Politico:
Two coalitions of top US corporations are using Washington visits and more than $1 million in advertising to prod the Senate and White House to accelerate work on an energy and climate bill.
Executives from the groups tell POLITICO that they will argue they need certainty to plan for the future. And although some companies disagree, these executives contend that many businesses, and the overall economy, would eventually benefit from the new law.
The House has passed a tough climate bill, but the Senate has looked unlikely to follow suit ahead of a United Nations climate change conference in Copenhagen beginning Dec. 7.
But in a new open letter to President Barack Obama and the U.S. Senate, two dozen major brands -- ranging from eBay to HP to Gap to PG&E -- declare: “We are business leaders from companies of all sizes and many sectors calling for your leadership. We call on you to enact comprehensive legislation... Now it’s time for the United States Senate to act.”
This kind of takes the wind out of the sails of Republicans and Blue Dogs who claim that fighting global warming is bad for business; business doesn't seem to think so. In fact, the US Chamber of Commerce has taken the anti-environmental, global warming-skeptic stance and it's been costing them members left and right.
Many want to know what the regulations will be in order to plan for them and develop new strategies. Timberland President and CEO Jeff Swartz says he needs to see the unvarnished facts "and I’ll get around to innovating in order to make a profit against them."
"I’m a boot maker, and I just want a chance to get a clear signal from our government: This is the price of doing business," he said. "I think, ‘Terrific. I can get back to work.’ We didn’t have to have a minimum wage before; we didn’t have to have [Occupational Safety and Health Administration] regulations before. And guess what? CEOs figure out how to make a profit when you tell them what the cost structure is."
Don't expect all corporations to go along, but a corporate world battle over climate change legislation is probably a good thing. For too long, the most polluting industries have been the only voice of business in Washington.
And don't expect all these corporations to support everything that would make for good or effective law. It may be that these coalitions become fractious over the details. But if they're behind the broad strokes, that's more than half the battle.
