Climate Change Lobbyists

The White HouseYou would think we could all at least gather together around the cause of saving the world- that is how they do it in Hollywood. Everyone has their differences and arguments but when it really comes down to making something happen, you buck up, take a deep breath and high-five your sworn enemy to do everything you can to get rid of the bad guys.

Apparently for now, climate change is still politics. Lobbyist groups are just as active on this as they have been on any other issue, all vying for control and influence of what is very important legislation.

You can imagine the Sierra Club and Exxon/Mobil talking into different ears of Congress members, or activists writing letters and holding protests while seasoned lobbyists sit shaking their heads with senators.

According to the Center for Public Integrity, manufacturing has sent the most lobbyists to Washington on this issue- 200 out of the over 1150 that have lobbied Congress around climate change. Other big spenders were the 130 power and utility groups who lobbied, the 80 agriculture companies, and the 20 bio-fuel companies.

These numbers are based on the lobbying that was done in the House of Representatives leading up to the June vote over the climate change bill. It narrowly passed the House of Representatives vote and is now waiting for a vote in the Senate, who will all need to vote on the health care legislation when they reconvene after the August break.

With over 1,000 lobbying companies and groups around this issue, it’s obvious that everyone realizes its importance and how far-reaching the decisions and legislation will be for the United States. Reuters also notes, though, that there has been less money spent on the climate change legislation than on the health care reform legislation.

Why? I would venture to guess that because there is less to lose in the climate change bill. Medical care and medical insurance is gigantic money and only growing as the baby boomer population in the United States grows bigger as well. There will be an increase in spending on medical care for decades, and probably a corresponding need for life-saving or extending options- and certainly a much higher need for different kinds of home and nursing home based care. That is tangible- we have the numbers of people and we know what different procedures cost.

The climate change issue and the climate change legislation, however, does not have such obvious and historical markers, so those who are looking to lose money on it and those who want to fight against it are smaller, more niche groups.

Interestingly enough both legislations deal with how to address and legislate things that are dying- whether the Earth or people. And while many legislative arguments and opposing lobbyists will disagree on how to do something, as in insuring Americans, the lobbyists on either side of the climate change debate actually disagree completely with each other about how most plots of land, underground, air and sea should be used, what they should be used for and why.

Looks like lots of money will be spent lobbying the senate in the Fall, that is the one certainty.