Summary

Members and activists helped UCS make progress on several important climate initiatives during the start of 2006. Together, we played key roles in corporate campaigns targeting ExxonMobil and the three largest U.S. mutual fund companies, all of which need to take action to address global warming. We are also helping to advance federal climate legislation.

Exxon Responds to Mounting Pressure

Thanks to thousands of letters from UCS activists, and others like you, we are forcing the world's largest corporation to change its tune. ExxonMobil recently admitted, for the first time, that global warming pollution has increased and that the burning of fossil fuels—such as oil—has contributed to the problem. But the corporation has yet to take any concrete action, and it continues to rake in record profits at the expense of our health and environment. New CEO Rex Tillerson has an opportunity to turn ExxonMobil into a responsible corporation. UCS and the ExxposeExxon coalition will continue to urge Mr. Tillerson to stop blocking meaningful regulation to curb global warming and to start investing in clean energy solutions.

Pressing Mutual Funds to Take Action on Global Warming

In response to the economic threats posed by global warming, investors are filing resolutions calling on companies to address the global warming problem. While major institutional investors, such as pension funds and endowments, increasingly support these resolutions, none of the top 100 U.S. mutual funds support climate change resolutions targeting the companies in their portfolios. By failing to vote for climate resolutions, mutual funds are neglecting their responsibility to protect investors from companies that expose themselves to financial losses, lawsuits, and insurance problems by ignoring global warming. In January 2006, UCS and Coop America developed a petition calling on the three largest U.S. mutual fund companies—Fidelity, Vanguard, and American Funds—to support global warming resolutions. In all, the coalition generated more than 38,000 petition signatures and letters to the three funds, with more than 15,000 UCS activists signing the petition. Several news stories ran when we delivered the letters, putting pressure on the funds to engage on the global warming issue. UCS will continue our efforts to secure a commitment to address global warming from the mutual fund companies.

Advancing Federal Climate Legislation

In June 2005, a non-binding resolution sponsored by Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) demonstrated that, for the first time, a majority (53-44) of the Senate supports mandatory action to address global warming. Building on that momentum, Senate Energy Committee Chairman Pete Domenici (R-NM) and Ranking Member Bingaman produced a white paper in February posing questions about how to design an economy-wide system to reduce global warming pollution. Senator Domenici's focus on the nuts and bolts of climate legislation represents an important step forward. UCS submitted comments on the whitepaper, highlighting the urgency of the climate problem and calling for the creation of a carbon cap and trade system, as well as policies targeting specific business sectors. In April, the Senate Energy Committee held an all-day workshop on the issue, where a number of groups and companies testified in favor of strong mandatory limits on carbon emissions.

We are also starting to see new global warming legislation being introduced. In the House, Representatives Tom Udall (D-NM) and Tom Petri (R-WI) introduced H.R. 5049, a bill to establish a market-based, economy-wide system for reducing heat-trapping gas emissions. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) is also working on a mandatory economy-wide reduction bill that she plans on introducing soon. UCS continues to provide technical assistance to build support for strong federal climate legislation. We'll keep you posted as these important bills move through the legislature.

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Page Last Revised: 05/05/06