Restating facts about our energy future

In the past few months, ACCCE has launched several initiatives to help inform Americans about environmental issues and America’s energy future—a critical topic as the U.S. Senate takes up climate change legislation.

We visited clean coal technology projects during our Factuality Tour. We profiled three Americans who shared how their lives were made better by low-cost electricity from coal. And we traveled across the U.S. to share our message of affordable energy. With all the work that we’ve been doing, we’re bound to hear some criticism. That’s part of a rigorous debate. But we have to step in when someone writes something about our organization that misstates our position.

In a recent article, Daily Finance, a business and financial news Web site, included ACCCE in a rundown of think tanks and lobbying organizations that do not want climate change legislation to pass in the Senate. That is false.

Just the opposite is true. ACCCE has been very clear from the beginning that we are for federal carbon management legislation and we recognize that a cap-and-trade program could be part of that solution.

When outside groups – including publications like Daily Finance – imply that we are trying to “kill” clean energy legislation, it can’t go uncorrected. All of our efforts are part of a bigger goal to ensure that whatever bill Congress passes protects consumers from higher energy costs while meeting emission reduction goals.

In addition, the article mentioned that our Factuality Tour was a “stunt” to discourage people from supporting the climate change bill. Again, this is incorrect – the Factuality Tour explores clean coal technology (CCT) projects throughout the U.S., augmenting the provisions in the current version of the climate legislation for CCT funding.

ACCCE prides itself on being an organization that stands by its commitments and that is why we are disappointed when publications misrepresent our mission and public policy positions.

Let’s agree that climate legislation is a very important issue. It is the nexus of energy, environment and economic policy … and therefore will have a dramatic impact on the life of every American. It deserves better than the politics-as-usual slant some publications continue to inject into the debate.