Beam me to Planet Gore !
Posted on 07/30/2010 5:19:06 PM PDT by Kaslin
Taxes: While the oil and gas companies are bearing the brunt of taxation, regulation and environmental angst, others are doing just fine, thank you. If you think cap-and-trade is dead, just follow the money.
According to a recently released Center for Responsive Politics review of reports filed with the U.S. Senate and U.S. House, General Electric and its subsidiaries spent more than $9.5 million on federal lobbying from April to June — the most it's spent on lobbying since President Obama has been in office.
Why? As the fight over cap-and-trade grows, so does lobbying. Since January, GE and its units have spent more than $17.6 million on lobbying — a jump of 50% over the first six months of 2009.
GE is just one of many organizations and individuals that stand to make money if cap-and-trade makes it through Congress. GE makes wind turbines, not oil rigs, and has a vested interest in shutting down its fossil fuel competitors.
In an Aug. 19, 2009 e-mail obtained by Steve Milloy of JunkScience.com, General Electric Vice Chairman John Rice called on his GE co-workers to join the General Electric Political Action Committee "to collectively help support candidates who share the values and goals of GE."
And what are those goals, and just what has GEPAC accomplished thus far? "On climate change," Rice wrote, "we were able to work closely with key authors of the Waxman-Markey climate and energy bill, recently passed by the House of Representatives. If this bill is enacted into law, it will benefit many GE businesses."
(Excerpt) Read more at investors.com ...
Ping
The 14 founding members of US Climate Action Partnership are:
* Alcoa, BP America, Caterpillar Inc., Duke Energy, DuPont
* Environmental Defense, FPL Group, General Electric, Lehman Brothers
* Natural Resources Defense Council, Pew Center on Global Climate Change
* PG&E Corporation, PNM Resources, and World Resources Institute
In April, 2007 oil giant ConocoPhillips and insurer AIG joined USCAP.[4]
The following groups and companies joined in June 2007:[5]
* American International Group (AIG), Alcan, Boston Scientific, ConocoPhillips
* Deere & Company, The Dow Chemical Company, General Motors Corp.
* Johnson & Johnson, Marsh, PepsiCo, Shell
* Siemens, The Nature Conservancy, The National Wildlife Federation
In July, 2007, two major U.S. automakers joined:
Chrysler, Ford Motor Company
Members leaving
In February 2010
* BP America,
* Caterpillar Inc. and
* ConocoPhillips
all left the lobbyist collaboration and are not members anymore
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Climate_Action_Partnership
Die, corporate scum.
Global Warming on Free Republic
Immelt bet the farm on cap and trade, if it doesn’t happen they are sunk. Their financial plan depends on government determining them as a winner.
http://itemonline.com/opinion/x2105966849/On-the-Chicago-Carbon-Exchange
My response to these assumptions is this: It gives every appearance of being a scam or proportions never before scene in the history of the world.
This Exchange came into being via grants from the Joyce Foundation in Chicago, with funding from a “Green” bank in Chicago. Guess what national political figure had ties to both? If you answered “Barack Obama,” you were correct.
Business and UN Raise the Bar for Corporate Practices in “New York Declaration”
UN Global Compact enters its second decade with blueprint for corporate leadership and renewed commitments by business to advance corporate responsibility
(New York, 25 June 2010) – Corporate leaders from more than 135 countries concluded a two-day business-United Nations summit in New York with agreement on a strengthened set of standards for business practices and support for UN environmental, human rights and anti-poverty drives.
Recognizing that, in the aftermath of the 2009 recession, “the need for responsibility and leadership has been never greater,” participants today approved by acclamation the “New York Declaration by Business”. The Leaders Summit brought together business, civil society and labour participants of the UN Global Compact, and was opened on 24 June by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
“The enormous progress made by more than 8000 participating businesses and organizations during the 10-year history of the UN Global Compact calls for further scaling up leadership commitment over the next ten years,” said Lord Michael Hastings of KPMG International at the closing session.
The New York Declaration cites 10 key principles covering human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption principles that benefit both business and the overall society. These ten founding principles of the Global Compact were augmented by a Blueprint for Corporate Sustainability Leadership, presented for the first time at the Leaders Summit.
In particular, it embraces the “Protect, Respect, Remedy” framework developed by Professor John Ruggie, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Business and Human Rights. The Declaration also calls for business to contribute more substantially to peace and development, especially in conflict-affected and high-risk areas.
“Any business sector can contribute a solution to development challenges”, said Professor Jeffrey Sachs, Special Advisor to the United Nations Secretary-General on the Millennium Development Goals, who moderated the Summit final session on the business contribution to development.
Business leaders meeting in New York also called on governments of the world to build enabling environments for entrepreneurship, maintain an open trading system, set clear and effective regulations including in socially critical areas such as climate change and to join the private sector in providing tangible support for achievement of the world’s Millennium Development Goals.
