GREENPEACE ISSUES GLOBAL WARNING TO US BUSINESS

5 April 2001

Amsterdam - The top 100 US companies have been given one week to declare their opposition to President Bush's rejection of the international agreement on climate change - the Kyoto Protocol, or face the consequences from concerned consumers, institutions and organisations around the world, Greenpeace said today.

Greenpeace launched the Global Warning campaign today by writing to the CEOs of the top 100 companies on the newly published Fortune 500 list, which is now led by Exxon. Exxon and other American oil and coal companies are seen globally as the chief architects behind the Bush administration's policy on climate change, and who pushed the US President to reverse his campaign promise to limit carbon dioxide emissions from power plants, as well as to walk away from the Kyoto Protocol.

"The American people can register their opinions at the ballot box. But for the rest of the world - shocked at the worst greenhouse polluter's rejection of its responsibility for the global environment - all we can do is register our opinions via the marketplace. From the mail and the phone calls we've been receiving, it's clear that the public wants to do just that, and we want them to make the right choices," said Dr Gerd Leipold, Greenpeace International Executive Director.

The companies have been asked:

Does your company support the ratification and entry into force of the Kyoto Protocol?

Does your company support President Bush in his opposition to this Protocol?

Will your company support or oppose the efforts of other countries to bring the Kyoto Protocol into force without the USA?

Does your company accept the Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change as the scientific basis for action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, particularly carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of coal, oil, and gas?

"A wide range of national governments have already condemned the Bush administration for caving in to oil, coal and gas interests," said Dr Leipold. "We're seeking to provide means for an angry public to respond, in Europe and around the world".

Greenpeace believes that the ratification and implementation of the Kyoto Protocol is an essential, but minimal, first step towards the prevention of dangerous climate change. The world community is aiming to get the Kyoto Protocol ratified and in force by the Rio+10 Earth Summit in September, 2002 in Johannesburg, South Africa.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

- Bill Hare, Greenpeace Climate Policy Director +49 1709057015
- Steve Sawyer, Greenpeace Climate Campaign +31 653504715
- Susan Cavanagh, Greenpeace press desk +31 621296910

www.greenpeace.org/~climate/climatecountdown

Click here for the letter Greenpeace has sent to the top 100 companies on the Fortune 500. (pdf)

Click here for a list of the top 100 companies on the Fortune 500. (pdf)

The Fortune 500 website - www.Fortune.com