15 July 2008 - Green MEP for the South East Dr Caroline Lucas will use her speaking time at tomorrow’s Guardian Climate Change Summit (tomorrow, Wednesday 16 July) to slate energy giant E.ON’s sponsorship of the high profile event promoting responsible environmental policy.

She commented: “While I welcome the Guardian’s efforts to promote private, public, political and campaign sector debate around climate change, and accept that commercial backing is necessary in this instance, the decision to allow a company like E.ON to gain a PR win by sponsoring the summit is completely misguided.

“E.ON is currently applying for planning permission to build the first new coal-fired power station in Britain for 30 years at Kingsnorth in Kent. The new plant would emit more than 7 million tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere each year - that’s as much C02 as the world’s 24 lowest emitting countries combined - and would potentially keep doing so for 50 years.”

Earlier this month, Dr Lucas was joined by Keith Allott, head of climate change campaigns at WWF, in writing to the Guardian to ask that E.ON’s commercial backing be revoked.

She said: “This is not an issue of calling into doubt the Guardian’s unquestioned reputation for unbiased reporting – I have no doubt that the Guardian will continue to report on E.ON’s activities without fear or favour. This is an issue of E.ON associating itself with the Guardian’s summit as a cynical move to try to repair its damaged reputation.

"It’s understandable that it should try. What is not understandable is that the Guardian should connive in its attempt.”

E.ON is the subject of a massive campaign involving a host of environmental organisations and activist groups. The Environmental Audit Committee, Royal Society and the Investors Group on Climate Change have also been highly critical of the UK’s preference for coal, as symbolised by Kingsnorth.

Dr Lucas will take part in an organised protest against E.ON’s involvement in the Guardian Climate Change Summit on the morning of the event. She will join members of the activist group Greenwash Guerillas outside London’s Business Design Centre to highlight the company’s crimes against the climate.

The longstanding Green campaigner will also speak on the need to forge ahead with environmental policy in the current economic climate, as well as outlining the urgent need to invest in a future of fossil-fuel-free renewable energy. She will say:

“We are facing a triple crisis – the credit crunch, the climate crisis, and the crisis of soaring oil prices, underpinned by encroaching peak oil. Some say that we cannot afford environmental measures. But it is precisely at a time of economic difficulty that strong measures to reduce our crippling dependence on fossil fuels are needed most.

“What we need is a Green New Deal: a massive investment in energy efficiency, renewable energy and wider environmental transformation in the UK, could lead to the creation of thousands of new green collar jobs, addressing all three aspects of the crisis at the same time.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors

To learn more about the Greenwash Guerillas, please visit www.greenwashguerrillas.org.

For information or interviews regarding the Greenwash Guerillas protest, please call 07772 861099 or email press@climatecamp.org.uk.

The Guardian Climate Change Summit: http://environment.guardian.co.uk/climatesummit/page/0,,2274295,00.html