Environmental pressure group Greenpeace is up in arms over the fact that auto giant DaimlerChrysler is the main sponsor for the Live Earth concert taking place in Germany on Saturday.
The concerts themselves are supposed to highlight the sorry state of the planet and the increasing damage that the human race is doing to the environment. But the Live Earth shows which will take place around the world this Saturday are under fire due to the German event being sponsored by a major automotive company.
Environmental pressure group Greenpeace is livid that the Live Earth concert in Hamburg will be broadcast to the world with the name of DaimlerChrysler splashed all over it. The fact that Daimler manufactures large, pollution-spewing automobiles, Greenpeace claims, means that a more inappropriate sponsor than the car giant would be hard to find.
Greenpeace are also angry that the company's Smart car is the official vehicle of the Live Earth artists and models are being used at the Hamburg gig to ferry stars such as Colombian singer Shakira around. The environmentalists claim that the car isn't even environmentally friendly as it can only carry two people.
They also state that the vehicles in DaimlerChrysler's fleet continue to have an average level of CO2 emissions of 186 grams per kilometer despite an industry commitment to reduce emissions to 140 grams per kilometer.
Official car the "poster child" for auto industry
DaimlerChrysler have hit back saying that the Smart Fortwo range has one of the lowest emission ratings in the world, churning out only 88 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer and was the "poster child" for the auto industry's attempts to address the damage caused by emissions. In an interview with Germany's Der Spiegel magazine, Daimler spokesperson Christoph Horn said that the company was committed to reducing CO2 emissions, and spent
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