The campaign against Esso (or Exxon Mobil in the USA) was initiated by Greenpeace in 2001, though Banksy takes the critique beyond environmentalism, pointing out the contradictory nature of our impulse to preserve nature, while being uncompromising in our modern lifestyles. 

One could go as far as saying that campaigning against an oil ‘‘cartel’’ without addressing the problem of consumerism is analogous to trying to see if a gas tube still holds gas by striking a match to see if it will ignite.