Climate Change

Objective

Promote the U.S. Chamber's core principles on climate change, specifically that any legislation or regulation introduced must:

1. Preserve American jobs and competitiveness of U.S. industry;
2. Provide an international, economy-wide solution, including developing nations;
3. Promote accelerated development and deployment of greenhouse gas reduction technology;
4. Reduce barriers to the development of climatefriendly energy sources; and
5. Promote energy conservation and efficiency.

Learn more about the Chamber's core principles on climate change

Summary of the Issue

Along with world economic growth, global greenhouse gas emissions are increasing. Regardless what this means for climate change, the private sector and Congress have expressed a very important common point of view, specifically: measures taken to address any stated climate change challenge—such as limiting greenhouse gas emissions to no more than double what they were in pre-industrial times—must not harm the United States economy.

Congress is performing a balancing act, striving to preserve energy security while also limiting energy use and the fuels to be used for the purpose of addressing climate change. On one hand, Congress seeks to place serious limits on energy exploration, but, on the other, continues to push for energy independence and carbon-constraining climate change legislation. The Chamber is very concerned with Congress' perceived ability to balance these two goals.

What Congress must continue to recognize is that electricity is the "juice" that runs our country. And this country's economic well-being will depend on the sustainability of the "juicers"—coal, natural gas, petroleum, nuclear, and hydropower, to name a few—for the foreseeable future. This country's energy goals will be met only by a commitment to technology innovation and to all types of energy sources.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, on behalf of business and industry, strongly supports comprehensive legislation to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases while providing for a strong American economy. The Chamber will work to discourage ill-conceived climate change policies and measures that could severely damage the security and economy of the United States. At the same time, the U.S. Chamber encourages positive measures, such as long-term technological innovation and clean technology development and deployment.

U.S. Chamber Strategy

• Promote the U.S. Chamber's five core principles and integrate that philosophy into any proposed climate change solution, whether legislative or regulatory.
• Resist ill-conceived legislation that is economically disruptive of business and industry activities, that creates regulatory and legislative obstacles to development and deployment of affordable, innovative energy technologies, and that could severely damage the security and economy of the United States.

Testimony on "Cap and Trade: Impact on Jobs in the West, and the Nation" - NEW!