The Global Compact Leaders Summit marks the tenth anniversary of the UN initiative, launched in July 2000 to engage business to adopt universal human rights, labours, environment and anti-corruption principles in their strategies and day-to-day operations.
Media Contact
Matthias Stausberg
Spokesperson
UN Global Compact
stausberg@un.org
+1-917-367-3423
Business Participation
The United Nations Global Compact presents a unique strategic platform for participants to advance their commitments to sustainability and corporate citizenship. Structured as a public–private initiative, the Global Compact offers a policy framework for the development, implementation and disclosure of sustainability principles and practices related to its four core areas: human rights, labour, the environment and anti-corruption. Indeed, managing the enterprise risks and opportunities related to these areas is today a widely understood aspect of long-term “value creation” — value creation that can simultaneously benefit the private sector and societies at large.
With over (7700 business participants) and other stakeholders from more than 130 countries, the Global Compact offers participants a wide spectrum of specialized workstreams, management tools and resources, and topical programmes and projects — all designed to help advance sustainable business models and markets in order to contribute to the initiative’s overarching objective of helping to build a more sustainable and inclusive global economy.
The Corporate Commitment
The Global Compact is a leadership initiative, involving a commitment by a company’s Chief Executive Officer (or equivalent), and supported by the highest-level Governance body of the organization (eg, the Board).
Participation in the Global Compact is a widely visible commitment to the implementation, disclosure, and promotion of its ten universal principles. A company joining the initiative is expected to:
Make the Global Compact and its principles an integral part of business strategy, day-to-day operations and organizational culture;
Incorporate the Global Compact and its principles in the decision-making processes of the highest-level governance body (i.e. Board);
Contribute to broad development objectives (including the Millennium Development Goals) through partnerships;
Integrate in its annual report (or in a similar public document, such as a sustainability report) a description of the ways in which it implements the principles and supports broader development objectives (also known as the Communication on Progress); and
Advance the Global Compact and the case for responsible business practices through advocacy and active outreach to peers, partners, clients, consumers and the public at large.
Financial Contribution
In addition to these actions, participating companies are asked, upon endorsement, to make a regular annual financial contribution to help support the work of the Global Compact. The general contribution levels are set as follows:
For companies with annual sales/revenues of USD 1 billion or more, the suggested annual contribution is USD 10,000;
For companies with annual sales/revenues between USD 250 million and USD 1 billion, the suggested annual contribution is USD 5000;
For companies with annual sales/revenues of less than USD 250 million, the suggested annual contribution is USD 500.
Companies are asked for these annual contributions as part of their participation in the Global Compact. (Additionally, sponsorship opportunities are available related to events and specialized workstreams.) The Foundation for the Global Compact, a registered 501(c)(3) organization, serves as the financial intermediary for all contributions.
Benefits of Participation
Participation in the Global Compact offers numerous benefits:
Adopting an established and globally recognized policy framework for the development, implementation, and disclosure of environmental, social and governance policies and practices.
A platform to share and exchange best and emerging practices to advance practical solutions and strategies to common challenges.
The opportunity to advance sustainability solutions in partnership with a range of stakeholders, including UN agencies, governments, civil society, labour, and other non-business interests.
The opportunity to link business units and subsidiaries across the value chain with Global Compact Local Networks around the world — many of these in developing and emerging markets.
Access to the UN’s extensive knowledge of and experience with sustainability and development issues.
Utilizing Global Compact management tools and resources, and the opportunity to engage in specialized workstreams in the environmental, social and governance realms.
The Importance of Voluntarism
A more detailed analysis of the benefits of participation in the Global Compact can be found in The Importance of Voluntarism — which also focuses on the importance of voluntary initiatives as complements rather than substitutes for regulatory regimes.
http://www.unglobalcompact.org/HowToParticipate/Business_Participation/index.html
(Last Update 18 May 2010)
http://international.edgeboss.net/real/international/oi07272010.smi
Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights and Oversight
RUSS CARNAHAN (D-MO), CHAIRMAN
Achieving the United Nations Millennium Development Goals:
Progress through Partnerships
WEBCAST [REAL PLAYER]
DATETuesday, July 27, 2010
TIME9:30 AM
LOCATIONRoom 2172 of the Rayburn House Office Building
WITNESSESMs. Kathy Calvin
Chief Executive Officer
United Nations Foundation
John McArthur, Ph.D.
Chief Executive Officer
Millennium Promise
Scott C. Ratzan, M.D.
Vice President, Global Health, Government Affairs and Policy
Johnson & Johnson
Mr. James Roberts
Research Fellow for Economic Freedom and Growth
The Heritage Foundation
SEARCH COMMITTEE SITE
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