American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity
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The American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE, formerly ABEC or Americans for Balanced Energy Choices) is a U.S. non-profit
advocacy group Advocacy groups, also known as interest groups, special interest groups, lobbying groups or pressure groups use various forms of advocacy in order to influence public opinion and ultimately policy. They play an important role in the developm ...
representing major American coal producers, utility companies and railroads. The organization seeks to influence public opinion and legislation in favor of coal-generated electricity in the United States, placing emphasis on the development and deployment of clean coal technologies. Since
carbon capture and sequestration Carbon capture and storage (CCS) or carbon capture and sequestration is the process of capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) before it enters the atmosphere, transporting it, and storing it (carbon sequestration) for centuries or millennia. Usually th ...
—which ACCCE and its member companies advocate to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and lar ...
from coal burning—has yet to be tested on a large scale, some have questioned whether this approach is feasible or realistic. In 2009, ACCCE faced a Congressional investigation when it was discovered that a lobbying firm hired by ACCCE had sent forged letters to lawmakers. The letters, purporting to come from a variety of minority-focused non-profit groups, were in fact forged by a lobbying firm hired by ACCCE.


History

The ACCCE began operations in 2008, the result of a combination of two organizations: the Center for Energy and Economic Development (CEED) and Americans for Balanced Energy Choices (ABEC). CEED had been founded in 1992 and since then had been involved in a wide range of climate and energy policies related to coal-based electricity. ABEC, formed in 2000, had focused on consumer based advocacy programs concerning the use of coal-based electricity. In 2008 these two groups were combined to form ACCCE, with the goal of focusing on both legislative and public advocacy efforts. The main programs include the America's Power campaign, launched in 2007 by ABEC, which had a significant presence during the
2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
and
2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
elections, as well as legislative efforts during the
United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...
debate over the
Waxman-Markey The American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (ACES) was an energy bill in the 111th United States Congress () that would have established a variant of an emissions trading plan similar to the European Union Emission Trading Scheme. The bill ...
cap and trade legislation. Mike Duncan became President and CEO of ACCCE in 2012. By 2017, Duncan had been succeeded in that position by Paul Bailey, who had previously been named one of the top lobbyists by '' The Hill'', where he was described as ACCCE's "point man for policy... essential in crafting the ACCCE's response" to the positions taken by the Obama administration. Another notable ACCCE lobbyist,
Jaime Harrison Jaime R. Harrison (; born February 5, 1976) is an American attorney and politician who is the chairman of the Democratic National Committee. He previously served as the chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party from 2013 to 2017. Harrison un ...
, was a Democratic political operative, who worked on behalf of ACCCE from 2009 to 2012. Harrison thereafter chaired the South Carolina Democratic Party, and in January 2017 made a bid for DNC chair, which he ended on February 23 with his endorsement of eventual winner
Tom Perez Thomas Edward Perez (born October 7, 1961) is an American politician and attorney who served as the Chair of the Democratic National Committee from February 2017 until January 2021. Perez was previously Assistant Attorney General for Civil Right ...
. Harrison later accepted an appointment from Perez as Associate Chairman and Counselor of the Democratic National Committee. In June 2017, Paul Bailey joined Republican leaders including
Paul Ryan Paul Davis Ryan (born January 29, 1970) is an American former politician who served as the List of Speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 54th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019. A member o ...
and
Mitch McConnell Addison Mitchell McConnell III (born February 20, 1942) is an American politician and retired attorney serving as the senior United States senator from Kentucky and the Senate minority leader since 2021. Currently in his seventh term, McConne ...
in welcoming the announcement by President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
of the United States withdrawal from the Paris Agreement. Bailey stated that " e previous administration volunteered to meet one of the most stringent goals of any country in the world, while many other countries do far less to reduce their emissions", and contended that " eting President Obama's goal would have led to more regulations, higher energy prices, and dependence on less reliable energy sources". The organization maintains headquarters in Washington, D.C.


Working methods


Legislative

In addressing comprehensive climate change legislation that would place a cap on greenhouse gas emissions and allow for trading of emission allowances, the position of ACCCE has primarily involved advocating for the development and use of clean coal technologies, while also including provisions concerning the allocating of carbon emission allowances. ACCCE has as also expressed support for a ceiling on emission allowances prices. At the time in 2008 when the
U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...
was considering the Lieberman-Warner bill (bill number ) – which would create a cap and trade system – ACCCE changed its prior stance towards climate-change legislation, noting that it "would support mandatory limits on carbon dioxide as long as legislation met a set of principles that encouraged 'robust utilization of coal.'" The group also employed legislative efforts surrounding the 2009 debate over the
Waxman-Markey The American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (ACES) was an energy bill in the 111th United States Congress () that would have established a variant of an emissions trading plan similar to the European Union Emission Trading Scheme. The bill ...
cap and trade legislation (bill number ), to which it argued that regulations relating to carbon emissions in the proposed legislation would have led to increased energy costs and reduction in employment – potentially placing additional strain on the economy during the
late 2000s recession The Great Recession was a period of marked general decline, i.e. a recession, observed in national economies globally that occurred from late 2007 into 2009. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country (see map). At t ...
. ACCCE provided proposals to Members of Congress for changes in this legislation, and approved of some changes that were adopted; though the group did not support the final version of the bill that passed the
U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
on account of concerns that there were not enough measures taken to control energy rates.


