Transmittal Letter
Press Kit Contents:
- Intro Page
- USCAP Launch News Release
- USCAP May 8, 2007 Release
- USCAP June 27, 2007 Release
- USCAP July 18, 2007 Release
- USCAP September 6, 2007 Release
- USCAP October 4, 2007 Release
- Letter to the President
- Our Solutions-Based Report: A Call for Action (PDF - 1.18 MB)
- About Our Members
- Biographies of Member Executives
- USCAP Statements
- Chart: USCAP’s Recommended Mandatory Emission Reduction Pathway (PDF - 160 KB)
January 22, 2007
The President
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President:
We are writing to you in our capacity as members of U.S. Climate Action Partnership (USCAP), a diverse group of major U.S.-based businesses and leading environmental organizations. After a year of collaboration and dialogue, USCAP today issued a set of principles and policy recommendations to address global warming. In our report, entitled A Call for Action, we urge Congress to enact legislation to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
This unprecedented alliance consists of leading American corporations – Alcoa, BP America, Caterpillar, Duke Energy, DuPont, FPL Group, General Electric, Lehman Brothers, PG&E Corporation and PNM Resources– and four major non-governmental organizations – World Resources Institute, Natural Resources Defense Council, Pew Center on Global Climate Change and Environmental Defense. Ours is a unique and diverse group, which is united in the belief that we can, and must, take prompt action to establish a coordinated, economy-wide, market-driven approach to climate protection.
The members of USCAP are committed to action and believe that properly constructed policy can be economically sustainable, environmentally responsible, and politically achievable. Swift legislative action on our proposal would encourage innovation and provide needed U.S. leadership on this global challenge.
Our goal in crafting this proposal is, aggressively and sustainably, to slow, stop and reverse the growth of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Toward this end, USCAP urges lawmakers to enact a policy framework for mandatory reductions of GHG emissions from major emitting sectors, including large stationary sources, transportation, and energy use in commercial and residential buildings. The cornerstone of this approach would be a cap-and-trade program, complemented by sector-specific policies and measures. The environmental goal is to reduce global atmospheric GHG concentrations to a level that minimizes large-scale adverse impacts to humans and the natural environment. We recommend that Congress provide leadership to establish short- and mid-term emission reduction targets and a national program to provide incentives for technology research, development and deployment. Congress also needs to encourage action by other countries, including those in the developing world, as ultimately the solution must be global.
These are complicated problems. There must be a reasoned and serious debate about the solutions. But debate cannot substitute for action. We hope that the consensus we have reached through our unique partnership provides inspiration in helping America create a sensible and effective policy to address global climate change. We look forward to working together with you on this important topic.
Sincerely,
Founding Members of the United States Climate Action Partnership
Frances Beinecke |
 Alain Belda Chairman & CEO Alcoa |
Eileen Claussen |
Peter Darbee |
Richard S. Fuld, Jr. |
 Lew Hay, III Chairman & CEO FPL Group |
 Chad Holliday Chairman & CEO DuPont |
 Jeffrey Immelt Chairman & CEO General Electric |
 Fred Krupp President Environmental Defense |
 Jonathan Lash President World Resources Institute |
Robert Malone |
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Jim Rogers |
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Note to editors: An identical letter was also sent to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell Jr., Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, and House Minority Leader John Boehner