Greenpeace wants a “green” Rugby World Cup.
And to be heard, the environmental protection NGO multiplies the means.
This Wednesday, the group will publish an open letter asking the organizers of the next Rugby World Cup, which will take place in France in 2023, to refuse sponsorship from TotalEnergies.
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Recalling the exclusion of Russia and Belarus from the competition, the press release states: “TotalEnergies, the only Western oil and gas major not to have withdrawn from Russia, is still one of the official sponsors of the event”.
The NGO also recalls that this sponsorship contract would finance 1% of the competition, and wonders: “Will the Rugby World Cup spoil the party to keep this 1%?
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A letter and a petition
This open letter is accompanied by a letter sent by the general manager of Greenpeace France Jean-François Julliard to Claude Atcher, general manager of the Rugby World Cup 2023. He declares that "TotalEnergies is one of the largest emitters of CO2 in the world" and that "sports sponsorship is one of the strategies used by TotalEnergies to ensure the social acceptability of its destructive industrial activities by posing as a philanthropic company, at the service of society and sport".
Finally, to raise public awareness and legitimize their action, the members of Greenpeace France have also launched a petition on their website.