中国气候变化信息网 China Climate Change Info-Net

The US Climate Action Partnership called on Monday (local time) for a federal plan to curb greenhouse gas emissions, a day before President George W. Bush is expected to avoid proposing just that in his State of the Union speech.  

"These recommendations should catalyze legislative action," said Jeff Immelt, chairman and chief executive officer of General Electric Co, a member of the group, which also includes BP America.

Climate change is set to dominate discussions this week at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort of Davos, where some 900 company chief executives and board chairpersons are expected to rub shoulders with 24 heads of state.

Both GE and BP Plc, parent of BP America, are at the forefront of a new breed of companies that want to be big players in a new clean, or low carbon, economy fashioned by concerns over climate change.

BP says it will direct some 5 percent of its investment over the next 10 years into clean energy low carbon energy sources like wind that contribute less to climate change than conventional fossil fuels like coal and oil.

But companies may be able to make climate change work for them without necessarily tweaking their business plans with the right policies.

Citigroup noted in a research briefing on Monday that even "dirty" power companies can profit from carbon markets, citing the example of RWE AG, one of Europe's biggest power-producing companies.

Under the EU carbon trading program the bloc's main climate change strategy power companies get a certain quota of greenhouse gas emission permits for free, but still pass on the price at which they trade to consumers, bagging a profit.

"Despite emitting about 90 million tons of carbon dioxide (in 2005), or about 10 percent of Germany's total, this 'dirty' utility has been enjoying windfall profits," the note said.

The aviation sector joins the EU carbon trading program in 2011, and many airlines have lobbied hard for it as some economists suspect airlines want to cash in on such a windfall.