Big business support for cap-and-trade is the reason greenhouse gas emissions have a strong chance of becoming reality this year. The epicenter of big business pro-cap-and-trade lobbying is the U.S. Climate Action Partnership. I wrote a profile on USCAP here, and I have often suspected that what’s going on there is a couple of savvy companies–who know how to profit from government action on climate change–pulling the wool over the eyes of other companies playing defense or looking for good public relations. I wrote so much about Pepsi last summer.
These days, it’s another USCAP member, Caterpillar, that looks like it might be in over its head. Caterpillar CEO Jim Owens said at a White House summit last month that cap-and-trade, if we don’t get China and India to cap emissions as well, could kill his company:
I think if we move unilaterally as the United States with a significant cap and trade program that drives up the cost of carbon here significantly, and our international competitors, the countries don’t move with us, it’s going to create competitive problems for the core — let’s call it the base industries — steel, aluminum, cement — the core feeder stock, if you will, for the manufacturing industry in this country.
Free-market activist investor Tom Borelli asked Owens at the recent shareholder meeting about the possiblity China never curbs its emissions. From a press release from the National Center for Public Policy Research:
Borelli also asked Owens how Owens would be held accountable if Caterpillar’s lobbying led to “a regulatory avalanche leaving the U.S. in an uncompetitive situation.” Owens responded by telling Borelli to just sell his stock.
Getting in with government can make life tricky for a corporation.
