Contributed by Ugly

Energy giant AGL has just launched an advertising campaign in order to give itself a new makeover that is surely aimed to counter its bad public image.

Feeling the heat from its activities in the coal seam extraction industry, where it has become a principal target of Indigenous Australians, farmers, local communities and conservationists nationwide, the company is working hard to remould its public persona. Charging domestic consumers a high price for electricity and gas has not helped.

Thus, a move to create an image of a company, focused on producing sustainable, clean energy. The line is that AGL is pulling out of coal and moving into gas in a bigger way. Its new logo incorporates a stylized gas burner.

Critics will see a sleight of hand here. AGL already has a high level of commitment to gas and it is its activities in this field that have contributed most to its bad name in the Australian community. It appears that the aim is to legitimise its current activities.

The counter to this is that AGL states it has set up a $3 billion fund for sustainable energy alternatives and claims it leads in wind farms and solar energy in Australia. The truth is that there is just about no detail on how the fund will be used. And, although the company is involved in wind and solar energy, these are very much a subsidiary to the main game of fossil fuels.

AGL knows that the fossil fuel industry is terminal and that there is no alternative but to eventually switch over. As it positions itself for the longer-term, it seeks to exploit fossil fuels as much as possible, thereby leaving a huge carbon footprint.

It is this carbon footprint that will cause AG’s damaging contribution to global warming and hold back Australia’s transformation to a more widespread, sustainable economy.

This means that AGL’s green advertising campaign has little honesty in it and should not be given credence.

Video from  350.org Australia