Business Roundtable Calls on Congress & Obama Administration To Support Renewables and Traditional Sources of Energy

The Business Roundtable [2] has called on Congress and the Obama Administration to support both renewable and traditional sources of energy as we transition to a low-carbon economy.

An association of chief executive officers of leading U.S. companies with more than $5 trillion in annual revenues and more than 12 million employees, the Business Roundtable is a powerful organization.

The organization's member companies [3] comprise nearly a third of the total value of the U.S. stock markets and pay more than 60 percent of all corporate income taxes paid to the federal government. Annually, they return more than $167 billion in dividends to shareholders and the economy. Business Roundtable companies give more than $7 billion a year in combined charitable contributions, representing nearly 60 percent of total corporate giving. They are technology innovation leaders, with more than $111 billion in annual research and development spending – nearly half of all total private R&D spending in the U.S.

Business Roundtable unites these top CEOs, amplifying their diverse business perspectives and voices on solutions to some of the world's most difficult challenges. Combining those insights with policy know-how, the Business Roundtable innovates and advocates helping expand economic opportunity for all Americans.

Citing the need to protect energy security and economic growth, while reducing green house gas (GHG) emissions, the Business Roundtable’s report, "Unfinished Business: The Missing Elements of a Sustainable Energy and Climate Policy [4]" [pdf] outlines key policies that Congress has not yet addressed in its effort to craft climate change and energy legislation.

According to Michael Morris, chairman of American Electric Power [5] (NYSE:AEP [6]) and chair of Business Roundtable’s Sustainable Growth Initiative [7], we need to put all energy sources on the table and commit to the development and deployment of advanced energy technologies.

“This is essential to forging climate change policy that is sustainable from an environmental, economic and energy security perspective,” Morris said. “Any approach that promotes some sources and technologies to the exclusion of others will fail to meet national GHG reduction targets and hamper our return to economic growth. However, by advancing sustainable use of traditional sources and growing use of new low-emitting sources, we can not only reduce the impact of climate change, but also preserve long-term economic prosperity for U.S. workers and companies.”

The report outlines concrete legislative recommendations for Congress based on Business Roundtable’s plan for addressing climate change as articulated earlier in its energy report, "More Diverse, More Domestic, More Efficient [8] [pdf]," and its economic modeling study, "The Balancing Act" [pdf] [9].

The Balancing Act study identified the best ways to cut GHG levels while minimizing the economic impact. It found that successful policies for reducing GHGs must leverage a balanced portfolio of technologies and eliminate barriers to technology development and deployment. According to that study, only this combination will allow the United States to successfully reduce GHG emissions without significantly hampering economic growth.

Drawing on this guidance, the new report commends Congress for its efforts to promote energy efficiency and renewables, but notes that more must be done. Specifically, policymakers must:

Enhance energy efficiency in residential and commercial buildings and the industrial sector;

Maintain coal’s long-term viability with robust R&D investments, cost-sharing, regulatory reform and incentives for the development of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology;

Encourage the expansion of nuclear power, the only existing, scalable low-carbon baseload generation technology;

Expand and modernize the electric grid in order to develop our renewable energy potential, improve our electric reliability and drive energy efficiency; and

Provide access for oil and natural gas exploration and production to enhance domestic energy security as alternative technologies evolve and mature.

According to John Castellani, president of the Business Roundtable, these are the policies we must pursue to make our nation’s transition to a low-carbon economy as sustainable as possible.

“President Obama and Congress have the opportunity today to build a lasting solution for the future by enacting legislation that will transform the way we use established American energy sources even as we explore new ones,” Castellani said. “By doing so, we can accelerate progress towards our climate goals, while supporting the economy during this time of transition. We look forward to working with Congress and the Administration to implement these missing elements of an effective, sustainable energy policy.”