A Boost from Business
By
Sara Nunnally
I’ve written to you before about how business is taking the lead for promoting alternative energy technologies.
Well, outside of a few states, it’s business taking the lead again on cutting and monitoring carbon emissions. Via Reuters and CNN:
“A trade group of electricity suppliers representing about one-third of U.S. power generation is expected to call for a federal constraint on global-warming emissions, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.
“An announcement by the Electric Power Supply Association would be a sign that much of the U.S. industry is concluding it will likely get hit with an emissions cap whether it wants one or not, and that it was right for the industry to try to shape any eventual policy, the Journal said.”
We know Congress is going to “get its hands dirty” on this topic, and perhaps try to pass a carbon emission cap for the United States. While that’s about as unlikely to be signed by the President as I am to buy a Hummer, business is certainly sensing the winds of change, and has kicked on a window fan to help things along.
Here are just a few of the companies that are involved in this push:
Mirant Corp. (MIR:NYSE)
Calpine Corp. (CPNLQ.PK)
ConocoPhillips (COP:NYSE)
BP, plc (BP:NYSE)
The full list is about as long as my arm… Visit the Electric Power Supply Association’s Web site for a complete list of members and supporters: http://www.epsa.org.
This is like the push for hybrid vehicles. A couple years ago, Toyota Motor Corp. (TM:NYSE) was the sole hybrid vehicle provider in the United States with its Prius. Now, the choices grow every year.
Government didn’t mandate a certain number of hybrid vehicles be sold in the United States. Manufacturers saw a market for this new product.
The same thing is happening with emissions reduction.
You could say it’s a fad, or just a trendy way for utilities to spruce up their images. But it’s also a way to make money. Putting a cap on emissions will most likely be followed by a carbon credit trading system.
Those companies that come in below the emissions cap would receive a credit, which it then could sell to another company that is over the limit.
It’s not a new idea, but it does require some new rules.
With business behind the push, our Republican president might be more likely to pass any legislation putting a cap on emissions.
(That won’t mean I’m rushing out to buy a Hummer, though.)
That’s all from me today. I’ll be speaking at the Money Show in Orlando, Florida tomorrow, so I’ll talk to you folks again on Monday.
Sara