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Live Earth Not so Poptastic?

Greenpeace Slams DaimlerChrysler Sponsorship

By Franziska Bossy in Hamburg

Greenpeace is furious at the decision to allow DaimlerChrysler to sponsor Saturday's string of Live Earth concerts. The group claims Daimler is an environmentally unfriendly organization that should not be affiliated with the concert. Meanwhile, poor ticket sales plague the Hamburg show.

This Saturday a 24-hour music marathon will kick off across the globe, with the Live Earth concerts, organized by the climate protection alliance Save our Selves (SOS), stretching across the continents. The first concert kicks of at 5 a.m. in Sydney, Australia, and the day will end with a concert on Copacabana Beach in Rio. Germany's concert is one of two European events, and the proceedings will be opened at 2 p.m. by Colombian superstar Shakira. Even the smallest concert is going to recorded and broadcast: Five scientists working at a research station on Antarctica are planning to play a bit of indie rock for their 17 colleagues.

But environmental campaign group Greenpeace is enraged by the fact that the show is being sponsored by DaimlerChrysler and that the company's Smart car is being used to shuttle artists and other VIPs to and from the concerts.

Live Aid, Live 8 and now Live Earth: Benefit concerts are certainly in vogue these days. The declared aim of the organizers has been to raise public awareness -- for Africa, for a just globalization and now for the fight against global warming. But this well-meaning spectacle could be in danger of being misused as advertising space. In the past the organizers of big benefit concerts, people like Bob Geldof and Bono, have been accused of abusing their roles as saviors of the world to up their status and lure their target audiences. Now the sponsoring debate has given rise to another focus of criticism. At first glance it would appear that Live Earth's goals would have little in common with those of big business. But it seems that cooperation with multinationals is not seen as contradictory, but indeed something that actually might help the organizers to turn their ideals into a reality.

In a message on DaimlerChrysler's Web site, SOS founder, music producer Kevin Wall, welcomes the Smart brand as an official sponsor. "I'm pleased that we've got a strong partner in Smart, which has already taken major steps forward in the battle to stop global warming. Together, we can demonstrate to billions of people that there are technologies on the road today with low CO2 emissions, which is an important contribution to achieving global climate protection goals."

The company's commitment to the more environmentally friendly car seems genuine: "Why use two liters of gas to go buy a liter of milk?" is DaimlerChrysler's message on the Live Earth Web site. The ad is for the smart fortwo -- which, according to the company, at only 88 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer -- boasts the lowest emissions in the world.

It's 'Pure PR'

"The Smart car isn’t even environmentally friendly," counters Greenpeace climate expert Thomas Breuer, talking to SPIEGEL ONLINE. He points out that it can only transport a maximum of two people and a water tank. He thinks the benefit concert could end up being somewhat farcical: When the activist stars peel themselves out of the tiny car, instead of glamorous hybrid vehicles, they will probably end up just looking ridiculous, he says. At the same time he insists that he is justified in accusing the company of exploiting the event for advertising gains.

DaimlerChrysler shouldn’t sponsor concerts, which is just "pure PR," Breuer complains. Instead, he argues, it should really do something for the environment by reducing its entire fleet's emissions. This is the crux of Greenpeace's criticism of DaimlerChrysler sponsorship, he explains. The average level of CO2 emissions from DaimlerChrysler's fleet is 186 grams per kilometer -- well above the automobile industry's own commitment to cut emissions to 140 grams per kilometer. The entire industry kicked up a fuss when the European Union tried to force even deeper cuts. Indeed, EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas failed in his bid to demand that automobile manufacturers lower CO2 emissions in new models from the current 160 grams to 120 grams per kilometer by 2012.

DaimlerChrysler spokesman Christoph Horn told SPIEGEL ONLINE that the company fully recognized concerns about climate change. But he pointed out that this has not spread to all its customers, and there are still greatly varying demands when it came to cars. "We are always trying to reduce CO2 emissions, and we spend €1.4 billion every year on reducing our fleet's fuel consumption." He said the Smart car was at the cutting edge when it comes to low CO2 emissions-producing cars, and is a poster child for the industry's climate protection efforts.

Renewables Would Have Been More Credible

Greenpeace nevertheless declined to be involved in the planning of the concert in Hamburg on Saturday. Breuer told Germany's ddp news agency that it would have been far more credible to try to get sponsors from the renewable energies industry. But the Greenpeace man admits it is a good idea to use concerts to increase awareness about climate change. It can provide a lot of people with food for thought and even spur some into action, he conceded.

Breuer called upon the Live Earth organizers to give as much as possible of the revenues from the ticket sales to environmental projects. He said a sustainable method of creating energy in the poorest regions of the world, such as wind or solar energy, would be particularly worthy of support.

Stars such as Madonna, Jennifer Lopez, and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers are waiving their fees for taking part in the event on Saturday, the brainchild of the former US vice president Al Gore, who will be at the New York concert. Gore wants to try to persuade people around the world to reduce the CO2 emissions by 90 percent by 2050.

But there seems to be a dearth of enthusiasm for the initiative in Germany, where Chancellor Angela Merkel pushed hard this year for an EU-wide climate protection deal. So far only around half of the 450,000 tickets for the Hamburg concert have been sold. Now the Hamburg Tourist office is offering a "Live Earth Package," which includes a ticket, accommodation and breakfast for €69. They are hoping that this can save the concert from being an embarassing flop. Otherwise it could be red faces all round -- for Al Gore and for DaimlerChrysler.