The Guardian by Kevin Smith Ken Saro-Wiwa: the day of truth? It will send shockwaves through boardrooms if the predictions of the executed campaigner are proved right in a US court. As shareholders gather today in London and The Hague for Shell’s annual general meeting the board is facing difficult questions over the company’s environmental and human…
This article was first published in Platform’s Carbon Web newsletter, issue 11. Between October 2008 and March 2009, the Treasury pumped £33 billion of public money into ‘bailing out’ the Royal Bank of Scotland, to the point where the bank is now 90% owned by the UK taxpayer. Yet the government continues to insist that…
This article was first published in Platform’s Carbon Web newsletter, issue 11. Despite relying on government funds and insurance for survival, RBS is still pumping millions into oil extraction in conflict zones. In March 2009, RBS was part of a consortium of 14 banks that lent $1,890 million to the Irish company Tullow Oil –…
This article was first published in Platform’s Carbon Web newsletter, issue 11. The collapse in the oil price in the autumn of 2008, tumbling from $147 to $40 per barrel, saw a corresponding rout in one of the most high-cost oil provinces in the world – the Canadian tar sands. From September to April, week…
Carbon Web Newsletter, Issue 11. The falling oil price has pushed the Iraqi government onto the back foot, allowing foreign oil companies to demand greater concessions. The Iraqi government has had to slash its 2009 budget from $80 bn to under $60 bn – and even this revised figure is based on an optimistic $50…
This article was first published in Platform’s Carbon Web newsletter, issue 11. The falling oil price will significantly reduce the bargaining position of oil producing countries. The dramatic crash from an all-time high of $147 a barrel in summer 2008 to $34 in January 2009 has already reversed the trend of resource sovereignty seen…
This article was first published in Platform’s Carbon Web newsletter, issue 11. In mid-March 2009, after the most recent bailout, RBS financed exploration work in previously untouched regions of Greenland’s Arctic. Acting as joint bookrunner with Merrill Lynch on March 11, RBS placed shares worth £116 million for Cairn Energy, a Scottish oil company. Although…
The Royal Bank of Scotland has long ploughed money into fossil fuels – but now we own it, shouldn’t it stop? Kevin Smith looks at the campaign to get the bank to take responsibility for climate damage. First published at https://www.redpepper.org.uk/The-oil-and-gas-bank/ by Kevin Smith. One of the main causes of the current banking crisis has been the…
The government should use its shareholder position in the newly recapitalised banks to push for proactive change from within – This article was first published at https://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/nov/21/banking-crisis. In early November, representatives from 20 different organisations from around the world gathered in Spain as part of the BankTrack network to lay out a response to the banking…
Before they benefit from any kind of bail-out, banks should commit to reducing their investment in fossil fuels. – This article was originally published at https://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/oct/08/fossilfuels.banks. On the same day as it became apparent that RBS would need billions of pounds of taxpayers’ money to save it from collapse, the government’s climate change watchdog warned that we should…