Friday, February 12, 2010

Lobbyists for US cap and trade face daunting task

Lobbyists for US cap and trade face daunting task; Reuters

The U.S. Senate's stalled climate bill is getting a last big push from an unlikely ally -- a group of energy companies who say a carbon market will help them get financing for the next generation of energy production.

But intensive lobbying by these climate bill proponents -- including heavyweights like Duke Energy, Shell Oil Co and General Electric Co -- may not be enough to counter powerful opposition and get a bill passed before the U.S. mid-term elections in November.

President Barack Obama says he still backs a climate bill but many have written off the chances of passing legislation with the most controversial provision: a market that aims to cut pollution by letting companies buy and trade permits to emit greenhouse gases.

Nevertheless, some major U.S. companies are pushing for a bill that would include this cap-and-trade system, saying it would create a modern energy economy and thousands of jobs.

As a record snowfall stunned Washington this week, stalling legislation, executives at big energy companies met lawmakers to seek a compromise deal on cap-and-trade.

Duke Energy Chief Executive Jim Rogers and Shell Oil Co President Marvin Odum met moderate lawmakers, seeking ways to push such a bill in the Senate that has made little progress.

One idea is to allow cap-and-trade to be implemented on power utilities first, with regulations on oil refineries and other industries coming later.

Proponents from industry are lobbying with environmentalists under the U.S. Climate Action Partnership, who still want a bill regulating emissions of planet-warming gases across all sectors of the economy. They say cap-and-trade will create a lot of jobs and boost the economy.

But climate legislation has fierce opponents in the main U.S. business lobby, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and most Republican lawmakers, some of whom doubt the threat of global warming. Few climate bill proponents are confident there are enough votes in the Senate to pass the bill, especially with Democratic fortunes falling ahead of the mid-term elections. ...

Odum said an emissions market would create hundreds of thousands of jobs as companies race to begin building a new energy system. In such markets, governments limit pollution and let cleaner companies earn valuable credits to sell.

Lobbyists for cap-and-trade, who also include General Electric Co, must find ways to bring in other energy and industrial companies that have opposed the system, said Dan Weiss, an energy expert at the Center for American Progress.

Otherwise, they will not be able to secure the 60 votes in the Senate needed to avoid a Republican filibuster and pass the bill. ...

A compromise bill being hashed out by Senators John Kerry, a Democrat, Lindsey Graham, a Republican, and Joe Lieberman, an independent, is not expected to be out before March.

Lobbyists for companies that support a cap-and-trade system have taken heart in signals from the trio of senators, and in recent comments from President Obama, that a compromise could pick up votes.

Rogers at Duke said the lobbyists are targeting 15 to 17 Democratic and eight to 10 Republican Senators to win votes.

A "hybrid" bill, that would impose cap-and-trade on power plants and an emissions fee on other industrial sources of greenhouse gases, could break down resistance from lawmakers in states that produce oil and natural gas. ...

Read the complete article here.

Bloggers note: Bold font was used by blogger.

Comment: Let's consider two facts here: there is no such thing as man made global climate change, the climategate scandal has exposed the truth of the matter; and carbon trading is another name for taxation. (If you would like to add other facts, please do.)

Yet our Senators, albeit for angry voters in Massachusetts, who are stricken with a moderate degree of fear at this time, actually and privately want to pass this massive piece of fascism that would hand companies like Duke Power, Shell Oil and General Electric billions of dollars in tax revenue (carbon trading) leaving the citizenry to pay for the retooling of this particular industry rather than through the normal business methods of profit reinvestment and general bank loans. Are they mad?

Yes they are, and our Senators are beholden to these lobbyists. If there is one reason, namely cap and trade, to fight tooth and nail for the repeal of the 17th Amendment, this would be the issue!

2 comments:

creditcarddebtelimination said...

Why is everyone talking about carbon trading when the whole thoery has been proven false because the data for the "hockey stick" was fabricated?

This debate should be over - unfortunately greedy individuals and corporation that stand to make a bundle if the carbon tax is implemented are driving this broken debate.

danq said...

If you've ever lived in Northeast PA for more than 15 years, Climategate and this weather isn't news to you.

For the past 15 years, we've had nothing but extreme weather - extremely long, snowy, icy winters followed by massive flooding in the Spring when the Delaware River melts. In fact, a local radio station had to (somehow) buy itself back out of ClearChannel due to mishandling of annual local emergencies.

Some roads have been closed off for years because of this cycle of ice and flooding. Lots of car accidents in the winter. This area was once a retirement community, but now it's too cold for seniors and everyone's going to South Carolina/Virginia now.

For an example of our bizarre weather, in 2009 we had SNOW on June 1st, followed by a 3-month Spring/Summer Hybrid and SNOW again on Sept. 11th. It isn't usually that bad but we do have late winters and short Spring/Summer Hybrids.

We have been mocking and joking about global warming and how we're all waiting and praying for it, and now the rest of the country is going through what we've been.