Tim Juliani's blog

For many of us in the climate world, these days feel a bit like being in the movie The Day After, where nuclear winter had descended and John Lithgow was on the HAM radio calling out, “…Is there anybody out there? Anybody at all…?”

OK. So it’s not quite that bad.  But as we all know, Congress has been reshaped, and some long-time supporters of climate action (and coal) such as Rick Boucher (D-VA) are out, while others who ran ads literally shooting a rifle at a cap-and-trade bill, are in. And the number of actual climate deniers walking the halls of Congress has also increased.

So with the picture seemingly so bleak, and the chances of comprehensive climate legislation highly unlikely in at least the next couple of years, it would be natural for many in the corporate community to relax and think that they no longer have to think about climate change.

I think this would be dead wrong.  And lest you wonder about my grasp on reality, let me explain why.

First, let’s look to California.  Voters forcefully rejected Proposition 23, a measure that was a full-frontal assault on the nation’s most aggressive climate bill.  They also rejected a gubernatorial candidate who had promised to postpone AB32 for at least a year, and instead elected a governor who campaigned on aggressively implementing the same law.

California is the world’s 8^th largest economy and typically leads the nation in environmental protection. The fact that it will soon be implementing a cap-and-trade system and other aggressive measures to reduce GHGs should be an indication that the issue is not going to quietly disappear into the night.  It is also remarkable that much of the financial support for the “No on Prop 23” campaign came from the venture capital and tech industries, which understand the market opportunities that clean energy and energy efficiency provide.

And while the political landscape may have changed this week, the businesses' case for taking climate action has not.  Leading companies should continue to keep climate and sustainability as an element of their core corporate strategies, and in my conversations over the past few weeks, they are. Regardless of whether federal climate legislation is adopted, “climate change” is a proxy for a number of critical operational issues such as energy, water, waste, and supply chain efficiency.  Companies that have a comprehensive plan to reduce their impacts in these areas realize not only bottom-line benefits, but reputational benefits as well.

And finally, let’s not forget the climate science.  The reality is that regardless of the state of policy, the climate continues to change, impacts are already being felt in our own backyards, and by not acting we continue to load the dice in favor of deeper floods, longer droughts, and bigger wildfires.  While politicians move at one pace, nature does not react to polls or get voted out of office.  And as one of my favorite cartoons of the last year points out, even if this were all just an elaborate hoax, the biggest risk of investing in clean energy, energy efficiency, water and waste management is that we would have created a healthier, safer world all for “nothing.”

Tim Juliani is Director of Corporate Engagement

I will be the first to admit that I don’t really understand the California election process. Governors are recalled and propositions seem to proliferate at every election cycle.  What I do understand is that these propositions can have dramatic consequences—after all, elections do matter.  Most folks who are reading our blog have likely heard of Prop 23, which would effectively stop the implementation of California’s landmark climate change law, AB32.  Environmental groups, clean energy entrepreneurs and big names such as Bill Gates and James Cameron have poured large amounts of attention and $25 million into the “No on 23” campaign, even as refiners Valero and Tesoro—and the now infamous Koch Brothers—fund the Yes campaign.  Luckily the opponents have been getting the upper hand recently, with polls saying just over 50% of likely voters plan to vote against the prop—including both gubernatorial candidates.

Listening to opponents of clean energy and climate legislation and their predictions of American economic ruin if we try to reduce greenhouse gas pollution, you could scarcely imagine that even one business would be crazy enough to support energy and climate policy.  Yet today, a group of 60 leading organizations and businesses representing over $1.2 trillion in revenue and over 1 million American employees sent a letter  to the President and the Senate proving that idea wrong.  These groups collectively said:

“The time to act is now. The U.S. needs a comprehensive energy and climate policy that will get us back on track by creating American jobs in the new, low-carbon economy…We face a critical moment that will determine whether we will be able to unleash homegrown American innovation or remain stuck in the economic status quo. Much as the transcontinental railroad ushered in an unprecedented era of expansion, innovation and economic growth, the transition to a diversified clean energy economy offers extraordinary opportunities for environmental and economic rewards. Americans need and deserve a comprehensive energy and climate policy and we urge you to take action without delay…It’s time for Democrats and Republicans to unite behind bipartisan, national energy and climate legislation that increases our security, limits emissions, and protects our environment while preserving and creating American jobs.”

