A Duke report on global warming states, "...our policy positions are driven by the IPCC peer-reviewed science and by our judgment that this science is not only credible, but that it is accepted by the vast majority of public policymakers who will shape U.S. climate legislation in the years to come."
Both Rogers and Rowe have taken a very high public profile in calling for cap-and-trade. In addition to testifying in Congress, these CEOs formed a partnership with the Environmental Defense Action Fund (EDAF) to promote cap-and-trade through TV and print advertising campaigns. The ads, paid for by EDAF, can be found at www.asmarcap.com.
Profit is the motivation. In an interview, Rowe said, “We don't flinch from the charge that, yes, some of our motivation and enthusiasm comes from the fact that we should make money on it if it happens.”
To be sure, cap-and-trade could generate windfall profits for Exelon. Rowe reportedly has told investors that cap-and-trade could boost earnings by about $1.5 billion a year.
With billions at stake, it’s no wonder CEOs would skip over the finer points of global warming research and use conclusions that conveniently generate huge profits while making them appear to be concerned about the state of the planet.
Unlike Gore, however, Rogers and Rowe lead publicly-traded companies with a fiduciary responsibility to shareholders that compels them to act in the best interest of their investors. Such a responsibility includes a requirement that decisions must be based on the best available information that is reasonably discoverable.
Accordingly, Rogers and Rowe, along with other CEOs lobbying for cap-and-trade, should conduct an independent investigation of “ClimatgeGate” to determine its impact on the soundness of the IPCC’s conclusion.
These CEOs must exercise their fiduciary responsibility by carefully assessing whether they have been duped by a group of rogue climate change scientists. Thanks to “ClimateGate,” the burden of proof is now on the CEOs to show their global warming policy is sound.
Until the cloud clears on the IPCC report, companies should immediately cease lobbying for nationwide laws to cap emission limits.
Companies actively seeking emissions limits are clearly at a crossroads. With shareholders’ money at stake, they can ignore the importance of “ClimateGate” or they can exercise prudence and seriously examine the issues raised by this controversy. The billions CEOs hope to make from cap-and-trade could easily disappear if the scientific underpinnings of the IPCC report vanish into thin air.