Greenpeace targets Mobil in international protest

Greenpeace is staging protests at South Auckland Mobil service stations, in an international day of action against a company it describes as "global warming villain No.1".

"Mobil urged George Bush to withdraw from the Kyoto Protocol, the only international treaty to prevent dangerous global warming, said Sue Connor, Greenpeace campaigner.

"As soon as Bush entered the Whitehouse, he tore up the Protocol, exactly what Mobil wanted".

Ms Conner says Mobil in New Zealand must send an urgent message to ExxonMobil in the USA to "stop undermining the Kyoto Protocol and stop fueling global warming".

The Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change has identified the burning of fossil fuels, which releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, as a major cause of global warming.

"Mobil is the largest fossil fuel company in the world. It funded George Bush's election campaign over $NZ 2.5 million. It made $NZ45 billion in profits last year, is spending $NZ 17 billion on new fossil fuel exploration but is not investing in renewable energy," Ms Conner said.