Three Major Companies Quit Climate Change Coalition

In a blow to the legislative effort to cap U.S. emissions of greenhouse gas, three influential companies have resigned from the U.S. Climate Action Partnership, a coalition of business and environmental groups spearheading the movement in Washington. Energy companies BP PLC and ConocoPhillips were joined by machine giant Caterpillar in announcing that they would not be renewing their memberships in the group, according to statements issued by each of the companies Tuesday. Gas giant ConocoPhillips’ statement said acting independently of USCAP would allow it to focus its efforts on increasing the use of natural gas. Congressional efforts to cap greenhouse gases so far have “disadvantaged the transportation sector and its consumers, left domestic refineries unfairly penalized versus international competition, and ignored the critical role that natural gas can play in reducing GHG emissions," said Jim Mulva, ConocoPhillips chairman and chief executive officer. Myron Bell, with the Competitive Enterprise Institute, an advocacy group that opposes legislative efforts to cap greenhouse gases, welcomed the announcement. “In dropping out of the U. S. Climate Action Partnership, BP America, Conoco Phillips, and Caterpillar are recognizing that cap-and-trade legislation is dead in the U. S. Congress and that global warming alarmism is collapsing rapidly. We hope that other major corporations will soon see the light and drop their support for cap-and-trade and other energy-rationing legislation,” he said in a statement...read more