The U.S. Climate Action Partnership on Tuesday sought to downplay decisions by two major oil companies – ConocoPhillips and BP – and heavy equipment maker Caterpillar to leave the coalition that is pressing Congress to approve cap-and-trade legislation.

“USCAP is a CEO-led organization whose membership changes periodically. In fact, over the past seven months, USCAP has added three new corporate members – most recently in late October – and expects to add new members in the coming months,” the coalition said in a press release on the departures.

USCAP also said, “All three companies have provided invaluable assistance, expertise and significant commitments of time and resources in USCAP’s efforts to advance comprehensive climate and energy legislation.”

BP spokesman Ronnie Chappell describes the company's decision to leave the U.S. Climate Action Partnership this way:

"We think that USCAP has accomplished the work that we thought important when we joined, which was the establishment of a principles-based framework for shaping climate change legislation,” he told The Hill. "We think that the [USCAP] blueprint for legislative action is a great piece of work, and we continue to support climate change legislation that conforms to the blueprint.”

“We don’t believe that legislation pending in the Congress meets that standard yet, and we have concluded that as the climate change discussion goes forward and as the proposals become more specific, we can become more effective if we show up at that discussion as BP,” he added.

BP America is also leaving the U.S. Climate Action Partnership. A spokesman said the oil company, like ConocoPhillips, will not renew its membership in the coalition of corporations and environmental groups pushing Congress to approve cap-and-trade legislation.

Spokesman Tom Mueller said BP informed USCAP today of its decision. Another BP spokesman, Ronnie Chappell, said USCAP "has accomplished the work that we thought important when we joined, which was the establishment of a principles-based framework for shaping climate change legislation."

"We think that the [USCAP] blueprint for legislative action is a great piece of work, and we continue to support climate change legislation that conforms to the blueprint," he said.

“We don’t believe that legislation pending in the Congress meets that standard yet, and we have concluded that as the climate change discussion goes forward and as the proposals become more specific, we can become more effective if we show up at that discussion as BP,” he added.

This post was updated at 11:29 a.m.

ConocoPhillips is leaving the partnership that’s pushing Congress to approve cap-and-trade legislation.

Some environmental groups are bashing White House plans to spur construction of the first new U.S. nuclear power plants in decades.

President Obama is expected to announce Tuesday that Southern Company will receive over $8 billion in federal loan guarantees to help finance two new nuclear reactors in Georgia.

Tyson Slocum of Public Citizen issued a statement Monday alleging the financing “will once again put taxpayers on the hook when they can least afford it” an that “it takes us entirely in the wrong direction.”

The report, commissioned by the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, should provide some ammo for industry groups.

Read more...

She struck back at climate skeptics who claim that record snowstorms this winter have undercut evidence of global warming.

The Washington Post’s Dana Milbank ends Sunday’s column on snowstorms and climate change with these observations about the PR battle over global warming:

For those concerned about warming, it's time for a shift in emphasis. Fortunately, one has already been provided to them by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who has done more than any Democrat to keep climate legislation alive this year. His solution: skip the hurricanes and Himalayan glaciers and keep the argument on the hundreds of billions of dollars spent annually on foreign oil, some of that going to terrorists rather than to domestic job creation.

Al Gore, for one, seems to realize it's time for a new tactic. New TV ads released during last week's blizzards by Gore's climate advocacy group say nothing about climate science. They show workers asking their senators for more jobs from clean energy. Read more...

President Obama will next week announce a federal loan guarantee for utility giant Southern Company to build two new nuclear reactors.