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BP, Conoco drop out of USCAP; Shell stays
BP and ConocoPhillips, along with Caterpillar, have opted not to renew their memberships in the U.S. Climate Action Partnership, the partnership said in a statement Feb. 16.
In the partnership, better known as USCAP, some 30 businesses and leading environmental organizations joined forces to urge the U.S. government to quickly enact strong national legislation to require significant reductions of greenhouse gas emissions.
By withdrawing from the group, ConocoPhillips said it will be able to better focus its efforts on ensuring fair and equitable treatment of the transportation sector and its consumers and on expanding opportunities for greater near-term greenhouse gas reductions through increased use of natural gas.
In a separate statement, ConocoPhillips Chairman and Chief Executive Jim Mulva said climate legislation in the U.S. Congress has placed the transportation sector and its consumers at a disadvantage, left domestic refineries unfairly penalized vs. international competition, and ignored the critical role that natural gas can play in reducing GHG emissions.
“We believe greater attention and resources need to be dedicated to reversing these missed opportunities, and our actions today are part of that effort. Addressing these issues will save thousands of American jobs, as well as create new ones,” Mulva said.
Shell stays in A CEO-led organization that has seen periodic membership changes, USCAP also has added three new corporate members — AES, Alstom and Honeywell — during the past seven months.
“We believe that U.S. action on energy and climate legislation in 2010 will preserve and create American jobs, secure our energy future and generate new investment in the global clean energy economy,” the partnership said Feb. 16.
In response to BP, ConocoPhillips and Caterpillar leaving USCAP, Marvin Odum, president of Shell Oil Co., had this to say in a Feb. 16 e-mail to Petroleum News: “Shell has long supported a market-based approach to addressing energy supply and CO2 emissions. We are pleased to continue our association with USCAP and will remain engaged in advocating for federal legislation that will protect existing jobs, create new jobs via development of domestic oil and gas resources allowing the U.S. to be more self-reliant, incentivize the development of lower carbon energies, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”
Houston-based Shell Oil Company is a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell.
—Rose Ragsdale
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