US: Climate policy derailed by corporate interests

As the U.S. climate delegation arrives in Copenhagen nearly empty-handed, watchdog groups back at home say they know why: a political system gone astray due to the influence of huge amounts of corporate cash. "The bottom line is our method of private financing of campaigns is a disaster," Tyson Slocum, director of energy at Public Citizen, an NGO, told IPS. From the start of a congressional campaign, to the drafting of legislation, to the launching of an ex-congressman's, lucrative lobbying career, big business is at work, they say. "The special interests pay for our political campaigns. They in a sense are buying access," Mary Boyle, spokesperson for Common Cause, told IPS. "They have a very strong voice and a very strong role in setting our political agenda," said Boyle, whose group is proposing an overhaul. Among corporations with influence in the U.S. Congress, oil and gas companies wield particular power, and they came out in force to shape the climate bill that passed the House in June. That bill proposes reducing U.S. carbon emissions 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020. This is roughly four percent below 1990 levels, not the 40 percent reduction called for to keep the planet from warming 2 C. A similar measure is sitting before the Senate.