Climate Action Partnership

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The U.S. Climate Action Partnership (CAP) is a coalition of major corporations and other organizations including Alcoa Inc., General Electric Co., DuPont Co., Duke Energy Corp., Caterpillar, PG&E, the FPL Group, PNM Resources, BP, Lehman Brothersand PEW Center on Global Climate Change. Reuters reported January 19, 2007. In May 2007, automobile maker General Motors joined the group, along with insurance company AIG, Alcan, Dow Chemical, Deere & Co., Johnson & Johnson, PepsiCo and Shell. [1]

CAP was identified in the online publication ClimateBiz as "a program of Environmental Defense and numerous collaborating companies." CPA's stated URL www.pca-online.org is inactive. [2]

CAP has been criticised for greenwashing, as many of the corporations which are members of CAP are also working behind the scenes to undermine greenhouse-gas regulation. For example, USCAP members General Electric and Caterpillar have seats on the board of a group called the Center for Energy and Economic Development, which opposes greenhouse-gas regulations. USCAP member Duke Energy has joined notorious coal-lobbying group Americans for Balanced Energy Choices. Eight USCAP members sit on the board of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which is critical of attempts to reduce carbon; And the chamber vice president of environment says no board members have pressured the chamber to change its position. Says David Hawkins of green group and USCAP member NRDC, "We do expect them to exert pressure on other organizations." [3]

CAP as good PR

CAP is headed by Lance Morgan, the "Chief Communications Specialist at the Interpublic group," a communications conglomerate with lobbying, PR and marketing arms, according to O'Dwyer's PR Report (February 2007).

The trade publication also reported that "Powell Tate | Weber Shandwick ... is working with the newly formed United States Climate Action Partnership." CAP's goal, according to O'Dwyer's, is to have "input on any global warming legislation that is forged by the new Democratic Congress."

U.S.-Australia Climate Action Partnership

The establishment of the U.S.-Australia Climate Action Partnership was announced February 27, 2002, by the governments of the United States and Australia "following meetings on climate change" held in Washington, D. C., "between Dr. David Kemp, Australian Minister for the Environment and Heritage", and "several senior members" of the Bush administration, including U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Christine Todd Whitman; James Connaughton, Chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality; Frances Blake, Deputy Secretary of Energy; and Paula Dobriansky, Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs. Partnership participants included the EPA, the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the U.S. Department of State and their Australian counterparts." [4]

Contact details

USCAP
C/O Meridian Institute
1920 L Street, N.W., Suite 500
Washington, D.C. 20036
Web: http://www.us-cap.org

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