BARCIK demands that fossil fuel industry is shown the door

Dhaka, Bangladesh—Today, environmental groups rallied to demand Bangladesh delegates to the UN climate treaty take decisive action to address the corrosive influence of the fossil fuel industry on climate policy. The action is part of a global series of actions calling for governments to launch a global investigation into industry interference at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

“Thanks to interference from big polluters, the Paris Agreement doesn’t go far enough to prevent the worst effects of climate change here in  Bangladesh” said BARCIK Researchers , “We, the people, urge our government leaders to take action in Bonn to eliminate the primary obstacle to more ambitious and aggressive action by showing big polluters the door.”

The multinational companies violate the existing acts and policies of Bangladesh while spreading and boosting their business and trade on fossil fuel. Their interventions seldom respect the relationship in the nature among all living organisms. The lack of consideration to protect the nature and environment has resulted in the crisis in the environment of Bangladesh. This also intensifies the rapid change of climate in this area. Thus the accident and activities of Occidental, EUNOCOL and Chevron in Lawachera Forest of Bangladesh, the proposed opne coal mining of NIKO in Phulbaria of Bangaldesh have and will surely pose major risks and hazards to both humans and environment of the area.  On May 16, delegates to the UNFCCC will convene in Bonn, Germany for the first time since the Paris Agreement was gaveled through last December. While the agreement has been applauded as an historic accomplishment, many have criticized it for not being ambitious enough to prevent the worst impacts of climate change.

“The Paris Agreement doesn’t go far enough. In fact, without more ambitious action now, we will be on a path that far exceeds the temperature threshold that would prevent the worst effects of climate change,” said Patti Lynn of Corporate Accountability International, “To ensure governments can take action far beyond the Paris Agreement, we must first ensure that those that wish to undermine progress–polluting industries like Big Oil, Coal, and Gas—are out of the room.”

From aggressive lobbying at the regionallevel to financial sponsorship of international meetings, the industry interferes at all levels. Industry cooptation of treaty meetings has been a growing problem and a primary obstacle to progress. At the 19^th Conference of the Parties (COP) in Warsaw, corporate entities with a direct conflict of interest in the treaty’s success not only sponsored the talks, they were given preferential access to delegates.

And, at COP21 in Paris, industry interference was a central concern. The meetings, dubbed the “Corporate COP,” were financially sponsored by dozens of corporations with massive carbon footprints and track records of undermining sound climate policy. Inside the meetings, special areas were created for corporations and everything from charging stations to water fountains were branded.

Today’s events are part of a rapidly growing movement of people demanding that big polluters are removed from the climate policymaking process. To date more than 570,000 people have joined the call, which was launch in May of 2015.

To view the petition, go to www.KickBigPollutersOut.org.