The Crime of the 21st Century?

Anyone who’s never heard of ‘greenwashing’ before had better familiarise themselves pretty quickly as it is shaping up to be one of this century’s defining words. It’s one that I wouldn’t be surprised to see become a crime as the decades go by. Already some are likening climate denial to holocaust denial with greenwashing being its slightly less offensive little brother.

Racism and homophobia entered the 20^th century as being standard in most countries, and it seemed that this would never change. Nonetheless, the events of that 100-year period changed everything and as we entered the 21^st century, such ideas were fast becoming anathema to many people in most western countries. Indeed, what we saw as commonplace in 1900 had often become a crime by 2000, and in the case of homosexuality, the whole legal approach flipped on its head completely. Homosexuality began the century as a crime, and homophobia (or at least homophobic hate crime) ended the century as one. Things can change fast, and I predict that climate denial, and probably greenwashing, is likely to end the same way.  

And let’s be honest, some large companies have not had great track records on this. Anyone who caught the recent BBC documentary Big Oil v the World will have seen some of the murky behaviour that some fossil fuel companies indulged in, with former ExxonMobil CEO Lee Raymond coming out of it especially badly. Raymond himself refused to appear in the programme. Instead of grasping a chance to show some contrition, he simply came across as repentant as an ageing Nazi found in the Brazilian jungle some 40 years after the end of World War II.  

Read more: "Greenwashing" on the rise, EU looks to clamp down

It’s an attitude that actually makes sense in his position, psychologically. At the age of 80-something, having spent more than half your life muddying the waters of climate science, it’s difficult to change tack. Especially when deep in your heart, you know you lied for money. And it was a lie that made the world a significantly worse place for everyone, including your kids and grandkids. But it was a lie that made you rich. So the good news for the Raymond family is that grandad’s big lie meant that they now have the financial means to weather the coming storms (and floods, droughts and wildfires) in a way that many others do not. 

Raymond aside, the question of a legal basis for litigating against climate deniers and greenwashers is one best left to legislators and lawyers. Nonetheless, one has to consider that if holocaust denial is a crime in some jurisdictions, because of the untold horrors and human suffering that that period of history caused, should the same logic be applied to climate denial?  

In the Big Oil documentary, we learned of the machinations that the industry went through to keep the oil flowing. The science – and let’s be clear, it IS a science – was questioned enough that the 1997 Kyoto Protocol was watered down to a point of becoming ineffectual, and thus we lost nearly two decades in the battle against climate change. Today, in 2022, extreme weather events are commonplace – fires in California, deforestation in Brazil, floods in Pakistan and droughts in Europe.  

And while litigating against some old men won’t change the dire situation that we find ourselves in, just like the trials against old Nazis, it would send a powerful message to those considering indulging in similar behaviour today. There is no question that men like Lee Raymond have the blood of future generations on their hands. 

Read more: COP26: Global standards body launched to combat greenwashing

Industry Europe has long strived to be a publication that champions sustainable businesses. However, one issue that I, as editor, have encountered during my tenure is finding that sweet spot – the balance between pushing the green transition without coming across as some kind of idealistic hippy with no basis in the real world. Because there is another danger here just as great as greenwashing and climate denial – climate weariness.  

One of the green movement’s biggest flaws has long been its tendency to come across as preachy. Most humans, when confronted with endless preachiness, will eventually react against it. People don’t like being told what to do or how to act and as such, we run the risk of a backlash. Therefore, legislators feel they need to walk the line very carefully, especially in a world as divided as this. The long-term sustainability of the push towards a sustainable economy is at stake here, and with the likes of Donald Trump waiting in the wings to pick up the reins of power again, we could begin to see a further regression of the gains made in recent years.  

An interesting barometer will be next month’s election in Brazil. While the western media has focused on the somewhat cherry-picked polls showing a strong lead for leftist candidate Lula da Silva, writing off the incumbent Jair Bolsonaro – arguably the only world leader who makes Trump look progressive - would be a dangerous mistake. After all, this is a man who, like Donald Trump, has defied expectations in the past, emerging from the political fringes to become a powerful force not just in Brazil but on the world stage. 

Read more: Corporate Social Responsibility is for life, not just a news cycle

We live in turbulent times. These days are not days but strange symptoms. Everything is changing and no one can say whether these changes will be for the better or not. One thing of which there is little doubt is that businesses, especially those multinational corporations that put profit above all other considerations must be held to account.

Such action does not amount to an undermining of capitalism but a reinforcement of its core tenets. The whole point of industrial-era capitalism was to raise the living standard of those with the least, not for the rich to amass wealth and then alter the system to entrench their own privilege. Climate destruction amounts to a loss of human life and, while some will find this position to be over-the-top, it is now abundantly clear that greenwashing and climate denial are some of the biggest dangers facing humanity and the planet. It is not something we should tolerate any longer and it’s time for legislators and businesses to act accordingly. 

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