US Giants Play the Green Card but Keep the Coal Fires Burning

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When some of America's biggest corporations joined forces with four environmental groups last January to lobby for federal regulations to restrict greenhouse gas emissions, it was seen as a watershed. The US Climate Action Partnership (Uscap), made up of 27 companies, won praise for endorsing cuts - 10 to 30 per cent of heat- trapping emissions within 15 years and 60 to 80 per cent by 2050 - to avert some of the worst consequences of global warming.

But behind the scenes, several companies that belong to Uscap are simultaneously supporting efforts and organisations that oppose mandatory cuts in greenhouse gases or promote policies that would make the Uscap cuts nearly impossible to meet. "Many of these companies want the image of being green but are putting their money on the other side of the issue," says Frank O'Donnell, president of Washington-based Clean Air Watch.

Three high-profile Uscap members - General Electric (GE), Caterpillar and Alcoa - also sit on the board of the Center for Energy & Economic Development (Ceed), a group formed in 1992 that opposes regulations on emissions. Last April, Ceed's board unanimously signed a paper that used the word "draconian" to describe a federal climate Bill requiring a 65 per cent cut in emissions by 2050.

GE says it agrees with Ceed that coal must play a key role in the future energy mix and that it is pursuing ways to burn coal more cleanly.