BIOMASS HUB

It’s a game of musical chairs over at the U.S. Climate Action Partnership, a coalition that unites major companies and environmental groups pushing for strong national legislation to require significant reductions of greenhouse gas emissions.

Before the door shut after Big Oil’s departure, Big Paper slipped in.  Most recently, wood and paper products giant Weyerhaeuser announced they are joining the group.  Weyerhaeuser CEO Dan Fulton announced in a prepared statement:

As the world grapples with the climate change issue, our industry holds a unique position to help provide solutions through the use of forest fiber, one of the world’s most sustainable resources and one of the best at sequestering carbon.  Whether we can make full use of this potential depends on legislative guidelines currently being debated in Washington, D.C.  USCAP has proven to be an effective advocate and as the only forest products company in USCAP, we believe our membership will help position sustainable forestry, biomass and forest products positively in these important policy discussions.

The arrival of the Washington State-based company represents a major addition to USCAP, which was in the news last month when oil giants BP and ConocoPhillips announced they were abandoning the group.  Weyerhaeuser owns or manages 21 million acres of timberland and has offices or operations in 10 countries.

The group was active in shaping the cap-and-trade bill the House approved last year. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), the architect of an alternative Senate climate plan, is expected to brief CEOs from USCAP on a conference call Thursday.

The full story from the Hill.