Bring claims to account before you Shell out...

AS one of the world’s biggest oil and gas companies, Shell is no stranger to criticism about the impact it has on the environment.

When the energy giant sent a tweet asking how many people were reducing their emissions it went viral, but not for the reasons it would have hoped.

Promoting a debate about climate change that it had organised, Shell asked: “What are you willing to change to help reduce emissions?” posting a poll with four options i ncluding “offset emissions”, “stop flying”, “buy electric vehicle”, and “renewable electricity”.

The US congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-cortez wrote: “I’m willing to hold you accountable for lying about climate change for 30 years when you secretly knew the entire time that fossil fuel emissions would destroy our planet.”

Climat e scienti st Pet er Kalmus accused Shell of gaslighting the public by suggesting individual actions could stop the climate crisis, rather than systemic change to the fossil fuel industry.

Greta Thunberg accused the company of “endless greenwash”. Her tweet refers to executives at Shell who have admitted they knew decades ago

that burning fossil fuels would cause the planet to warm. Shell chief executive Ben van Beurden said i n Ti me ma ga z i n e this year : “Yeah, we knew. Everybody knew.”

Navigating the minefield of confusing, misleading claims chucked at us on a daily basis by firms is exhausting when all you want to know is what is best for the environment.

Until now, the onus has b een on us to deciph er whether ethical claims stand up. But the Competition and Markets Authority has now said it will investigate wheth er companies are guilty of “greenwashing” when labelling consumer products as eco-friendly.

Clothing, travel, food, beauty and cleaning products will all be examined and “appropriate action” will be taken if firms have broken consumer protection law by making vague or false claims.

This probe is welcome news and recognition that while we want to play our part in being greener, consumers are often tripped up before we get to the till.

But it is how we heat our homes, fuel cars and power industry that concerns me most if we are to tackle greenhouse gas emissions. Energy firm claims must also be scrutinised so we can trust them so people are never kept in the dark again.

ANGER Ocasio-cortez