a fracking lobbyย group.

Moving along, EDF has made headlines as an investor in Hinkley Point C power plant. Meanwhile, Air France has received criticism for its opposition to emissions reductions in the aviationย sector.

And donโ€™t forget BNP Paribas, which was the foremost French bank in terms of support for coal between 2005 and 2014. For example, the bank is invested in the controversial mountain top removal coal mining in the Unitedย States.

โ€œThe government is offering a cheap and easy opportunity for multinational climate criminals to green-wash their image. The public interest demands that these talks not be polluted by the private interests represented by these companies,โ€ said Maxime Combes of ATTAC France. โ€œWould we entrust the fight against tobacco to cigarette manufacturers? Why do it for climateย policy?โ€

@kylamandel

Photo: Alberto Hernandez viaย Flickr

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Kyla is a freelance writer and editor with work appearing in the New York Times, National Geographic, HuffPost, Mother Jones, and Outside. She is also a member of the Society for Environmental Journalists.

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