United States Climate Action Partnership

USCAP News Release

For Immediate Release
September 6, 2007

USCAP Contact: John Files, 202-585-2077, jfiles@webershandwick.com

Exelon Contact: Jennifer Medley, 312-394-7189, jennifer.medley@exeloncorp.com

Rio Tinto Contact: Louie Cononelos, 801-685-4537, louie.cononelos@riotinto.com 

U.S. CLIMATE ACTION PARTNERSHIP ANNOUNCES ITS FOURTH MEMBERSHIP EXPANSION

Exelon, Rio Tinto Join Effort to Enact National Climate Change Legislation

WASHINGTON, D.C., September 6 ─ The Exelon Corporation and Rio Tinto have joined the United States Climate Action Partnership (USCAP), the landmark coalition said today. This business-NGO alliance, which has called on Congress to quickly enact national economy-wide legislation to address climate change, now comprises 33 organizations, including 27 of the world's largest corporations and six highly respected non-governmental organizations.

Exelon, one of the nation's largest electric utilities, has a long history of support for action on climate change, and has established its own voluntary emissions reductions. Rio Tinto, one of the world's leading mining and exploration companies, has a long-standing and deep commitment to sustainable development worldwide, and is pursuing a number of technology solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve energy efficiencies.

As environmental leaders in their respective industries, both companies will further deepen and broaden the coalition, and bring to bear expertise that will be critical in developing meaningful policy recommendations to slow, stop and reverse greenhouse gas emissions and help avoid adverse impacts of climate change.

"Exelon was an early and vocal advocate for mandatory, economy-wide carbon regulation.  By joining other industry leaders in USCAP, we add our very strong voice to those who are working with Congress to enact climate change legislation as soon as possible," said John W. Rowe, Exelon chairman, president and CEO. "We support USCAP's call for a cap-and-trade program to provide regulatory certainty and create economic opportunity.  And in the meantime, as a member of the U.S. EPA's Climate Leaders program we are on track to meet our voluntary goal of reducing our own greenhouse gas emissions by eight percent from 2001 levels by the end of 2008."

Tom Albanese, CEO of Rio Tinto, added: "Climate change is a critical issue for our business. Not only do we produce energy resources, such as coal, but our mining and mineral processing operations use large quantities of energy. Combating climate change means finding new and better ways of producing, using and conserving energy. USCAP provides an important forum to advance comprehensive policy that includes both market approaches and technology options."

Collectively, USCAP companies now have total revenues of nearly $2 trillion and a combined market capitalization of more than $2.2 trillion. (Market capitalization, or market cap, is derived from a company's current stock price per share times the total number of shares outstanding.)

Exelon and Rio Tinto employ over 50,000 people combined and will bring the total number of workers employed by USCAP companies to more than 2.7 million - with operations in all 50 states and nearly every country in the world. The non-governmental organizations, leaders in environmental and conservation issues, include a combined membership of more than two million people worldwide.

USCAP members also represent a broad cross-section of the U.S. economy, including: the transportation sector, financial services, metals, oil and gas, manufacturing, chemicals, energy and electric power, agribusiness, healthcare, food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, buildings, and construction equipment.

Driven by top executives of the member organizations, USCAP operates on a high-level consensus approach; this practice continues with the addition of the new members. The group has sought to balance interests across industries and regions to create the best economic path to reducing global atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations.

In January, USCAP issued its solutions-based report, titled A Call for Action,laying out a blueprint for an economy-wide, market driven cap-and-trade program. The recommendations embodied in the report are based on the following six key principles:

• Account for the global dimensions of climate change;
• Recognize the importance of technology;
• Be environmentally effective;
• Create economic opportunity and advantage;
• Be fair to sectors disproportionately impacted; and,
• Recognize and encourage early action.

U.S. leadership is essential for establishing an equitable and effective international policy framework. The coalition urges policy makers to act quickly to slow, stop and reverse the growth of greenhouse gas emissions over the shortest period of time reasonably achievable. To that end, USCAP has recommended that Congress establish short- and mid-term emission reduction targets; a national program to accelerate technology research, development and deployment; and approaches to encourage action by other countries, including the developing world. USCAP hopes these policies will minimize the large-scale adverse impacts of climate change for humans and the natural environment.

The founding members of USCAP are Alcoa, BP America, Caterpillar, Duke Energy, DuPont, FPL Group, Inc., General Electric, PG&E, and PNM Resources, as well as Environmental Defense, Natural Resources Defense Council, Pew Center on Global Climate Change and World Resources Institute.

Twenty additional organizations have joined the partnership this year: American International Group (AIG), Alcan, Boston Scientific, ConocoPhillips, Deere & Company, The Dow Chemical Company, the Exelon Corporation, Ford Motor Company, General Motors Corp., Johnson & Johnson, Marsh, NRG Energy, PepsiCo, Rio Tinto, Shell, Siemens, The Chrysler Group, The Nature Conservancy, the National Wildlife Federation and Xerox.

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