[MCN] US Chamber of Commerce: Divided over climate change

[Lance Olsen]

Bloomberg June 9, 2017, 2:00 AM MDT

Paris Pullout Pits Chamber Against Some of Its Biggest Members

by Ari Natter

·       Trump used U.S. Chamber of Commerce study to justify pull out

·       Chamber member companies weighed in to support climate accord 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-09/paris-pullout-pits-chamber-against-some-of-its-biggest-members <https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-09/paris-pullout-pits-chamber-against-some-of-its-biggest-members>
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As President Donald Trump mulled whether to exit the Paris climate accord, companies as varied as Dow Chemical Corp. <https://www.bloomberg.com/quote/DOW:US>, Exxon Mobil Corp. <https://www.bloomberg.com/quote/XOM:US> and Citigroup Inc. <https://www.bloomberg.com/quote/C:US> prodded him to stay in <http://citigroup.com/citi/environment/data/ceo-open-letter-on-paris-agreement.pdf>. 

But when Trump announced his decision, he cited research from one business behemoth that’s issued a steady stream of criticism to the Paris deal, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce <https://www.uschamber.com/> that counts all three companies as members.

That disconnect between corporate executives and the nation’s top corporate lobbying force is reviving pressure on the Chamber -- and on the companies that remain members despite their differences over climate policy.

“For decades, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has been big polluters’ partisan enforcer in Washington," Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, who co-authored a congressional report <https://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/release/senators-issue-report-on-us-chamber-of-commerce-lobbying> last year about this corporate disconnect over climate change, said in an emailed statement. 

“It’s time for member companies to ask themselves whether they want to side with a relentless climate foe, or protect the health and safety of the American people and the reputation of our country," he added.

 
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