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[greenyes] ConocoPhillips drops out of Arctic Oil Lobbying Group

 ConocoPhillips Drops Out of Arctic Power
    t r u t h o u t | Press Release

    Wednesday 05 January 2005
Joins BP as second oil company to leave arctic drilling lobby group;
shareholders withdraw resolution on issue.

    ConocoPhillips, the largest oil company in Alaska, has dropped out of
Arctic Power, the single-issue lobbying group that promotes opening the
coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil and gas
drilling. The decision by the Houston-based oil giant means that the two
largest operators on Alaska¹s North Slope - BP and ConocoPhillips - are no
longer members of the Arctic drilling lobby group.

    "This is a significant win for America¹s Arctic, and we commend
ConocoPhillips for listening to their shareholders and the American people
and dropping out of Arctic Power," said Athan Manuel, director of U.S.
PIRG¹s Arctic Wilderness Campaign. "It appears that ConocoPhillips and BP
are more enlightened than the Bush Administration when it comes to drilling
in the Arctic Refuge. Hopefully Congress will get the message and defeat
attempts to allow drilling in the Arctic Refuge this year."

    In response to ConocoPhillip¹s decision, Green Century Capital
Management had decided to withdraw a shareholder resolution filed with the
company regarding drilling in the Arctic Refuge.

    "As ConocoPhillips shareholders, we applaud our company¹s decision to
withdraw from Arctic Power," said Green Century¹s Michael Leone.
"ConocoPhillips clearly recognized that drilling in the Refuge would be
risky business, and that participating in Arctic Power¹s pro-drilling
efforts was not ultimately in the company¹s best interests."

    Over the last two years, ConocoPhillips¹ shareholders and
environmentalists have pushed the company to address the risks associated
from drilling in the coastal plain of the Arctic Refuge. An Arctic Refuge
shareholder resolution filed by Green Century received more than 9 percent
of the shareholder vote in May 2004. Green Century refiled the Arctic Refuge
resolution in December 2004, but offered to withdraw the resolution if the
company dropped out of Arctic Power.

    A coalition of environmental organizations and socially responsible
investors first asked ConocoPhillips to drop out of Arctic Power at the
company¹s annual meeting in May. A letter authored by U.S. PIRG and Green
Century, went on to state that dropping out of Arctic Power would
demonstrate to the socially responsible investment and conservation
community that ConocoPhillips is no longer actively advocating drilling in
the Arctic Refuge. An October 2004 coalition letter to ConocoPhillips
reiterated the offer.

    BP dropped out of Arctic Power in November 2002, after a similar
campaign by the PIRG Arctic Wilderness Campaign, the World Wildlife Fund,
and Green Century.

    Since 1998, the PIRG Arctic Wilderness Campaign and its partners have
targeted the four oil companies that have expressed interest in drilling in
the Arctic Refuge. The campaign has filed 15 shareholder resolutions and
generated more than 65,000 e-mails, phone calls, and letters to BP,
ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil, and ChevronTexaco.

    Resolutions have also been filed this year at ChevronTexaco and
ExxonMobil that ask each company to report on the risks of operating in
sensitive areas such as the Arctic Refuge. These resolutions will be voted
on at each company¹s 2005 annual meeting.

    "We hope that these companies will follow ConocoPhillips¹ lead in
protecting shareholder value as well as the environment by withdrawing from
Arctic Power," said Green Century¹s Leone.

    ConocoPhillips¹ decision comes at the start of the 109th Congress,
which will likely debate the fate of the Arctic Refuge in February or March
2005.

    "We hope that ConocoPhillips¹ decision to drop out of Arctic Power will
demonstrate to members of Congress that even the oil companies aren¹t
interested in drilling in the Arctic Refuge," concluded PIRG¹s Manuel. "BP
and ConocoPhillips recognize that drilling in the Arctic Refuge doesn¹t make
sense, and it looks like drilling there is not a priority for either
company."

    U.S. PIRG is the national lobbying office for the state Public Interest
Research Groups. The state PIRGs are non-partisan, non-profit advocacy
organizations.

    Green Century Capital Management, Inc. is the administrator of the
Green Century Funds, the first family of no-load, environmentally
responsible mutual funds.

    For more on the campaign, visit savethearctic.com.

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