Video - Break Up with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce

US Chamber of Commerce way out of touch, PG&E quits

In a previous post, Small but positive steps from business towards Climate Change adaptation,
I related how some 52% of the fortune 500 companies are formulating emissions policies in direct contravention of the US Chamber of Commerce's stance on Climate Change. Now major corporations are quitting the chamber over it's anti-science position. As reported over at Climate Progress, companies are leaving other denier organizations;

PG&E, the major west coast energy supplier has issued this statement,

"We find it dismaying that the Chamber neglects the indisputable fact that a decisive majority of experts have said the data on global warming are compelling and point to a threat that cannot be ignored. In our opinion, an intellectually honest argument over the best policy response to the challenges of climate change is one thing; disingenuous attempts to diminish or distort the reality of these challenges are quite another....

In a letter to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, PG&E Chairman and CEO Peter Darbee cited “fundamental differences” over climate change to explain why the company is pulling out of the organization, despite the Chamber’s “long history as a positive force for America’s businesses and its economy.”

The letter criticized the Chamber for taking an extreme position on climate change, which Darbee said does not represent the range of views among Chamber members. In particular, he took the Chamber to task for its recent demand that there be a “Scopes monkey trial of the 21st century” to challenge the science on climate change….

Darbee also drew a sharp contrast between the Chamber’s approach and the constructive, consensus-driven positions forged by Edison Electric Institute and the U.S. Climate Action Partnership.

Instead, he said, “I fear it has forfeited an incredible chance to play a constructive leadership role on one of the most important issues our country may ever face.”...

This is another in a long line of major companies quitting industry groups that are pushing denial, delay, and disinformation:

• ACCCE takes on water: Alstom quits scandal-ridden coal industry front group, joining Duke and Alcoa — time for GE and Caterpillar to jump ship, too
• Duke Energy quits coal front group over climate bill"

Small but positive steps from business towards Climate Change adaptation

Paul Hawken, in his book The Ecology of Commerce, states that it will be business that brings about the changes in the economy that will address climate change.

"we need a design for business that will ensure that the industrial world as it is presently constituted ceases and is replaced with human-centered enterprises that are sustainable producers."

As reported in the Washington Post by Juliet Eilperin, according to a report due out today from the Carbon Disclosure Project, while the US Chamber of Commerce and the Association of Manufacturers continue to obfuscate and practice diversionary tactics to hinder government progress towards the minimal steps being proposed by the Obama administration, over half of the Fortune 500 companies, 20% more than last year, are making clear statements indicating that they believe climate change will seriously impact their bottom line and are taking steps to address it in their business practices.

"Many of these groups also see global warming as a threat to their bottom lines -- including 84 percent of financial-sector respondents -- citing concerns including a potential shortage of raw materials and supply-chain disruptions because of severe weather. When it comes to climate, corporations "are demonstrating they are willing, ready and able to engage with it," said Carbon Disclosure Project chief executive Paul Dickinson. "We are moving, without any doubt, into a carbon-constrained world," he added...

"It is such a material risk that it needs to be moved from off the balance sheets into the formal disclosure that needs to be made," said Ceres President Mindy Lubber. "To build our economy, we need to be looking at all the risks and opportunities related to climate and water and other limited resources that we use to fuel our economy."...

"We're still growing, but we're getting more efficient at it," said Greg Trimble, Wal-Mart's senior director for global energy development and reporting.

In the meantime, corporate types such as Nike's Figel are trying to convince lawmakers that capping greenhouse gas emissions and providing money so vulnerable countries can adapt to climate change makes sense."

Too little too late? Let's hope not.

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step." - Lao Tzu