By Umberto Bacchi
April 16 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - London's Science
Museum came under fire on Friday for having oil and gas major
Royal Dutch Shell as a sponsor of an upcoming exhibition on
climate change, a move described by environmental groups as
"out-of-step".
The British museum is set to reopen after coronavirus
lockdowns in May with "Our Future Planet", a display focusing on
carbon capture - the process by which planet-warming gases are
sucked out of the atmosphere and stored below ground.
The exhibition, which comes as Britain prepares to host a
major U.N. climate summit in November, lists Shell as one of its
main sponsors - drawing the ire of green activists.
"It beggars belief that this iconic British institution has
freely chosen to link up with Shell ... at such a crucial time,"
Bill McGuire, professor emeritus of geophysical and climate
hazards at University College London, said in a statement.
Environmental group Scientists for Global Responsibility
said the move was "irresponsible", while Culture Unstained, a
group campaigning to end fossil fuel sponsorship of culture,
accused the museum of aiding "greenwashing" efforts.
Ian Blatchford, chief executive of the Science Museum Group,
said the museum was transparent about its relationship with
energy companies and retained editorial control in all such
partnerships.
"Our Future Planet looks at both the cutting-edge
technologies and nature-based solutions being developed to
remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere," he said.
"(The exhibition) makes clear that, alongside reducing
carbon emissions, carbon capture and storage can be one
contribution in the fight against climate change."
Shell said in a statement its relationship with the museum
was based on shared interests to promote engagement in science,
adding that it aimed to become a net-zero emissions energy
business by 2050.
"Our priority is to avoid emissions, where that is not
currently possible, to reduce emissions and, only then, turn to
mitigation of emissions, for example through the use of carbon
capture and storage technology," a spokeswoman said via email.
Carbon capture technologies are seen as a key component in
the fight against global warming, with the UK's Climate Change
Committee describing their development as a "necessity" for the
country to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.
Yet, critics say underground storage space for captured
emissions is limited and focusing on such technologies risks
slowing down the transition to green energy sources.
(Reporting by Umberto Bacchi @UmbertoBacchi in Tbilisi; Editing
by Helen Popper. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation,
the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers the lives of
people around the world who struggle to live freely or fairly.
Visit http://news.trust.org)
