As the first bill aiming to put a price on carbon emissions was introduced on the floor of the U.S. Senate on Wednesday, the Aspen Skiing Co.’s top executive was stumping for it on Capitol Hill.
SkiCo CEO Mike Kaplan met with advisers for five Senate Democrats — including both Sens. Mark Udall and Michael Bennet of Colorado — continuing the ramped-up climate change lobbying efforts for this snow-dependent company that sits squarely in the crosshairs of global warming. In an earlier trip to Washington this summer he met with President Barack Obama’s majordomo Valerie Jarrett.
In June the SkiCo joined 18 other American companies, including Nike and Starbucks, in a coalition lobbying for legislative action on carbon emissions.
In addition to sitting down with the Colorado delegation yesterday he met with staff from Sens. Mark Begich of Alaska, Tim Johnson of South Dakota and Jon Tester of Montana. He was joined by executives from Powderhorn, Copper Mountain Ski Resort and Colorado Ski Country.
As introduced Wednesday, the 800-plus page bill calls for a 20 percent reduction in American carbon emissions by 2020 — a more stringent goal than the 17 percent in the carbon bill passed in the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this year. However, that lofty goal is likely to be softened if the bill is to make it through five committee ratifications and debate on the senate floor. Concessions to the House’s version of the bill, notably exemptions on emission standards for areas with economies that depend on energy production, sorely disappointed environmentalists.
Heather Rousseau/Aspen Daily News File PhotoJames Logan rips through the powerlines on the back side of Aspen Mountain last ski season. Snow is believed to be threatened by CO2 emissions which are believed to cause global warming.
But the bill’s backers, including SkiCo, believe that getting something passed is better than nothing. “It will be watered down but having a bill in place is better than no action at all,” said SkiCo sustainability manager Matt Hamilton. Hamilton noted that the Clean Air Act of 1970 didn’t “get its teeth” until stricter amendments were made to it in the 1990s.
Environmental and business leaders have said getting a bill signed into law before the upcoming international summit on climate change in Copenhagen would put America in a leadership position on the carbon issue. But with the Senate set to grapple with health care, the recession and a possible Iranian conflict, the carbon bill may take a back seat. “We also have a tougher road ahead because of the upcoming midterm elections [in 2010],” said Hamilton, nodding toward congressional leaders’ reluctance to do anything politically risky if they are up for re-election.
The bill was introduced by Sens. John Kerry and Barbara Boxer as the “Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act,” giving it a decidedly pro-business bent. An increasing number of companies are getting involved in shaping the bill, which Hamilton said could create 1.7 million jobs nationally and 28,000 in Colorado. “The House debate didn’t hear as much from the business side,” Hamilton said. “Companies are realizing they have to be more vocal on this.”
SkiCo’s climate change efforts in Washington are coupled with their push for a local mail-in ballot initiative that would allow homeowners to take out low-interest loans from Pitkin County to make clean energy and efficiency improvements to their homes. SkiCo has endorsed and is campaigning for that initiative, which goes to voters in November.
andrew@aspendailynews.com
