MHTC

Business-Like Approach on Climate Bill (Boston Globe)
Mass. industry groups now cite need for plan

By Erin Ailworth, Globe Staff I July 22,2010

The Massachusetts High Technology Council and the Associated lndustries of Massachusetts, which have been critics of the costs of clean energy, are each calling for federal climate legislation they say will create jobs and keep local businesses competitive.

Today, the council is expected to outline its recommendations for climate legislation being considered by the US Senate.

Such support is a significant policy shift for the council and AlM, two of the highest-profile trade groups in the state, and one that signals that beyond the state's environmental and clean technology sectors, there is local business backing for a national green energy policy. Another prominent trade group, the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, is offering its support as well.

The positions from the trade groups are expected to add pressure for the US Senate to pass a national energy and climate bill in the coming weeks.

Robert Rio, senior vice president at AlM, whose membership includes 6,000 employers in traditional industries such as manufacturing and telecommunications, said the group believes a national clean energy policy can achieve real reductions in pollution while also ensuring that Massachusetts businesses remain competitive even as they comply with environmental regulations. Massachusetts has aggressive environmental goals that AIM worries are too costly, according to Rio, and that put loca lcompanies at a disadvantage, because businesses in other states aren't subject to the same regulations. Federal climate legislation would mean companies in every state would be required to meet the same standards to reduce pollution.

'The environmental advocates may be doing it because they want to save the world, the green businesses may be doing it because they want more business," said Rio, but AIM is supporting the legislation because "we'll get green jobs, we'll get actual reductions, and we'll level the playing field in Massachusetts so that our companies can compete."

James D. Rooney, vice president of the High Technology Council, said his group is aiming the message at New England policy makers, including Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown. The Republican has said he could be behind a national climate policy, but wouldn't back fees for carbon emissions.

Rooney said his group would like to see legislators establish a way to put a "predictable" price on carbon dioxide emissions, which contribute to climate change; eliminate certain oil, gas, and coal subsidies; and increase investment in clean energy research and infrastructure.

"We are in regular contact with the offices of Senator Brown and Senator Kerry, and are certainly hopeful that a common consensus can be reached," said Rooney. He added that his group thinks one of the strongest arguments for climate legislation is that many expect it to create jobs in states like Massachusetts with growing clean-energy sectors. "ln this economy, the argument of jobs has got to be front and center, and one that, to our mind, Massachusetts would clearly benefit under."

Brown's office did not return calls for comment yesterday. But Senator John F. Kerry, who coauthored some of the climate legislation being considered, and US Representative Edward J. Markey, who was instrumental to the climate legislation passed by the House last year, both expressed optimìsm yesterday.

"We have built an unprecedented coalition of support which has moved us further along in the process of passing a climate change bill than we've ever been," Kerry said in a statement to the Globe.

Markey said he expects the state to benefit from climate legislation, saying "Massachusetts should be called the brain state instead of the Bay State.

"'We flourish as an economy when new technology industries are growing," he said.

Local environmentalists and other climate policy advocates see Brown's support as critical to Senate
passage.

"Voting for the climate bill this session is the single most important thing Senator Brown could do to deliver jobs to Massachusetts," said Sam Krasnow, with the advocacy group Environment Northeast, commonly known as ENE. "lt will be the catalyst for hundreds of millions of dollars of promising investments in cleantech start-up companies in Massaðhusetts. This is our state's competitive advantage."

But marshaling support from traditional businesses has not been easy. Earlier this year, several significant corporations, including British Petroleum, ConocoPhillips, and Caterpillar, left the US Climate Action Partnership--a coalition of environmental groups and businesses--over disagreements about how best to move forward on climate policy.

Peter Rothstein, of the advocacy group New England Clean Energy Council, said he hopes the support from the High Tech council and AIM will help New England legislators "come together" to craft a comprehensive policy on climate.

Energy and climate is complex, and I think they have to look very carefully at the impact on many different parts of the economy," Rothstein said. "'The more that the different parts of the business community can come together. . . I think it will be easier to come up with a policy framework" for the country.

Erin Ailworth can be reached at ailworth@globe.com