UNITED NATIONS, April 28 -- The UN picked Statoil as its poster child to Wednesday launch the report of Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's Advisory Group on Energy and Climate Change. Inner City Press asked Statoil CEO Helge Lund about his company's move to oil sands -- being criticized this week by the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues -- to drilling Marcellus shale, criticized for pollution, and financial criticism for projects in Angola, Libya and Nigeria. Video here, from Minute 30:13.
Mr. Lund's response to these specifics was to claim that Statoil is "transparent, open," then to speak about carbon emissions. But the critique of oil sands is not only about emissions, but the destruction of the land and driving indigenous people off.
Likewise, the criticism of Statoil in for example Angola was a lack of transparency and openness, working with local firms connected to government officials.
Mr. Ban left his press conference before any questions could be asked. But Inner City Press asked Achim Steiner, recently re-appointed by Mr. Ban to head UNEP, to explain what standards the UN applies and how it selects companies to be on its podium.
Steiner replied that people are on the Advisory Committee in their personal capacities. But Lars Josefsson the CEO of Vattenfall, a company moving ever more into fossil fuel development, bragged that his membership on the UN Committee reflects on Vattenfall's practices. Inner City Press has raised this to a number of UN officials, including Ban's "global goods" aide Bob Orr, but nothing has been done.
Steiner referred to the UN Global Compact, telling Inner City Press "you are more familiar with it than most." But that has been without the assistance or even consent of Compact leadership. Outside the most recent Compact board meeting in New York, Compact director Georg Kell told Inner City Press "you can't quote anyone here," or even ask them questions.
Only because Ban's Group of Friends on Myanmar was meeting next door was Inner City Press able to ask if there would be a Compact press availability. No, was the answer. What was that, about openness and transparency?
Later on Wednesday, indigenous people and the actress Signourey Weaver protected outside Brazil's mission to the UN, against the Belo Monte dam. Fox News was there -- incongruous, some said, until they remembered that Lulu is thought to be a left leaning president -- as well as a slew of photographers and paparazzi waiting for Ms. Weaver.
She arrived an hour late, but then spoke with conviction, how after the film Avatar indigenous groups had contacted Avatar director James Cameron. On Saturday Cameron told the Press that in preparing the movie, he had "read books" on indigenous beliefs. Now, he and Ms. Weaver seem to be listening to the indigenous. Oh that this were true of Statoil. Or of the Executive Office of the Secretary General of the UN, at least on oil sands, for that matter.\
