Op-Ed: US Energy Citizen Rallies

14 Aug 2009 – Headline

The following Op-Ed was sent to the New York Times, the President of the American Petroleum Institute (API) and the CEO’s of API’s member companies.

The August 18 story regarding the American Petroleum Institute’s plan to stage “energy citizen rallies” demonstrating opposition to climate change legislation brings to light not only their deceptive public policy tactics, but more importantly their public policy position on an issue so fundamental to the health and well-being of their member companies and the citizens of the United States.

Our organization, SustainAbility, advises multinational companies on energy and other issues which impact the long-term profitability of their businesses. We are guided by our vision of a more just and sustainable world for present and future generations, and our belief that the corporate sector plays an important role in achieving that end. Consequently, we have an interest in advocating for both government policy and private sector actions which move us toward a more economically, socially and environmentally sustainable world.

Neither API’s tactics for influencing government policy, nor its position on climate change serve the best interests of its membership, let alone the rest of us. In principle we see nothing wrong with any organization mobilizing its constituents to advocate a particular point of view – non-governmental organizations and industry associations have been doing this for years, and will continue to do so legitimately. However, when a powerful and deep-pocketed industry lobby masquerading as a grass-roots campaign seeks to protect narrow self interests that run counter to the interests of society at large, it deceives both the populace and elected officials, and subverts participatory democracy. Such methods damage the reputation of the industry as a whole and of individual oil companies by calling into question the integrity of the companies’ business practices.

API’s specific position on the American Clean Energy and Security Act (aka Waxman-Markey), which passed the House of Representatives in June and will soon make its way to the Senate, is also not in the best interests of its member companies, nor the US public at large. The science tells us that risks to natural systems and human well-being become much more severe if the Earth’s average temperature rises more than 2°C compared to pre-industrial levels. Staying below 2°C – an imperative endorsed at the recent G8 Summit by leaders of all the world’s major economies, including China – requires nothing less than a total transformation in how we produce and consume energy over the next few decades. While Waxman-Markey falls short of what is required, it is a significant step in the right direction. Further delay will only serve to make the challenge even more difficult and expensive in the coming years.

The long-term health of the petroleum industry, and of the US and global economy, requires that strong action is taken on climate change both here and across the globe. In order to forge a globally inclusive climate treaty in Copenhagen in December, the US needs to demonstrate its commitment to addressing climate change by passing robust legislation. While cap-and-trade legislation will impose costs on carbon-intensive energy in order to foster innovation that will drive efficiency gains and lower emissions, the cost of business-as-usual is not acceptable. And yes, it will encourage lower-carbon sources of energy to generate electricity and power our motor vehicles, perhaps accelerating the shift to highly efficient electric vehicles. API would best serve the interests of its members by helping them to plan for and benefit from this inevitable transition, rather than working actively to undermine it.

The American Petroleum Institute counts among its members several companies who are also members of the US Climate Action Partnership (USCAP), including ConocoPhillips, BP America and Shell. USCAP is a cross-sectoral group of businesses and leading environmental organizations that have come together to advocate for strong national climate change legislation. It has broadly endorsed the provisions of Waxman-Markey. So it seems that either some oil companies are trying to have it both ways – appearing to support progressive climate change legislation while working actively to oppose it – or they don’t endorse the position of one of the organizations to which they belong.

Climate change is a grave threat to humanity that demands clarity of thought and decisive action – we cannot accept such duplicity from influential corporations. We urge all of API’s member companies to not support the “energy citizen rallies” staged by API, and to press API to change its position on the American Clean Energy and Security Act to align with the best long-term interests of the member companies, their shareholders and the American public.