EoW March 2007

Transat lant ic Cable

In their letter to the President the executives from a broad range of industries said: “We can and must take prompt action to establish a co-ordinated, economy-wide market-driven approach to climate protection.” At a news conference in Washington announcing the formation of the US Climate Action Partnership, founding members of the group claimed that mandatory reduction of heat-trapping emissions could be imposed without economic harm to individual businesses and could even generate economic opportunities if applied broadly and with a care to keeping the costs down. Many of the companies represented have already voluntarily moved to curb greenhouse pollution. But the executives said they do not believe voluntary efforts will suffice. “It must be mandatory, so there is no doubt about our actions,” said Jim Rogers, chairman of Duke Energy. “The science of global warming is clear. We know enough to act now. We must act now.” As of 23 rd January, citizens of the United States, Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, and some Caribbean islands must present a passport when entering the US by air. Previously such travellers were permitted to prove their identity by means of such credentials as a birth certificate and driver’s licence. Now, only two other pieces of identification – the Merchant Mariner Document and the Nexus Air card – will be accepted in lieu of a passport, and then only under special circumstances. The shift to the passport requirement at airports is the first phase of a broader programme to improve security at all entry points, as recommended by the commission that probed the terrorist attacks of 2001. The new rules will likely be extended to ports of entry by land and sea as early as 1 st January 2008. According to a State Department official, more than 1.1 million US citizens applied for passports in November 2006, when the date for implementation of the new passport rule was announced, compared with 648,000 applicants in the previous November. Citizens of the other countries affected by the new rules also rushed to obtain passports from their governments, and the transition to the new system was notably smooth. This will not allay worry in the hospitality industry that tightened passport rules will deter tourists. Writing in the Washington Post for 24 th January, N C Aizenman noted that tourism officials in Mexico and Canada had expressed concern that potential visitors would be turned off by tougher Security concerns Stricter US passport requirements go into effect

The environment

Industry chiefs join members of Congress to push the White House toward climate protection

On 22 nd January, the eve of the State of the Union address by the nation’s chief executive, the CEO’s of 10 major corporations called on President George W Bush to support mandatory reductions in industrial pollution and establish firm compliance targets. The annual address, inaugurated in 1934, outlines to a joint session of Congress the President’s legislative proposals for the year ahead. If the venue was impressive, so were the people urging a shift in a White House policy of stubborn resistance to persuasive scientific evidence of the link between air pollution and degradation of the environment. The group, the US Climate Action Partnership – a cross- section of major utilities, metals and chemical companies, and financial institutions – includes chief executives of Alcoa Inc, BP America Inc, DuPont Co, Caterpillar Inc, General Electric Co and Duke Energy Corporation. In the event, Mr Bush did outline steps the government will take to help reduce emissions mainly of carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels, which most scientists believe contribute to global warming. His proposals include raising fuel-economy standards for automobiles, more support for renewable energy sources, and emissions-control efforts at utilities and other big polluters. This hardly satisfied Mr Bush’s critics in Congress, who fault his rejection of mandatory economy-wide caps on emissions, a position that has the support of some major industry groups. The Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers favour voluntary action and strongly oppose so-called cap-and-trade proposals to cut pollution. (Essentially, these permit a company that has successfully reduced emissions below a set level to ‘sell’ its unused pollutants quota to companies still struggling for compliance.) Many members of Congress argue that the time for voluntary programmes has passed and that only swift, dramatic action can avert environmental catastrophe. A few days before his speech, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi bluntly warned Mr Bush that lawmakers will act on global warming, with or without his help. Ms Pelosi, the ‘new broom’ at the head of the House of Representatives, can herself rely on help from the US Climate Action Partnership, whose members claim that mandatory reductions are needed and that a cap-and-trade system should be the cornerstone of this approach.

46

EuroWire – January 2006 Euro ire – March 20 7