U.S. Chamber to Re-Examine Climate Policy That Cost It Members
U.S. Chamber to Re-Examine Climate Policy That Cost It Members
(Bloomberg) -- A decade after companies fled the Chamber of Commerce over its reluctance to combat climate change, the nation’s biggest business lobbying group is taking a fresh look at the issue.
The chamber on Tuesday announced the formation of a “task force on climate action,” meant to examine how the phenomenon is affecting member companies’ business decisions and how they are approaching climate policy. The open-ended initiative -- modeled after a similar effort on data privacy -- could spur a shift in the chamber’s approach to environmental policy.
As the nation’s largest business trade association, with a nearly $200 million annual budget, the chamber’s approach to the issue carries weight in Washington.
“The number of companies that are thinking about this and taking actions on their own has just grown tremendously in the past few years,” said Neil Bradley, the group’s executive vice president and chief policy officer. This new group could help the chamber in “getting to the bottom of a solution that ultimately works for the entirety of the business community.”
It’s the latest step in the chamber’s evolution on climate issues, amid mounting pressure from politicians, the public and its own members.
Earlier this year, the organization revised its formal policy on climate change to stress that “inaction is not an option” and later endorsed legislation championing innovation in green technology. A month ago, it hired a Democrat to lead its energy institute -- sending a signal that it is eager to chart a new course.
It was a far different story in 2009, when a former chamber vice president called for a public trial on the validity of climate science, leading several major companies, including Apple Inc. and Exelon Corp. to resign from the group. Now, even fossil fuel companies have joined the pressure campaign. Royal Dutch Shell Plc fired a warning shot earlier this year, saying it disagreed with some climate policy views of the chamber as well as eight other groups to which it belongs.
Bradley said the chamber initiative was spurred by repeatedly hearing companies from an array of sectors cite carbon pricing and climate issues as top concerns. While many of the chamber’s members are adapting business decisions in response to the climate change and potential carbon prices, they are doing it in different ways, he said.
“We think by pulling this broad cross section together we can get a picture of what it looks like for the entirety of the business community, which will help inform us on evaluating future policies down the road,” he said.
Tuesday’s announcement comes as business leaders gathered in New York for the United Nations Climate Week jockey to outdo each other with sustainability pledges and carbon-cutting commitments.
Business interests -- including some of the chamber’s own members -- also have endorsed a carbon tax plan.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jennifer A. Dlouhy in Washington at jdlouhy1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jon Morgan at jmorgan97@bloomberg.net, Elizabeth Wasserman
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