California-based Pacific Gas and Electric Co., one of the largest electric utilities in the country, said today that it was leaving the U.S. Chamber of Commerce due to "fundamental differences" over the group's position on climate change.
In a letter to the chamber, Chairman and CEO Peter Darbee criticized the lobbying powerhouse for taking an "extreme position" on climate change, pointing specifically to the group's efforts to question the science behind climate change.
"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," Darbee wrote. "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."
The Chamber of Commerce is historically not only the best-funded lobbying entity in Washington but also perhaps the most influential of the groups that have attacked the current push for cap-and-trade legislation.
Darbee took issue with the chamber's recent call for a "trial" on the science of climate change and said it was making a mistake by attacking the legislation, rather than attempting to reach a concensus on the issue among its members and playing an active role in the debate.
"Because the chamber has never encouraged a similar dialogue in its ranks, 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," he wrote.
Last month, the Chamber of Commerce filed a petition with U.S. EPA asking the agency to approve an on-the-record proceeding with an independent trier of fact who would allow EPA and environmental and business groups to engage in a "credible weighing" of the scientific evidence that global warming endangers human health (E&ENews PM, Aug. 25).
PG&E is a member of both the U.S. Climate Action Partnership and the Edison Electric Institute -- two coalitions of business interests that have backed efforts to implement cap-and-trade legislation.
PG&E's departure from the chamber is the most recent of several high-profile breaks between individual companies and their lobbying coalitions in Washington. Earlier this month, both the electricity utility Duke Energy Corp. and Alstom Power, a French parts manufacturer, left the the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, also citing the group's position on climate change.
Asked about PG&E's decision, chamber spokesman Matt Letourneau said, "We don't comment on the status of our more than 3 million members."
Click here to read the letter.
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