Executives urge action on climate change

WASHINGTON – Chief executives of 10 corporations urged Congress on Monday to require limits on greenhouse gases this year, contending that voluntary efforts to combat climate change are inadequate.

The call for immediate action came on the eve of President Bush’s State of the Union address. He is expected to reiterate that industry on its own is making progress in curtailing the growth of heat-trapping emissions without government intervention.

But the executives and leaders of four major environmental organizations said in a letter to Bush that mandatory emissions caps are needed to reduce the flow of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere.

The executives, part of a coalition called the U.S. Climate Action Partnership, represented major utilities, aluminum and chemical companies and financial institutions. They said the cornerstone of climate policy should be an economy-wide emissions cap-and-trade system.

Members of the group include chief executives of Alcoa Inc., BP America Inc., DuPont Co., Caterpillar Inc., General Electric Co. and Duke Energy Corp.

At his daily briefing, White House press secretary Tony Snow dismissed any call for mandatory, economy-wide carbon caps. He acknowledged there’s been some talk about such caps, “but they are not part of the president’s proposal.”