Montana businesses issue statement on clean energy economy as Senate Democrats caucus in Washington D.C.

Contact:

Beth Berlin, Montana Director, Climate Solutions

406.239.8358

bethberlin@climatesolutions.org

Montana –As the Senate Democratic Caucus prepares to meet, June 17 and discuss the direction and strategy for moving forward on a climate and energy package, business leaders throughout Montana sent its economic case for support for building the clean energy economy to Senators Baucus and Tester encouraging them to stand behind a comprehensive approach that includes a price on carbon and reminding them that a scaled-down energy only bill will not adequately address our dependence on oil, will not stimulate our economy and will not provide the market stability American businesses need to grow and compete. 

Below is a statement from Montana Business Leaders for Clean Energy on the importance of passing comprehensive climate and energy legislation.

On behalf of business leaders throughout Montana, the Montana Business Leaders for Clean Energy is urging our Senators to stand up for comprehensive climate and energy legislation now. As the disaster unfolds in the Gulf, this is the time for bold action, not a stripped-down energy bill. 

We must move quickly and decisively to wean ourselves off dirty fossil fuels for the sake of our economy.   Montana needs and demands comprehensive legislation that puts a price on carbon, unlocks the creativity of the market, and points our state toward a more profitable, more sustainable, and more secure clean-energy future.

Montana Business Leaders for Clean Energy’s 178 member businesses range from renewable energy firms, to main-street businesses to hospitals and come from every part of our state. Over the past year, Montana business leaders – including farmers -- on this network have:

• Delivered a statewide business leader sign on letter in October 2009 and again in February 2010 with over 101 business leaders asking for strong comprehensive climate and energy legislation this year.  To date, a total of 178 Montana business Leaders for Clean Energy have signed on to this.
  
  
• Visited with Senators Baucus and Tester in Washington D.C. on three separate occasions to discuss the need for comprehensive climate and energy legislation.  During the last visit, business leaders as MT Electric co-op members also stressed the need for comprehensive legislation this year and delivered a letter on this point with over 110 MT electric co-op member signatories.
  
  
• Submitted and published opinion pieces in the Montana papers asking for such legislation including an Op Ed from 4 eastern Montana Farmers (see attached), and an Op Ed from business leaders, (also in other papers), numerous letters to the editor, and others feature articles on clean energy business solutions.
  
  
• Participated and lead 10 business roundtables, rotary club meetings, City club meetings and clean energy tours and panels including the Repowering the Flathead series, Bozeman and Missoula clean energy roundtables, and other events throughout the state.
  
  
• Participated in Montana and recent regional press teleconferences  that garnered significant regional, national, and state press including the “Major Employers, Outdoor Industries, and Small Businesses Urge Immediate Action on Comprehensive Climate, Clean Energy Legislation”,  “Montanans In Copenhagen”, “101 Businesses for Clean Energy , “Senate Gets Crackin’ on Clean Energy and Climate”.
  
  

Our council is part of a wider movement sweeping the state’s business community. Across Montana, 318 businesses are calling for comprehensive climate and energy legislation this year. These businesses employ 7,586 of your fellow Montanans—and will employ many more if Congress acts now to set our nation on a path to a clean energy future.

Now is the time to act. Between the tragic spill in the Gulf and the mine disaster in West Virginia, Americans have spent months dealing with the consequences of our continued reliance on fossil fuels. There can be no better time to ask Americans to turn away from an increasingly outdated way of powering our economy – it is impossible to ignore the real costs of our fossil-fuel addiction.

Energy-only legislation is not enough. Research shows that a comprehensive climate and clean energy bill will cut US oil imports and greenhouse gas emissions much faster and further, boosting employment higher than an energy-only bill. 

A comprehensive climate and energy bill, according to the Congressional Budget Office, will slash our budget deficit by $21 billion by 2019.  In comparison, an energy-only bill means more oil imports, more greenhouse gas emissions, and fewer new jobs - and according to Congressional Budget Office estimates available at www.cbo.gov - an energy-only bill would actually increase the budget deficit.  To us, the choice is clear.

The benefits to Montanans are clear. A 2009 University of Illinois, UC Berkley, and Yale University study shows that comprehensive climate and energy legislation could mean up to 13,000 more Montana jobs by 2020 and an increase the state’s GDP by as much as $500 million a year. It would lead to average real household income in Montana that is $599 to $1,736 higher per year than without comprehensive legislation. Montanans are telling us that they need those jobs. But, in order to create them, business owners need the kind of market certainty that only putting a price on carbon emissions can give.

 For the sake of our businesses, our state, and our nation, we are asking Senators Baucus and Tester to stand up and support comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation. Now is the moment, and we urge them to act.