Problems at USCAP?

Today’s Washington Post features a full-page ad urging the Senate to adopt carbon caps this year — ironically, an ad that may signal the demise of the U.S. Climate Action Partnership (USCAP), the coalition of rentseeking big businesses and socialist activist groups lobbying for global warming regulation.

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The ad is signed by 22 companies and 6 green groups. While 15 of the ad’s signatories are USCAP members (Boston Scientific, Dow, Duke, Dupont, Environmental Defense, Exelon, GE, Johnson & Johnson, NRDC, Nature Conservancy, NRG energy, Pew Center, PG&E PNM Resources, Rio Tinto, and Word Resources Institute), 15 other USCAP members didn’t endorse the ad (AES, Alcoa, Alston, BP America, Caterpillar, Chrysler, ConocoPhillips, Deere, Ford, FPL, GM, Pepsico, Shell & Siemens). It’s hard to believe that the ad wasn’t shopped to all USCAP members — who could have endorsed it at no cost. The ad states,

“This ad is paid for and/or supported by the aforementioned organizations.”

“Or supported” means that some signatories were not charged to participate. It’s not surprising that Caterpillar and ConocoPhillips didn’t endorse the ad since they opposed Waxman-Markey, albeit at the last moment. But it is notable, for example, that natural gas producer BP America and free-allowance-seeking FPL didn’t sign on. While some companies are leaving the U.S. Chamber of Commerce over climate, the USCAP den of thieves and scoundrels may be experiencing it’s own difficulties.