Weapons company joins 10:10 coalition to reduce emissions
MBDA faces critcism over "ethical" position
An arms company faced derision and criticism after presenting itself as ethical by signing up to the 10:10 climate change campaign last year. MBDA Systems have pledged to cut their carbon emissions by ten per cent during 2010. The 10:10 pledge has been signed by a wide range of organisations, including businesses, schools and the Conservative Party. Manchester Airport was refused permission to sign, but MBDA’s pledge was allowed on the grounds that the 10:10 commitment does not relate to other aspects of an organisation’s ethics.
However, Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) spokesperson Kaye Stearman insisted that MBDA’s involvement undermined 10:10’s credibility. She told the Friend that ‘The manufacture, trade, use and cleanup of weaponry is highly polluting and carbon-intensive. Reducing emissions doesn’t make arms companies greener, it just makes them more efficient and profitable’.
It is not the first time that the arms industry has attempted to make use of the environmental movement. In 2006, BAE Systems launched lead-free bullets, on the grounds lead in bullets can ‘pose a risk’.
