Northwest businesses call for Senate action on climate change

Climate Solutions gathered a handful of Northwest employers, including Nike Inc. and Weyerhaeuser Co., on Thursday to call for U.S. Senate action on climate legislation.

Climate Solutions, an Olympia, Wash.-based business group, cited a report from the American Businesses for Clean Energy that said more than 6,000 businesses with 2.5 million U.S. workers support energy and climate legislation.

In Oregon, 201 companies with more than 54,509 employees support climate legislation.

Polls done on behalf of Clean Energy Works, as reported by Climate Solutions, indicate that Oregon voters support the American Power Act currently before the Senate by an 18-point margin, with 57 percent supporting the bill and 39 percent opposed.

In a Climate Solutions teleconference, Northwest business representatives evoked the Gulf oil spill as motivation for climate-related legislation.

“The spill is a painful reminder that we need to move forward without a dependence on fossil fuels,” said Sarah Severn, director of stakeholder mobilization for Nike Inc. “We need to supoort the new and the clean and not rely on the old and the dirty.”

Severn called for the “de-carbonization” of the U.S. economy that would put a price on carbon to support the innovation necessary to come up with alternatives to fossil fuels.

Ross Macfarlane, senior advisor at Climate Solutions, said the call to action is not necessarily about the American Power Act, the long-awaited climate bill introduced last month, which has been criticized for not being aggressive enough.

“This isn’t so much about the particular vehicle, but about demanding action,” Macfarlane said.

Amy Roberts, vice president of government affairs for the Outdoor Industry Association, spoke in support of legislation on behalf of its members, including Columbia Sportswear, Keen and REI.

“The outdoor environment is the linchpin of our industry,” Roberts said. “And our outdoor environment cannot be taken for granted.”

Roberts said concerns about global warming prompted the Outdoor Industry Association to join Business for Innovative Climate and Energy Policy, which is also calling for action on climate legislation.