Norwegian vitality agency Equinor will now not sponsor the Science Museum in London’s “Wonderlab” gallery, amid claims the oil and gasoline main had struggled to satisfy the museum’s sustainability standards.
The bulk proprietor of the Rosebank oil and gasoline discipline within the North Sea had sponsored the Kensington museum’s Wonderlab, designed to encourage youngsters to grow to be technicians and engineers, since 2016. Nonetheless, the Science Museum’s Chair Sir Tim Laurence confirmed in a weblog submit printed late final month that the take care of the “broad vitality firm” had run its course.
“Equinor’s sponsorship of the Science Museum’s Wonderlab gallery has drawn to a detailed on the finish of their present contract time period,” a Science Museum Group spokesperson stated. “Their contribution has been enormously essential to us and has helped encourage lots of of hundreds of younger potential engineers and scientists.
“The partnership concludes with our heat appreciation and with our ongoing encouragement to Equinor to proceed to boost the bar of their efforts to place in place emissions discount targets aligned with limiting international warming to 1.5C.”
No criticism of Equinor’s local weather file was made within the weblog submit, however marketing campaign group Tradition Unstained has claimed that emails disclosed following a Freedom of Info request revealed the agency had been warned by the director in 2022, and once more in November 2023, that its enterprise was not aligned with the objectives of the Paris Settlement on local weather change.
As such, Equinor could have failed to satisfy a requirement set out within the Museum’s sustainability coverage in November 2020 that sponsors align their enterprise with the Paris Settlement’s objective of limiting international warming to 1.5C.
Tradition Unstained alleged Equinor additionally fell in need of the Museum’s requirement that sponsors obtain Stage 4 on the Transition Pathway Initiative’s (TPI) Administration High quality index, which charges firms from 0 to 4 on their transition to a low-carbon economic system.
Chris Garrard, co-director of Tradition Unstained, described the top of Equinor’s Wonderlab sponsorship as a “seismic shift”, however he challenged the Science Museum to now maintain remaining sponsors from the fossil gasoline business, equivalent to BP and India’s Adani, to the identical requirements.
“After years of mounting strain, the Science Museum has now adopted pink strains on local weather change which have led to Equinor being dropped,” he stated. “But relatively than proudly telling the world that it took motion as a result of its sponsor was flouting local weather targets backed by governments around the globe, the museum continues to push the false narrative that its polluting sponsors are main the vitality transition.
“With BP additionally failing to align its enterprise with Paris Settlement objectives and Adani the world’s largest non-public producer of coal, the museum should now maintain these firms to the identical normal and cease selling their poisonous manufacturers.”
Tradition Unstained claims BP additionally falls in need of the Museum’s sustainability standards and minimal TPI index necessities. However in line with stories the vitality agency at the moment meets the Science Museum’s sponsor necessities as a result of it has targets which might be aligned to the 1.5C objective within the Paris Settlement. The vitality big’s present TPI score additionally complies with Science Museum standards.Â
Furthermore, Laurence’s submit saying the conclusion of Equinor’s sponsorship said that the Museum’s board didn’t agree with options it ought to “rule out” sponsorship from all firms concerned in fossil gasoline extraction, favouring what he known as “constructive engagement” with the sector.
BusinessGreen contacted Equnior for remark, however had not obtained a response on the time of going to press.
The transfer comes after regulators authorised plans to take advantage of the Rosebank oil and gasoline discipline off the coast of Shetland in September, sparking livid criticism from environmental campaigners and authorized challenges.
In line with some estimates, the sector is predicted to comprise upwards of 300 million barrels of oil and gasoline and will lead to over 200 million tonnes of carbon emissions. Calculations by web site Carbon Transient urged the undertaking might lead to emissions equal to the annual output of 93 international locations.
“The Science Museum of all locations mustn’t have taken this lengthy to simply accept that Equinor – a fossil gasoline big – doesn’t align with the Paris Settlement,” stated Lauren MacDonald, lead campaigner at Cease Rosebank. “Nonetheless, the a lot overdue transfer might flip the tide towards the pattern of fossil gasoline sponsorship and greenwash which has grow to be all too widespread in our cultural establishments.
“The museum must be carrying the pink strains it has adopted with satisfaction, not hiding behind company lies that polluting vitality sponsors can deal with the local weather disaster.”
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