U.S. Chamber of Commerce Downsized

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), a California-based power utility, has resigned from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce over what the utility's chairman and CEO, Peter Darbee, describes as "fundamental differences" over climate change policy. PG&E's resignation was sparked by moves by the Chamber of Commerce to challenge a determination by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that greenhouse gases from motor vehicle emissions endanger public health and welfare. In a letter to the chamber, Darbee wrote, "We find it dismaying that the Chamber neglects the indisputable fact that a decisive majority of experts have said the data on global warming are compelling and point to a threat that cannot be ignored. In our opinion, an intellectually honest argument over the best policy response to the challenges of climate change is one thing; disingenuous attempts to diminish or distort the reality of these challenges are quite another." PG&E supplies power from gas, nuclear, renewable energy and some coal-fired sources.