Karen Harbert, the President and CEO of Institute for 21st Century Energy, an US Chamber of Conference affiliate, met with a group of bloggers today at the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston, Texas.
During our question and answer session, Karen told us that the environmental group USCAP is helping democrats design their cap and trade program:
Sure enough- Karen Harbert was correct.
Commerce Committee Chairman Henry A. Waxman (D-California) used USCAP’s proposals as a blueprint for the democrat’s climate legislation.
The Washington Times reported yesterday on the lobbyists behind the cap and trade bill:
The sweeping climate bill Mr. Waxman and Rep. Edward J. Markey, Massachusetts Democrat and chairman of the panel’s key environmental subcommittee, introduced at the end of March includes a provision that benefits Duke Energy Corp., a founding member of the U.S. Climate Action Partnership (USCAP), whose climate plan released in January the lawmakers have frequently called a “blueprint” for their climate legislation.
So what do we know about USCAP?
The founding members of USCAP include a number of major corporations and four non-governmental organizations including: Environmental Defense, Natural Resources Defense Council, Pew Center on Global Climate Change and World Resources Institute.
And, who would have guessed this? Al Gore sits on the Board of Directors at World Resources Institute one of the founding members of USCAP.
Al Gore is also a partner in Kleiner Perkins. In February 2008 Fortune Magazine reported that Al Gore joined his old pal John Doerr as an active, hands-on partner at Kleiner Perkins. Here it was reported that more than a third of Kleiner’s latest fund, which was raised in 2006 and totals $600 million, will be invested in technologies that aim to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide. The company will make millions if cap and trade legislation is passed.
Are you starting to get the picture here?