Shelling Out?

George Monbiot wonders why the UK's Science Museum takes sponsorship from the Shell petrochemicals company (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/apr/21/science-museum-shell-money-exhibition-climate). Monbiot finds it particularly galling that some of this sponsorship is used to fund an exhibition devoted to climate change. Oil companies are major generators of 'greenhouse gases' and sponsorship allows them to burnish 'green' credentials they don't have. Much, for example, is made in the exhibition of Shell's support for carbon capture techniques. These are much talked about but quite rare. Sometimes, the captured carbon dioxide is even used to drive more oil out of rocks. Monbiot regards this as an example of a 'technofix'. He sees strong parallels between Shell's sponsorship schemes and what the Tobacco companies did decades ago. The Tobacco companies funded 'research' into public health; sponsored sports etc. Monbiot thinks Shell's real aim is to maintain public support for as long as possible, allowing them to carry on with their business model. He believes Shell should cease its extractions and use some of their finances to make environmental changes (like reforestation), that will actually reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide. Monbiot feels that the Science Museum (like many of the premier Arts establishments), should simply refuse any sponsorship offered by Shell.