Industry Demands Mandatory CO2 Cap

Ten senior US business leaders, including the heads of utility and chemical companies, have issued a direct challenge to President George Bush demanding that he announce mandatory caps on carbon emissions.

“We can and must take prompt action to establish a co-ordinated, economy-wide, market-driven approach to climate protection,” the chief executives, from companies including Alcoa, DuPont, and Pacific Gas and Electric, say in an open letter to Mr Bush.

The letter declares that mandatory reductions are needed, rather than voluntary measures Bush prefers, and that ” the cornerstone of this approach” should be a cap-and-trade system, whereby companies that exceed emissions limits should be forced to buy permits.

Over to you George…