Broad Coalition of Stakeholders Announce Effort to Ensure Affordable and Reliable Energy

 

Washington, D.C., January 30, 2014 – Stakeholders from nearly every sector of the U.S. economy are coming together to advocate for a commonsense approach to greenhouse gas (GHG) policies in order to ensure the continued availability of affordable and reliable energy for American families and businesses.

 

The Partnership for a Better Energy Future, which comprises groups representing consumers and businesses from sectors such as manufacturing, agriculture, refining and mining, will serve as the leading voice in support of a unified strategy and message in response to the Obama Administration’s GHG regulatory agenda. In addition to advocating reasonable reforms to the current regulatory approach, the Partnership will work to educate the general public and local, state and national policymakers on the impact that poorly crafted GHG regulations will have on the availability of affordable and reliable energy. The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for 21st Century Energy will serve as co-chairs.

 

“The Administration’s suite of greenhouse gas regulations will have a profound impact on every aspect of our nation’s economy, especially on America’s job creators,” said Karen Harbert, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber’s Institute for 21st Century Energy. “While each of the many organizations that are part of this new Partnership will continue to work with our own grassroots networks and memberships, this broad coalition will enable us to amplify and unify our efforts here in Washington and across the country. The unprecedented number of industries coming together cannot go unnoticed by the Administration.” 

 

“To remain competitive in a global economy, manufacturers need an ‘all-of-the-above’ energy strategy to ensure they have access to affordable and reliable energy,” said NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons. “Unfortunately, this Administration seems to believe that the only way to reduce GHG emissions is to eliminate fossil fuels from our economy. Manufacturers believe we can use these and other fuels while reducing our emissions. We must convince the Administration to make better choices as it begins to regulate GHGs. Through this coalition, we hope to do so.” 

 

“The Partnership for a Better Energy Future speaks for millions of people across America who stand to pay the very real price of the EPA’s overreach on greenhouse gas regulations,” said Mike Duncan, president and CEO of the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity. “Coal is an essential component of America’s energy portfolio, and removing it will result in higher prices on everything from home goods to groceries to consumer electronics to electric bills. The pain won’t stop there, however. It will spread to the economy at large in the form of hundreds of thousands of lost jobs, energy insecurity and an unreliable electric grid subject to rolling brownouts and blackouts when energy is needed most.”

 

“Farmers and ranchers across America rise each day to face the challenges that confront them. Inevitably, that includes the weather and a changing climate. While they struggle to meet these challenges head on, providing the necessary food, fiber and fuel that this country and our world needs, they don’t expect their government or the EPA to craft further burdensome climate regulations that make their jobs that much harder,” said Dale Moore, executive director for public policy at the American Farm Bureau Federation. “Our members oppose any greenhouse gas regulation that will increase the costs for Americans, especially if that regulation doesn’t have a significant mitigating effect on climate. We are deeply concerned by the approach that this Administration is embarking on and the challenges it creates for our members to provide the necessities of everyday life.”

 

"Tuesday night, the President himself said domestic GHG emissions are at a 20- year low. Despite this reality, the President seems intent on moving forward with extreme, overly costly and possibly unachievable new regulations that threaten the manufacturing renaissance. Even the EPA has acknowledged that unilateral U.S. action would not do anything to reduce global GHG emissions,” said Charles T. Drevna, president of the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers. “This important coalition will emphasize the need for a more common-sense regulatory approach to help ensure our energy policies do not work to send manufacturing jobs overseas."

 

"This new partnership seeks to highlight how America's energy revolution is not only creating jobs but also lowering emissions, thanks to private investment,” said API President and CEO Jack Gerard. “The president recognizes the important role natural gas has played in reducing CO2 levels to near 20-year lows. Ironically, with his plans to raise taxes and add unnecessary new regulations, President Obama runs the risk of unwinding the significant environmental benefits from natural gas, threatening our economic recovery and dampening our ability to create millions of high-paying American jobs."

 

“After losing almost 50 percent of its production capacity in the last decade, the nitrogen fertilizer industry’s contribution to the economy is now growing, due largely to a stable supply of natural gas,” said The Fertilizer Institute President Chris Jahn. “Natural gas accounts for between 70 and 90 percent of the cost of manufacturing nitrogen fertilizer, and any policy that drives natural gas demand up puts high quality jobs in the fertilizer industry at risk.”

 

“America runs on affordable, reliable and diverse sources of energy,” said Hal Quinn, president and CEO of the National Mining Association. “But the administration is putting our economic and energy future at risk by promoting policies that effectively ban new advanced power plants using coal, our nation’s most abundant energy source. The breadth of this coalition testifies to the grave concerns shared by businesses and consumers alike with policies that will only make their electricity supply less reliable and more expensive.”    

 

“America’s cement manufacturers support an ‘all of the above’ energy strategy, encompassing energy efficiency and a diverse fuel mix including coal, natural gas, oil and alternative fuels,” said Gregory Scott, president and CEO of the Portland Cement Association. “We believe this is the best way to preserve vital American manufacturing jobs.”  

 

To see a complete list of coalition members, click here. 

 

To visit the Partnership for a Better Energy Future website, click here. 

 

You can also follow the Partnership on Twitter and Facebook.  

 

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The Partnership for a Better Energy Future is leading the business and industrial community in support of a unified strategy and message in response to the Administration’s GHG regulatory agenda. The Partnership’s fundamental mission is to ensure the continued availability of reliable and affordable energy for American families and businesses. For more information about the Partnership or to follow us on Twitter and Facebook, please visit http://www.betterenergyfuture.org/.

 

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