WRI Welcomes Major Reductions of BP's Carbon Emissions

    WASHINGTON--March 11, 2002--The World Resources Institute welcomed BP's announcement today that it has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by about ten million tonnes in the past five years and that in the future, it would peg its emissions at this new, lower level.
    "BP's plan is ambitious; they have proved that oil companies can be part of the solution to the global warming problem if they are serious about it," said Jonathan Lash, WRI president. "Not only has BP reduced its carbon emissions but it has done so at no net economic cost."
    In a speech today at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, BP chief executive Lord Browne said that their emissions of carbon dioxide have fallen to almost 80 million tonnes, or 10 million tonnes below its 1990 levels. The reductions were achieved by increasing productivity efficiency and adopting new technologies.
    "It is striking and encouraging that Lord Browne firmly commits BP to being part of the solution to global warming and recognizes the need not only to deal with the carbon BP emits directly but also the emissions from products it sells to consumers," said Lash.
    He added that humanity needs cleaner, sustainable energy solutions to fuel progress. "We must continue to reinvent the energy business and move away from carbon-intensive sources to new and renewable options like solar, wind, and fuel cells," said Lash. "I wish home-grown energy companies in the U.S. had the vision and the commitment of BP to meet the challenge of global warming - no excuses."
    BP is the largest single supplier of oil and gas in the United States. It supplies 1.5 percent of the world's energy and around 3 percent of the world's oil and gas.

    The World Resources Institute (http://www.wri.org/wri) is an environmental think tank that goes beyond research to create practical ways to protect the Earth and improve people's lives.