Climate Change, Development & Aid, Energy, Environment, Global Governance, Headlines, North America

CLIMATE CHANGE: Firms Divided Over Obama’s Emissions Cuts

Eli Clifton

WASHINGTON, Oct 6 2009 (IPS) - Momentum is building in Washington for an overhaul of climate policy, with President Barack Obama signing an executive order Monday directing federal agencies to monitor their greenhouse gas emissions and set targets to reduce their emissions by 2020.

Meanwhile, tensions in the private sector flared as several major companies quit the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to protest the federation’s opposition to federal legislation to cap greenhouse gas emissions.

“As the largest consumer of energy in the U.S. economy, the federal government can and should lead by example when it comes to creating innovative ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase energy efficiency, conserve water, reduce waste, and use environmentally-responsible products and technologies,” Obama said in a statement.

“This executive order builds on the momentum of the Recovery Act to help create a clean energy economy and demonstrates the Federal government’s commitment, over and above what is already being done, to reducing emissions and saving money,” he said.

The executive order from the White House was followed by the release of a study Tuesday which found that improvements in energy efficiency, renewable energy, forest conservation, and sustainable land use worldwide could achieve up to 75 percent of needed global emissions reductions by 2020, providing a savings of 14 billion dollars.

The report, released by the Centre for American Progress and the United Nations Foundation, highlighted the economic benefits of encouraging green energy and energy efficient technologies in both the developed and developing world.

“These actions, along with additional investments in climate adaptation, would deliver a wide range of economic, security, and environmental benefits in developed and developing countries,” read the report.

“Greater international support for these core elements would make an immediate contribution to solving the climate problem and help to achieve a new international climate agreement,” it said.

While the report, and Obama’s executive order for federal agencies, highlight the total savings to be achieved through green energy technology and efficient forest preservation, fault lines have been forming in Washington as industries which stand to benefit from climate change legislation find themselves in increasing opposition to industry groups and companies that will lose out.

The centre of this conflict has focused on the American Chamber of Commerce, which has opposed federal legislation to charge companies for carbon emissions. However, some of its largest members, including the utilities Exelon, PG&E, and PNM Resources Inc., have quit the grouping in protest.

Particularly difficult for the Chamber are the actions taken by highly recognisable brands such as Nike, which resigned from the executive board, and one of the most widely known U.S. brands, Apple, which quit the Chamber Monday.

“We strongly object to the Chamber’s recent comments opposing the EPA’s efforts to limit greenhouse gases,” wrote Apple in a letter to the Chamber’s president Tim Donohue.

“The number of companies supporting action on global warming is growing while the chamber of commerce is shrinking due to its opposition to comprehensive legislation,” Daniel J Weiss, director of climate strategy at the Centre for American Progress, told IPS.

“Since the first companies announced their decision a couple weeks ago, we’ve seen more companies leaving the chamber or reducing their involvement so I suspect this could continue,” said Weiss. “This is unheard of and unprecedented that companies could leave the Chamber of Commerce over the chambers opposition to Clean Energy Jobs legislation.”

The tension over climate change has been heightened over the past week by the introduction of Clean Energy Jobs legislation in the Senate by Sen. Barbara Boxer and John Kerry which, if passed, would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 to 20 percent less than 2005 levels.

Opposition to the bill has focused on the “cap-and-trade” methods by which greenhouse gas emitters would pay for the rights to release emissions.

If passed, the bill would give momentum to the Copenhagen Climate Change conference in December at which the broader architecture of a global climate treaty will be negotiated.

“I look forward to working with my Senate colleagues to deliver to the president a comprehensive clean energy and climate bill as soon as possible to ensure the success of the Copenhagen negotiations,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Domestic commitments – even to curb greenhouse gas emissions in the future – from the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitters are seen as important steps in building support for a global framework on climate change.

Even if the Senate fails to pass the Clean Energy Jobs legislation by December, many are optimistic about an agreement coming out of the Copenhagen conference.

“It’s possible the Senate passes the Clean Energy Jobs bill before December, but even if it doesn’t there’s lots of room for a positive outlook out of Copenhagen,” said Weiss.

“Remember, a lot of other countries, particularly China, have made a lot of similar announcements [about emissions and green energy]. China and the U.S. have a lot of plans underway already.”