National Center for Public Policy Research, a communications and research foundation supportive of a strong national defense and dedicated to providing free market solutions to today’s public policy problems, cofronted senior Caterpillar officials over their decision to join the United States Climate Action Partnership (USCAP). The group claims the policies of the USCAP will hurt low income earners:
Washington, D.C. – The National Center for Public Policy Research and the Project 21 black leadership network challenged senior Caterpillar, Inc. officials at the company’s stockholder meeting Wednesday, asking them to explain Caterpillar’s decision to join the United States Climate Action Partnership (USCAP), which is lobbying for caps on carbon dioxide emissions.
USCAP’s goal of achieving mandatory federal restrictions on carbon dioxide emissions would drive up the cost of energy and disproportionately harm low income people, Caterpillar’s customers, and shareholders.
During the meeting’s question-and-answer session, Project 21 Fellow Deneen Borelli questioned Caterpillar executives about whether the company performed a complete cost-benefit analysis on the effects a cap-and-trade policy on carbon emissions would have on Caterpillar, its customers and America’s poor prior to the company joining the group, which lobbies for such policies.
“I asked the head of Caterpillar, James Owens, three different times if the company had done a cost-benefit analysis and he said ‘no,'” said Ms. Borelli. “He also said that he was not planning to do one in the future. Unfortunately, America will be paying for this incompetence in the form of rising energy costs.”
Mr. Owens also acknowledged that he had received and read the coalition letter sent to him by over 70 national and state policy groups and representatives of mining, ranching, forestry, construction and agricultural industries, urging him to withdraw Caterpillar’s membership in USCAP. The coalition letter to Mr. Owens is available at www.nationalcenter.org/caterpillar_climate.pdf.
National Center Blog has more.
