The Kyoto Protocol and Implications For U.S. Companies

Bill Fang

"With or Without You: The Kyoto Protocol and Implications for U.S. Companies" was the topic of a lunch panel discussion on May 14, 2002, cosponsored by the ABA Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources Climate Change and Sustainable Development
Committee and the Environment, Energy and Natural Resources Section of the D.C. Bar. Speakers were Dan Reifsnyder, director of the Office of Global Change, State Department; David Mitchell, director of Federal Governmental Affairs, Duke Energy; Mary Anne Sullivan, partner in Hogan & Hartson; and Don Goldberg, senior attorney at the Center for International Environmental Law. Bill Fang, deputy general counsel of the Edison Electric Institute, moderated the discussion.

Reifsnyder provided the backdrop on negotiations leading up to the 16th meeting of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change Subsidiary Bodies, which are being held in Bonn, Germany, from June 5-14, 2002. He described the Canadian cleaner energy proposal and the status of ratification of the Kyoto Protocol, particularly Russia's pivotal role. Mitchell discussed Duke Energy's business strategy in terms of risks and opportunities, noting the company's diversity of fuels and that, even though the company's greenhouse gas emissions may be rising, the firm's emissions rate has decreased. Sullivan called the federal government a "lagging indicator" on greenhouse gas regulation and said that while there is no groundswell for mandatory regulation in the United States, businesses would be well advised to prepare for a carbon-constrained future. She also noted that as a result of the Enron debacle, U.S. companies were temporarily pulling back on European electricity market investments. Finally, Goldberg posited a number of possible greenhouse gas policy scenarios, indicating that he foresaw the Kyoto Protocol entering into force, but with several parties not part of the treaty, including the United States, Australia and developing countries. He suggested that a parallel international process may arise that involves the Western Hemisphere - the United States, Canada, Mexico and South American countries.

Bill Fang is the deputy general counsel and climate issues director for the Edison Electric Institute, the association of U.S. shareholder-owned electric utilities, international affiliates and industry associates worldwide. He is also a vice-chair of the Section's Committee on Climate Change and Sustainable Development.