By Deborah Zabarenko, Environment Correspondent
WASHINGTON, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Major multinational businesses believe U.S.
standards to limit greenhouse gas emissions are imminent, and most think
regulations will be in place before 2015, a new survey reported on Wednesday.
This has prompted strategic change at firms including DuPont, Shell Group,
Whirlpool, Alcoa, Duke Energy (formerly Cinergy) and Swiss Re, according to a
report by the Pew Center on Global Climate Change which included the corporate
survey.
"If you're looking for proof climate change is happening, stop looking for
receding glaciers and start looking at the changing marketplace," said Andrew
Hoffman of the University of Michigan, who wrote the report.
Of 31 major corporations that completed a 100-question survey, 90 percent
expect the U.S. government to set standards for greenhouse gas emissions
imminently; 67 percent believe those laws will go into effect between 2010 and
2015.
There are at least seven proposals in the U.S. Senate to limit these
emissions, which contribute to global warming by trapping the sun's heat like
the glass walls of a greenhouse.
Eileen Claussen, president of the Pew climate change center, said a federal
law on greenhouse gas emissions was possible in 2008, but only if certain
changes occur.
"I think you may have to have turnover in the House and you may have to have
a presidential candidate on the Republican side who wants to do something about
climate change," Claussen said. She added that 2010 might be a more likely year
for laws on emissions.
'A SEAT AT THE TABLE' Continued...
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