Business Roundtable Calls on Obama Administration, EPA to Abandon Efforts to Regulate Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Stationary Sources

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Business Roundtable, an association of CEOs of leading U.S. companies, today strongly urged the Obama Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to abandon their efforts to regulate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from stationary sources under the Clean Air Act in order to give Congress the time it needs to develop an appropriate legislative solution that will address the risk of climate change while preserving U.S. economic growth and international competitiveness.

“America’s business leaders believe in a smarter approach to regulation that takes account of the total burden on jobs and the economy. GHG stationary source emissions require a legislative solution, not regulations based on a law that was created before the effects of such emissions were understood”

“Regulating GHG stationary source emissions under the Clean Air Act – which is not optimally designed for controlling globally distributed emissions that are produced by nearly every form of economic activity – is an example of damaging regulatory overreach that threatens to stifle U.S. economic growth and job creation,” said Thomas Fanning, Chairman and CEO of Southern Company.

The EPA’s current GHG stationary source rules, the first of many iterations of an extensive, ongoing rulemaking process, would require case-by-case technology reviews for new or expanded U.S. industrial facilities. Businesses will find it hard to invest in new or expanded facilities when the regulatory requirements are so uncertain.

“America’s business leaders believe in a smarter approach to regulation that takes account of the total burden on jobs and the economy. GHG stationary source emissions require a legislative solution, not regulations based on a law that was created before the effects of such emissions were understood,” said Business Roundtable President John Engler.

Business Roundtable (BRT) is an association of chief executive officers of leading U.S. companies with nearly $6 trillion in annual revenues and more than 13 million employees. BRT member companies comprise nearly a third of the total value of the U.S. stock market and invest more than $114 billion annually in research and development – nearly half of all private U.S. R&D spending. Our companies pay more than $179 billion in dividends to shareholders.

BRT companies give nearly $9 billion a year in combined charitable contributions.

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