Polluters are pushing for their own massive bailout

Here is a secret that you might not want to know: There’s another corporate bailout looming on the horizon.

No, it’s not for the banking industry. Not for the insurance companies. Nope, it’s not the auto industry.

This one is for big oil, king coal and giant utility companies. Right now companies like Duke Energy, General Motors, and even PNM are working Congress over to include huge corporate giveaways in upcoming global warming legislation.

President Obama has put forward a smart plan that will solve global warming and ensure that money generated from a climate program will go back to people and not to energy corporations. But he is receiving heavy fire from the fossil fuel industry.

The number of lobbyists working on global warming in Washington, D.C. has increased to 3,500 — or about 7 lobbyists for every member of Congress. And those lobbyists are having an effect.

U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman, who was an early leader promoting global warming action, is now pushing hard for free “carbon permits” for industry.

Even our own senator, Jeff Bingaman, chairman of the Senate Energy Committee, appears to be supporting giveaways. Bingaman said recently that we need to give away free credits to energy companies or “run the risk of causing a substantial increase in burden” on electric utilities.

President Obama is proposing instead to cap global warming pollution and have coal, oil, and gas companies pay for 100 percent of the pollution that they put into our sky through an “auction.”

Money from the auction would then be given back to Americans to offset rising energy costs. Some of the money also would be invested in new energy technologies, energy efficiency and green building.

There are good studies from the University of Massachusetts showing that such a plan would protect low and middle income families and ensure that they wouldn’t be hurt by rising energy prices.

And therein lies the rub. The companies don’t want the money to go to consumers and they don’t want an auction. Instead they want “free allowances” or “free permits” that would amount to hundreds of billions of dollars in corporate giveaways.

Peter Orszag, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, was blunt in his assessment before a recent congressional hearing saying free allowances “would represent the largest corporate welfare program that has even been enacted in the history of the United States.”

That’s right. The biggest corporate welfare program… ever.

Bigger than the banking bailout. Bigger than the savings and loan debacle. The handouts wouldn’t be a one-time affair; they would go on year after year, for decades.

This is not empty rhetoric. Just look at the European Union for a real life example.

The EU enacted a climate program in 2005 and the majority of permits were given freely to corporations. Presumably, these giveaways were to ensure that ratepayers wouldn’t be hurt by rising energy costs as fossil fuels were phased out and more expensive clean energy resources were brought on line.

And you probably know the rest of the story. The energy corporations pocketed the money, Europeans now pay more for their energy, and global warming pollution hasn’t been reduced.

And who would expect otherwise? Imagine that carbon permits are World Series tickets. If the government gives all tickets to Exxon for free, with no strings attached, will Exxon let people into the stadium for free, or sell tickets for what the market will bear and pocket the money?

Congressional concern for energy companies is duly noted, but how about concern for the taxpayer, homeowners, and small businesses?

We don’t need another round of corporate handouts.

We need a plan that will jump start the economy, save the climate, and protect people. President Obama’s plan will get us sailing in that direction. Congress should get on board.

Dr. John Fogarty is director of Santa Fe-based New Energy Economy, which is dedicated to solving global warming and boosting our economy.