The article in the first url below reports Exelon’s decision to resign its membership of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce because of the Chamber’s position on climate change. As Exelon’s Chairman, John W. Rowe, states, dramatically claiming the moral high ground:
“The carbon-based free lunch is over,'' said John W. Rowe, Exelon's chief executive. ''Breakthroughs on climate change and improving our society's energy efficiency are within reach.”
Exelon was one of a number of organizations to leave the Chamber of Commerce in recent months over this issue. Predictably, environmental campaigners and sympathetic politicians interpreted the resignations as indicators of progress:
“… a sign that the business community's opposition to global warming legislation is weakening. In their view, that improves the chances that a global warming bill that narrowly passed the House in June might also pass the Senate.”
As the article in the second url below points out, however, an equally likely cause of the decision was financial. Utilities such as Exelon stand to gain considerably from the climate legislation that is working its way through the U.S. Congress that favors nuclear powered electricity over coal powered electricity:
“"The carbon-based free lunch is over," declared Exelon CEO John Rowe, neglecting to mention that his company's free lunch is only beginning. Under the House's climate-change bill, a few utilities -- primarily those that have made big bets in renewable and nuclear energy -- are poised to clean up once Congress hands them carbon emission credits. The bill sets aside 35% of the free credits for utilities. Exelon and other "renewable" utilities will get a huge piece of that pie.”
Take care
David
Bill Werther & David Chandler
Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility
© Sage Publications, 2006
Climate Bill Splits Exelon And Chamber Of Commerce
By CLIFFORD KRAUSS and KATE GALBRAITH
1156 words
29 September 2009
Late Edition - Final
1
Rent-Seekers Inc.
By Kimberley A. Strassel
902 words
2 October 2009
A17
