Big Oil's 20-State Effort to Scuttle Climate Bill

Following in the footsteps of the corporate-backed protest movement against health care reform, a group founded and funded by business interests opposed to regulating greenhouse gas pollution is planning a series of rallies to oppose the climate legislation being considered by Congress.

The Wall Street Journal reports that EnergyCitizens -- an astroturf alliance funded by the American Petroleum Institute -- is holding rallies in 20 states over the August congressional recess. Other groups that are part of the alliance include the National Association of Manufacturers and the American Farm Bureau.

According to the paper:

In template fliers for rallies produced by ... EnergyCitizens, the public is warned that "Climate change legislation being considered in Washington will cause huge economic pain and produce little environmental gain."

You can see a copy of a rally flier here, and you can read a press release announcing an Aug. 18 rally in Houston here.

The rallies are aimed at scuttling the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES) -- also known as the Waxman-Markey bill for its co-sponsors, Reps. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.). The bill would establish a cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gases and take other steps to curb climate-damaging pollution. It passed the House in June and is now being considered in the Senate.

The Houston-based oil giant ConocoPhillips has posted a list of scheduled rallies to its website. Besides Houston, other Southern cities that will be hosting these corporate-organized climate events include Greensboro, N.C. on Aug. 20; Atlanta on Aug. 22; Nashville, Tenn. on Aug. 25; Tampa, Fla. on Aug. 27; Greenville, S.C. on Aug. 31; and Richmond, Va. on Sept. 3. The events are also planned for Alaska, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio,
Pennsylvania and South Dakota. Says ConocoPhillips:

You have the opportunity to make your voice heard by attending an upcoming Energy Citizens Rally for Jobs and Affordable Energy. At the rally, you will learn more about the impact of proposed legislation and have the chance to demonstrate to lawmakers that there is widespread dissatisfaction with any proposal that will cost Americans jobs and drive up energy costs.

ACES is supported by most major environmental organizations as well as by some corporate interests, including General Electric, Dow Chemical and Pacific Gas and Electric Co. However, other corporate interests besides API and NAM oppose the bill, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Some environmental groups including Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace also oppose the bill for not going far enough to rein in greenhouse gases and for being too accommodating to corporate interests.

API claims the legislation would put an unreasonable financial burden on consumers of gasoline, heating fuel and other petroleum products, and cause gas prices to rise to over $4 per gallon in today's dollars by 2035. But those claims are at odds with the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, which found much more modest impacts on consumers. CBO's analysis found the bill would cost the average U.S. household only about $175 a year by 2020 while actually benefiting the poorest 20% of households by $40 a year.

The Environmental Protection Agency and Energy Information Administration [pdf] have also published studies showing that the bill would have far more modest costs than the economic alarmists claim.