While opponents of a clean-energy economy try to frame both climate legislation and the US Climate Action Partnership (USCAP) as dead wood, today Weyerhaeuser—the multi-billion dollar forest products company—confounded those voices in announcing it has joined the USCAP coalition.  The company has long had a commitment to address climate change, and it has been an active member of our Business Environmental Leadership Council for nearly twelve years. 

This is more than a lone green shoot, as Weyerhaeuser joins an ever-growing chorus of companies calling for the U.S. economy to regain its competitive edge rather than let other countries corner the emerging global clean-energy market.  Weyerhaeuser, like the 24 companies in USCAP, 46 companies in BELC, 65+ companies on the recent Wall Street Journal and Politico ad and the over 2600 companies in the American Business for Clean Energy Coalition, all understand that we can protect our natural resources and future generations from climate change, while creating American jobs, taking back control of our own energy future, and enhancing our national security. 

The business community is leading on the issue—now we need the Senate to follow.

Tim Juliani is Director of Corporate Engagement in the Markets & Business Strategy group

If you take a look today at page A16 of today's Wall Street Journal, or inside the pages of the Politico, you will find something remarkable.  Just a day after some pundits declared that energy and climate legislation could be off the agenda after the Massachusetts election, a diverse group of 88 organizations has come together to say the exact opposite.  The message is unambiguous: Democrats, Republicans, and Independents should unite behind bi-partisan, national energy and climate legislation that increases our security, limits emissions, while both preserving and creating jobs.

While Congress continues to debate health care, the business community this week continued to lead on climate change.  On Tuesday, we joined 6 other  NGOs and 22 companies to launch a new full-page ad supporting comprehensive clean energy and climate change legislation.  Fourteen members of our Business Environmental Leadership Council (BELC) signed on to the ad, which ran in The Washington Post, The NY Times and USA Today.  For several of these companies, this was the first time they have stood up so publicly to support capping carbon.  Other ads from similar coalitions are running in papers all across the country.

I also want to give props to Honeywell for joining the U.S. Climate Action Partnership (USCAP).  Honeywell is a $28 billion manufacturer of all types of goods from aerospace to home heating and cooling.  By joining USCAP, they further demonstrate the diversity of industries that are committed to tackling climate change through the Blueprint for Legislative Action. 

Over the past two weeks, three utilities – PG&E, PNM Resources, and Exelon – made public decisions not to renew their membership in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.  These three companies are members of both our Business Environmental Leadership Council (BELC), as well as the U.S. Climate Action Partnership (USCAP), of which we are a founding member.  We have been asked a lot recently to comment on the significance of these moves, and whether other companies will follow suit. 

The decision by these companies to exit the chamber is another clear indication that the political dynamic surrounding climate change legislation has changed dramatically in the last several years. No longer can businesses be counted on to march in lockstep opposition to mandatory greenhouse gas legislation. In fact, today the companies involved in USCAP and other progressive business coalitions have emerged as some of the biggest and most effective supporters of comprehensive climate change legislation. Business support was critical in moving climate change to the top of the Congressional agenda, and will likely be the deciding factor in steering legislation to enactment.

While we do not comment on the internal decision-making of the companies with which we partner, in the case of PG&E, PNM Resources, and Exelon, the time had obviously come when the differences between their strong commitment to Congressional action on climate change was irreconcilably at odds with that of the Chamber. In his letter to Tom Donahue, CEO of the Chamber, PG&E CEO Peter Darbee wrote:

“A case in point is the Chamber’s recent much-publicized call to put climate change science ‘on trial.’ 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 … To the extent … the Chamber earnestly believes these questions should be heard in a courtroom, let’s recall that the U.S. Supreme Court opined on the threat of climate in a 2007 decision. ‘The harms associated with climate change are serious and well recognized,’ the Court wrote.”