White House gloats at chamber of commerce exodus over climate bill

• PG&E, Exelon and Apple break with chamber• Climate change bill now before the Senate
Suzanne Goldenberg, US environment correspondent
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 8 October 2009 23.07 BST
The Obama administration took a deliberate step into the row that has engulfed the business world today, gloating at a mini-exodus from the US chamber of commerce because of its climate change policy.
In the administration's first comments on the row, the energy secretary, Steven Chu, did not conceal his delight that high-profile companies like California's PG&E, Exelon and Apple had broken with the chamber because of its opposition to a climate change bill now before the Senate and moves to regulate greenhouse gas emissions by the Environmental Protection Agency.
"I think it's wonderful," Chu said.
"I think companies like that - Exelon and others - are saying we have recognised the reality," he said. "They are saying we can't be a party to this denial and foot-dragging."
Not that the chamber is ready to listen. Earlier today, a combative head of the chamber, Thomas Donohue, made it clear he was in no mind to rethink the organisation's policies because of the high profile defections.
"If people want to attack us, bring em on," he told reporters.
"We are not changing where we are," he said. "We've thought long and hard about what is important here and we are not going anywhere."
Donohue went on to accuse environmental organisations of orchestrating a series of defections from the chamber over the last two weeks. "It's sort of interesting that we have turnover all the time and these four companies sort of woke up one morning all decided they were on their own, going to quit and put it in the newspaper." In the most bitter defection, Apple this week said the chamber's resistance to action on global warming was "frustrating".
Nike, meanwhile, has questioned how the board arrives at policy. The footwear maker - which stepped down from the board - said climate change policy was not discussed at meetings.
Other business groups - such as General Electric - have also taken issue with the chamber's stand after another official, William Kovacs, called for public hearings on climate change legislation. He compared the hearings to the 1920s Scopes monkey trial about evolution.
Donohue insisted today that the group would support action on climate change - but he argued the bill passed by the house last June and similar measures now before the Senate would harm the US economy.