The image created by this accelerating exodus of firms from the GCC was that of rats abandoning a sinking ship. It reflected the conflict emerging within GCC ranks between firms that were clinging to the past and those that were planning for the future. Some of the exiting companies, such as BP Amoco, Shell, and Dupont, joined a progressive new group, the Business Environmental Leadership Council, now an organization of some 21 corporations. This new outfit, founded by the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, says, We accept the views of most scientists that enough is known about the science and environmental impacts of climate change for us to take actions to address its consequences. Other leading companies that have joined the Council are Toyota, Enron, and Boeing.
Membership requires individual companies to have their own programs for reducing carbon emissions.
BP Amoco, for example, plans to bring its carbon emissions to 10 percent below its 1990 level by 2010, exceeding the Kyoto goal of roughly 5 percent for industrial countries. Dupont has one of the most ambitious goals of any company, going far beyond that of Kyoto. It has already cut its 1990 greenhouse gas emissions by 45 percent and plans to reduce them by a total of 65 percent by 2010, rendering hollow the claim that lowering carbon emissions to meet the Kyoto goal is not possible. On the supply side, BP Amoco and Shell are investing heavily in new sources of energy. BP Amoco is now a leading manufacturer of solar cells.