U.S. Chamber Cautions Economic Growth Critical for Environmental Protection

CLEVELAND — United States Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Thomas Donohue highlighted the significant role business has played in cleaning the nation's environment and stressed that continued economic growth is critical to environmental protection, in a national Earth Day address to Ohio business executives.

"The business community has taken the lead on environmental cleanup since the 1970s, spending $1.6 trillion to improve and protect the nation's air, land, and water," said Donohue, in a City Club of Cleveland speech hosted by the Greater Cleveland Growth Association. "The signs of progress are all around us as business prepares to spend another $1.5 trillion on environmental improvements in the next decade."

Air pollutants decreased by more than half between 1976 and 1997, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, and between 1988 and 1997 the number of unhealthy air-quality days declined by two-thirds in major cities across the country. In addition, two-thirds of the nation's waters are safe for fishing and swimming today, compared with only one-third in 1972.

"Our air and water are cleaner today than on any previous Earth Day, thanks to technological innovations and tremendous gains in efficiency achieved by business, in partnership with government and non-profits," said Donohue. "If we continue to expand trade and limit excessive regulation, then business will continue to invest in cleaner technologies and create the wealth needed to improve the environment."

American businesses are producing a greater volume of products using less energy than ever before and moving cleaner cars onto the nation's highways, resulting in fewer air pollutants. With expected technological and efficiency improvements, in the next 20 years business will reduce its rate of carbon dioxide emissions by about 30% per unit of GDP, according to the Chamber.

"We need to start thinking about environmental problems in a broader way," Donohue concluded. "Future environmental challenges will strike at the heart of our quality of life — feeding and fueling the world, restoring our abandoned lands, and reducing congestion and pollution on our nation's highways — these are challenges that the business community plans to tackle head on in the coming years."

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business federation, representing more than three million businesses and organizations of every size, sector and region.

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