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Labor-enviro lobbying coalition swells
Two more environmental groups — the National Wildlife Federation and the Union of Concerned Scientists — have joined the BlueGreen Alliance, a coalition of unions and greens pushing for greenhouse gas limits and policies to create "green jobs."
The two green groups join the Sierra Club and the Natural Resources Defense Council in the BlueGreen Alliance, which launched in 2006 and grew out of years of less formal collaboration between the Sierra Club and the United Steelworkers.
“The interests of union members and scientists merge when good jobs build a cleaner, more resilient economy and we are thrilled to be a part of this unique alliance,” said Union of Concerned Scientists President Kevin Knobloch in a prepared statement Thursday.
The nine unions in the group include the Communications Workers of America, the Utility Workers Union, the Service Employees International Union and, most recently, the United Auto Workers.
The BlueGreen Alliance works inside the Beltway and also does grassroots work, such as a nationwide bus tour over the summer that pushes for energy and climate legislation.
Climate legislation collapsed in the Senate this year. Yvette Pena Lopes, BlueGreen’s director of legislation and intergovernmental affairs, told E&ETV this week that the group’s fall agenda includes legislation creating a renewable electricity standard and increasing a federal tax credit for expanded manufacturing of clean energy equipment.
The tax credit, included in the 2009 stimulus law, was capped at $2.3 billion and applications have far outstripped that ceiling.
