BAD PANDAGreen wash for hire?
This site is deciated to exposing some of the more questoinable pratices of WWF.
BAD PANDA
Australia - Funding under John Howard
WWF has received tens of millions of dollars from the Howard Liberal Government during its terms of office.
In July 2004, Clive Hamilton and Andrew Macintosh from the Australia Institute produce a report title "Taming the Panda: The relationship between WWF Australia and the Howard Government" looking at this and the general issue of WWF's relationship to the Howard government.
A quote form the report:
"The weight of available evidence, although much of it circumstantial, suggests that there are strong grounds for questioning whether WWF Australia can legitimately continue to describe itself as independent." See the Australia Institute report
WWF support for Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act)
WWF along with the Humane Society International (HSI), Queensland Conservation Council (QCC) and the Tasmanian Conservation Trust (TCT) endorsed the Government's proposal to overturn existing environmental legislation and replace it with the EPBC Act.
The majority of the rest of Australia's environment movement opposed the EPBC Act at the time including the Australian Conservation Foundation and The Wilderness Society. Th EPBC Act has been continued to be strongly criticised.
See also the discussoins about support of nuclear, destruction of Tasmanian forests bellow.
International Logging
ALERT: Stop WWF's Betrayal of the Earth's Last Ancient Forests - 27 May 2007 "WWF is the world's largest ancient forest logging apologist; actively promoting questionable "certified, sustainable" logging in Guyana, Russia and -- and may be the World's greatest threat facing endangered ancient forests..." See full article Take Action Article posted on the Rainforest Portal
WWF support for forest destruction in Melbourne's Water Catchments
ITC (integrated tree cropping) are now the second largest destroyer of forest in Melbourne's water catchments, after Australian Paper subsidiary of Paperlinks makers of Reflex. WWF supports ITC's destruction of Melbourne' water catchments and Cental Highland forests.
In a 2006 letter, ITC proudly promotes WWF's support of their forest destruction, "WWF-Australia supports the use of timber from ITC as being from known and uncontroversial sources.", however for those seeking to prevent environmental destructions ITC's logging is very controversial. (See ITC letter)
The Central Highlands Alliance (TCHA) the leading environment group campaigning on stopping the destruction of the Central Highlands Native forests makes the following comment on their website: "The most absurd thing of all is that WWF Australia has endorsed the logging of Melbourne’s water supply, despite its high conservation value, despite its horrific impact on animals and despite its detrimental effect on Melbourne’s water supply- WWF are endorsing the logging company destroying this area" (See ITC letter)
Under Cutting Tasmania's Forest Campaign
In the lead up to the 2004 Federal Election the environment movement prioritised the stopping of the destruction of Tasmania's Old Growth Forests. A combined strategy and ask was developed and was supported by almost all Australian environment groups with an interest in Forest supported a combined ask and forest campaign. Even groups whose primary focus was not forest accepted the placing of Tasmania's forest as the lead issue for the federal election.
Unfortunately WWF released its own ask which under cut the ask of the rest of Australia's environment movement.
Since the 2004 Tasmania's ancient, irreplaceable, old growth forests have been continued to be destroyed.
Boise Cascade Office Products
Boise Cascade Office has been criticised as "one of the worst transnational logging companies in the world."
In 2001 WWF gave permission for the use of its logo on Boise Office Technology's products catalogue. More detail on "Boise Cascade Partners With World Wide Fund for Nature" Company Case Study: Boise Cascade Corporation Rainforest Action Network, tax-exempt status under attack from Boise Cascade
WWF suppots the coal industry
Under any meaningful response to climate change the coal industry has no future.
The coal industry is desperately trying to create the impression to the contray, in an effort to prolong the life of their investments, and get a few more coal plants built.#
The coal industry are doing this by promoting the concept of clean coal, which is a phrase they use to describe techniques that capture some of the CO2 emissions and bury them underground. These processes are called Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) or geosequestration
Unfortunately the coal industry is being help by WWF and other organisations supposedly campaigning for the environment.
WWF and The Climate Institute* recently joined with the Australian Coal Association, CFMEU and in calling for a carbon capture and storage taskforce.
Other environment groups including Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace reject "clean coal" and CCS, with Greenpeace stating "CLEAN coal technology has been labelled a "scam" by Greenpeace, which says it cannot possibly be ready in time to prevent dangerous climate change.". ACF and The Greens support the coal industry spending its own money on CCS.
WWF's support of coal is not new. Promoting a 2007 report into coal use in the Asia Pacific WWF concludes "There is a role for coal in the future of the Asia Pacific"
The problems with "clean coal" / CSS are numerous and include: high cost, long lead in time frames, can't be used on existing power plants, only captures some of the CO2 not all, coal is not clean and releases large amounts of other pollutants including heavy metals and radio active material.Renewables could power our grid today more cheaply than using coal and CCS, so spending money on researching "clean coal" wastes money that could be spend on research into more advanced renewables and energy efficiency options.
WWF CEO, Greg Bourne was still supporting future coal fired power with CCS technology at the 2020 Summit,"The weight of opinion for coal-fired stations without carbon capture and storage I think you would find is incredibly low," Mr Bourne said. (Decision to ban coal plants 'too hard' April 20, 2008)
#For information on the fossil fuel industry's previous attempts to undermine our responce on climate change please look at the ABC Four Courners Program. Guy Pearse's book High and Dry
*John Connor is head of The Climate Institute and is supportive of government funding clean coal initiatives.
WWF-Australia chief executive Greg Bourne support uranium mining
"WWF-Australia chief executive Greg Bourne, a former head of energy company BP Australasia, was quoted as saying Australia was destined - under all governments - to be mining uranium and exporting it to a growing world market." From the Age May 4 2006
Greg Bourne statements were also reported in the Australian in a article titled "Green group accepts uranium mines"
WWF-Australia chief executive Greg Bourne was appointed in September 2004
Greg expresses his views on workign working with business and government on a BP website “Some NGOs simply point out the issues and problems, get prominence in the press, say ‘it’s your problem’ and then leave you [the business] to get on with it. WWF has always been an organisation for governments and businesses to work with to find solutions to environmental problems.”
Picture taken from a BHPBilliton website where is sits on a forum which advises BHP Billiton on social and environmental matters.
See also: Sourcewatch on Greg Bourne
