Picking up the gauntlet

Companies can take the lead in practical action to combat climate change. The Third Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Kyoto in December 1997 concentrated minds in the business world. Industry in general, the energy sector in particular - and we at Shell - must now play our part in helping the process to move from sensible words to effective deeds. Industrialized countries made a legally binding commitment at Kyoto to reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions by an average of around 5 % compared to 1990 levels, over the first commitment period from 2008 to 2012. The aim of the Convention on Climate Change is to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level which would limit the impact on the Earth's climate