US companies prepare for climate legislation

20 November 2008


As momentum builds in the US for the creation of a national cap-and-trade greenhouse gas emissions programme, the country’s industrial community is preparing itself for operation within the confines of a low-carbon economy.

The US Climate Action Partnership (USCAP) has called for major reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, while Entergy said that it has become a founding member of the American Carbon Registry. The announcements come as President-elect Barack Obama confirmed that he would seek to fulfil a campaign promise to introduce a national greenhouse gas emission trading scheme.

USCAP, whose members include BP America, Caterpillar, FPL Group, GE, Shell, Siemens and the World Resources Institute, has called for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions that are 60 to 80 per cent below current levels by 2050. Its members believe that investment in green technologies will help to revive the US economy.

USCAP’s proposed emission cuts are in line with Obama’s plans, which include strong annual targets aimed at reducing US emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 with a mid-century cut of 80 per cent.

“This is exactly the kind of leadership the country and the world have been waiting for,” said Eileen Claussen, President of the Pew Centre on Global Climate Change. “President-elect Obama’s statement makes clear that he’s ready to roll up his sleeves and deliver the action that is needed to protect our climate, our economy, and our national security. He is setting the right goals and choosing the right policies.”

The American Carbon Registry aims to provide transparency and set standards for companies aiming to make voluntary emission reductions in the pre-compliance market. It members include the World Bank, Renewable Choice Energy and Cool Climate.

“We are very proud to serve as a founding member of a programme that will play a crucial role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and solving our climate crisis,” said Brent Dorsey, Entergy’s director of corporate environmental programmes. “The establishment of a carbon registry shows true leadership, which is necessary in order to get the country on the right pathway to stabilize temperature increases going forward.”

Further impetus for a compulsory emission reduction scheme has come from environmental group Ceres, which has launched a new business coalition with five major US brands to lobby for strong climate and energy legislation in the US next year. Known as Business for Innovative Climate and Energy Policy (BICEP), the coalition is founded on eight key principles that include stimulating renewable energy, promoting energy efficiency and green jobs, requiring 100 per cent auction of carbon allowances, and limiting new coal fired power plants to those that capture and store carbon emissions.

Its founding members – Starbucks, Levi Strauss, Nike, Sun Microsystems and Timberland – are aiming to work directly with the business community and members of Congress to pass legislation consistent with its core principles.

“These companies have a clear message for next year’s Congress: move quickly on climate change to kick-start a transition to a prosperous clean energy economy fueled by green jobs,” said Mindy S. Lubber, president of Ceres.

Speaking earlier this week, Obama pledged $15 billion in annual spending to “catalyse private sector efforts to build a clean energy future”, including solar, wind, biofuels, nuclear and clean coal technologies.

“Stopping climate change won't be easy,” said Obama in a video-taped speech available on his transition web site. “But I promise you this: When I am president, any governor who’s willing to promote clean energy will have a partner in the White House. Any company that’s willing to invest in clean energy will have an ally in Washington. And any nation that’s willing to join the cause of combating climate change will have an ally in the United States of America.”




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