January 22, 2007

PETER RAFLE (202) 302-7086 peter_rafle@epw.senate.gov

Washington, DC -- Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, commended a coalition of business and environmental organizations for working together to save the planet.

"There are just a few moments in history when all sides come together for the common good. Such a moment has arrived with the agreement by these companies and organizations to work together to call for action to avoid a global warming crisis. The U.S. Climate Action Partnership has challenged Congress to act immediately, and we must answer that call. We have scheduled our first hearing on global warming on January 30, and we will be legislating on this critical issue as soon as possible."

Senator Boxer made her remarks in response to today’s announcement by the U.S. Climate Action Partnership (USCAP), which consists of market leaders Alcoa, BP America, Caterpillar, Duke Energy, DuPont, FPL Group, General Electric, Lehman Brothers, PG&E, and PNM Resources, along with four leading non-governmental organizations - Environmental Defense, Natural Resources Defense Council, Pew Center on Global Climate Change, and World Resources Institute. The partnership today called on the federal government to quickly enact strong national legislation including mandatory reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, and warned against delay in action to control the pollution that causes global warming.