Green Apple quits US Chamber of Commerce

Apple is the latest company to join a wave of resignations from the US Chamber of Commerce over its opposition to climate change regulation. The computer maker has joined utility giants Exelon and Pacific Gas & Electric in leaving America's biggest business lobby. Nike has chosen merely to resign from the USCC's board of directors, and fight for the environment from within.

The wave of resignations appears to have been sparked by a USCC official calling for the science of climate change to be subjected to a "Scopes monkey trial of the 21st century", referring to the 1926 court case which tested a Tennessee law forbidding the teaching of evolution in state-funded schools.

The USCC's chief operating officer quickly moved to save the situation by saying the offending official's comments were "wrong, inaccurate and obscured what the chamber is really doing".

The problem for the USCC is that even "what the chamber is really doing" is unpalatable to the likes of Apple, Nike - and even the general US public.

The USCC has been an implacable opponent of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) efforts to use the Clean Air Act to set limits on greenhouse gas emissions. It believes that such limits would raise costs to businesses.

In a letter to the USCC, Apple weighed in on the side of the EPA,
writing: "We strongly object to the Chamber's recent comments opposing the EPA's effort to limit greenhouse gases." The letter claims Apple has been taking steps to reduce its carbon footprint, but says it supports government intervention against "companies who cannot or will not do the same".

Cynics would argue that Apple, a brand beloved of well-educated, affluent liberals, is making the best of inevitable climate change legislation, which was passed by the House of Representatives in June, and now faces a stormy ride through the Senate. Exelon, an electricity and gas provider which is America's largest nuclear generator, would have little trouble complying with emissions legislation.

It seems likely that other companies with little to lose from a climate change act - and green consumers to woo - will shortly be dancing to Apple's tune. ·