The floods in Pakistan, the heat and drought in Europe, the unprecedented heat wave in China, the drought-induced famine in the Horn of Africa. Yes, the Belgian Flemish public broadcaster regularly reports on all these phenomena. There are also a lot of pieces that make the link between extreme weather, the impact of humans and climate change. You would think that the public broadcaster would realize the seriousness of the problem.
But apparently this is not the case. During Everyone Famous (Iedereen Beroemd) , the public broadcaster advertises TotalEnergies on a daily basis. This company has known for decades that fossil fuels lead to climate change. Because that knowledge is a threat to profit margins, TotalEnergies spends a lot of money on greenwashing and disinformation.
This alone should be enough not to cooperate with it. But there’s more. In this time of exploding energy prices, TotalEnergies appears to be making mega profits. You can read more about this on the VRT website. Yet the same broadcaster has no problem with being sponsored by this company that makes mega profits at the expense of families and companies. What’s more, I also read on VRT NWS that TotalEnergies is profiting from the war in Russia by selling kerosene for the Russian bombers.
In summary: TotalEnergies is a company that makes profits, kills the climate, enables bombings and tells lies. Then you would think that someone at the public broadcaster would think for a while before concluding a sponsorship deal? Nope, every day the viewers get to see the logo during a playful quiz.
Moral of the story: In the end, revenue is more important than the climate. That’s why we still get masses of advertisements on television and in newspapers for off-road vehicles, air travel, patio heaters and cruise trips. This is also the reason why we are not making progress in the fight against the multiple environmental crisis. As long as economic interests take precedence over health and nature, we will continue to set course for the abyss.
It is still somewhat understandable that a commercial channel succumbs to the big money of polluting companies. But it is unacceptable for a public broadcaster to actively participate in greenwashing. Cover that logo, find another sponsor, or just cut this item from the program.
And there may also be a role for the government here. Just as advertising for smoking is prohibited, it can be decided to ban any form of promotion for fossil fuels and combustion engines from the public space. Because in the meantime we know – thanks to the excellent information from the public broadcaster – that the damage of fossil fuels will far exceed that of smoking.
Personal Remarks
What do I think of it?
Hold on, I’m still processing the allegations regarding the …. selling of kerosene for the Russian Bombers … isn’t that war profiteering …. while many companies are shutting down their operations in Russia to support the Ukrainian cause?
And what about the billions of profit while Europeans are fast forwarding into a recession?
Not to speak about ze “greenwashing” claims.
TotalEnergies is one of the biggest producer and promoter of PLA through their “TotalEnergies Corbion” Joint venture.
And under the “TotalEnergies Corbion” Presidency of European Bioplastics; they conspired against my person (read the following article … European Bioplastics Calls for a Boycott …. big multinationals conspiring against a blogger…what an act of bravery and courage…. or shall I say cowardice …. come and tell this to me face-to-face without your expensive suite and your attaché caisse .
What a farce!
It’s hypocrisy ….. you promote a new plastics as “sustainable” on one hand but you’re involved in shady business practices on the other hand.
What a lack of corporate standards and morals ….
Ladies and gentlemen, I’m not perfect, I make mistakes, and I sometime react “passionately” …. but i’m not a war profiteer …. I don’t harm individuals …. I don’t conspire against individuals and bloggers ….I don’t destroy the environment … I don’t greenwash …. and I try to place the truth as my guiding principle.
Anyway, … a new era has come …. it’s time to act like gentlemen … Mentor the new generation to behave and act like gentlemen!
And by the way … don’t get me started over “Total Elf Fina” (how the company used to be called in the past) …. 3 words that make the African soil shake …. corruption …. corruption…. corruption.
Ze skeletons are pretty heavy …