Conoco BP and Caterpillar Drop Out of Cap and Trade Alliance

 

By Ed Carson

Tue., Feb. 16, '10    2:36 PM ET

Sign of death of Global Warming! No longer fearing blackmail and cohersion over Global Warming Conoco-Phillips, British Petroleum, and Caterpillar are the first corporations to flee Obama carbon-dioxide tax scheme.

Here's another sign of the shifting political winds on global warming: ConocoPhillips (COP), BP (BP) and Caterpillar (CAT) have decided not to renew their membership in the U.S. Climate Action Partnership, a broad alliance of corporations and environmentalists supporting cap-and-trade legislation.

“House climate legislation and Senate proposals to date have disadvantaged the transportation sector and its consumers, left domestic refineries unfairly penalized versus international competition, and ignored the critical role that natural gas can play in reducing GHG emissions,” Conoco CEO Jim Mulva said in a statement.

When President Obama swept into office with huge Democratic majorities in Congress, many corporations felt they needed to get on board to try to influence the legislation. But cap-and-trade has stalled in the Senate, the Copenhagen climate treaty talks failed and there has been a slew of embarrassing revelations regarding global warming data and forecasts. So sweeping emissions curbs no longer seem inevitable.