Business Roundtable is an association of over 200 chief executive officers of leading U.S. companies working to promote sound public policy and a thriving U.S. economy. Business Roundtable member companies produce $7.4 trillion in annual revenues and employ more than 16 million people. Comprising more than a third of the total value of the U.S. stock market, these companies invest $158 billion annually in research and development, equal to 62 percent of private U.S. research and development spending. In addition, Business Roundtable member companies pay more than $200 billion in dividends to shareholders and generate more than $540 billion in sales for small and medium-sized businesses annually. Business Roundtable companies give more than $9 billion a year in combined charitable contributions.
Business Roundtable appreciates the opportunity to comment on EPA’s proposed carbon emissions guidelines for existing electric generating units pursuant to Section 111 (d) of the Clean Air Act. In finalizing these regulations, it is of the utmost importance that EPA strikes the right balance between environmental protection and potentially large costs to the economy. These dual imperatives rise and fall together.
These comments identify four areas of concern that merit further consideration before the proposed rules are finalized:
(1) the effects of the proposed rules on U.S. economic competitiveness;
(2) the effects of the proposed rules on the reliability of the U.S. electric power system;
(3) the changes necessary to provide meaningful flexibility for states in implementing the rules; and
(4) the validity of the technical assumptions on which the rules are based.
BUSINESS ROUNDTABLE AND CLIMATE CHANGE
As CEOs who lead major American companies that operate in communities all across the United States and in every economic sector, members of the Business Roundtable care deeply about both the health of the environment and the health of the economy. Consequently, the Business Roundtable has long recognized the need to address climate change.
Read the full comments here.