Advocacy-based

In addition to legislative methods employed by ACCCE, the organization has engaged in consumer-focused advocacy efforts in response to perceived environmental effects surrounding
clean coal Coal pollution mitigation, sometimes called clean coal, is a series of systems and technologies that seek to mitigate the health and environmental impact of coal; in particular air pollution from coal-fired power stations, and from coal burnt ...
, consisting of direct to consumer advertising, as well as a group of approximately 225,000 volunteers (referred to as "America's Power Army," according to their website) involved in "visiting town hall meetings, fairs and other functions attended by members of Congress (to) ask questions about energy policy." Initiatives of this form became the subject of news coverage surrounding the
2008 United States presidential election The 2008 United States presidential election was the 56th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 4, 2008. The Democratic ticket of Barack Obama, the junior senator from Illinois, and Joe Biden, the senior senator from ...
, as the organization's presence at the
Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...
,
Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the United States Republican Party. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal of the Repu ...
, presidential debates and other events has been described as having impacted both Senators John McCain and Barack Obama's positions in regards to investment in clean coal. In the last debate held prior to the election in 2008, Senator Obama noted his support of clean coal technology, when prompted by Senator McCain to explain a time in which he had backed a position not favored by the leaders of the Democratic Party. The organization actively countered President Obama's climate change agenda, arguing in 2013 that the industry had "made strides toward making coal more environmentally friendly", with ten new clean-coal technology plants having built between 2011 and mid-2013, and five more in development or scheduled to begin operations at that time. Duncan asserted that regulations propounded by the
Environmental Protection Agency A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...
had contributed to nearly 290 coal plant closures that year, with more likely to come if additional regulations were enacted, and that absent the additional burdens imposed on the industry by such interference, the coal industry would continue developing cleaner technologies. ACCCE supported the FutureGen capture and sequestration project, first announced by President
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
in 2003. The project was funded in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, but the Department of Energy suspended the project in February, 2015. ACCCE's legislative positions and advocacy-based actions have been met with opposing viewpoints from advocacy groups such as the
Sierra Club The Sierra Club is an environmental organization with chapters in all 50 United States, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by Scottish-American preservationist John Muir, who be ...
and
Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by Irving Stowe and Dorothy Stowe, immigrant environmental activists from the United States. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth t ...
, which have questioned the viability of developing environmentally sustainable clean coal within an adequate time frame and budget – representing their perspective that funding of such projects should be sourced exclusively from within the coal industry.


Climate change denial

Since 2009 the Coalition has – according to ''
The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
'' – "pushed outright denial of climate science". For example in a 2014 report it said that human-caused climate change was a "hypothesis" and a "debate" and claimed that carbon pollution would be beneficial instead of negative and that its benefits could be up to 400 times as high as its costs. Higher atmospheric carbon dioxide levels would be a benefit and more carbon dioxide had no "discernable influence" on how much sea-level would rise.Robinson Meyer:
A Major but Little-Known Supporter of Climate Denial: Freight Railroads
'. The Atlantic, 13th December 2019.
A 2009 article by Josh Harkinson of ''
Mother Jones Mary G. Harris Jones (1837 (baptized) – November 30, 1930), known as Mother Jones from 1897 onwards, was an Irish-born American schoolteacher and dressmaker who became a prominent union organizer, community organizer, and activist. She h ...
'' magazine said ACCCE was among the most prominent organizations in promoting climate disinformation, grouping it with entities including
ExxonMobil ExxonMobil Corporation (commonly shortened to Exxon) is an American multinational oil and gas corporation headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is the largest direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil, and was formed on November 30, ...
, the
American Petroleum Institute The American Petroleum Institute (API) is the largest U.S. trade association for the oil and natural gas industry. It claims to represent nearly 600 corporations involved in production, refinement, distribution, and many other aspects of the pet ...
,
The Heartland Institute The Heartland Institute is an American conservative and libertarian public policy think tank known for its rejection of both the scientific consensus on climate change and the negative health impacts of smoking. Founded in 1984, it worked wit ...
, and the
Institute for Energy Research The Institute for Energy Research (IER) is a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit organization that, according to itself, conducts research and analysis on the functions, operations, and government regulation of global energy markets. IER maintains ...
, as "members of the chorus claiming that global warming is a joke and that CO2 emissions are actually good for you".


Forgery controversy

During the 2009 debate over the Waxman/Markey bill, Bonner & Associates, a Washington, D.C. lobbying firm subcontracted by ACCCE though the Hawthorne Group to drum up "grassroots support" for this effort, sent a number of fraudulent letters to lawmakers on behalf of ACCCE. The letters were forged to appear to come from various minority-focused non-profit groups, including the
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. ...
and the
American Association of University Women The American Association of University Women (AAUW), officially founded in 1881, is a non-profit organization that advances equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, and research. The organization has a nationwide network of 170,000 ...
. When the forgery was exposed, and faced with a proposed Congressional investigation, ACCCE apologized to the community groups and to the members of Congress involved. ACCCE disavowed the tactic and blamed the forgeries on their subcontractor, who in turn blamed a temporary worker, acting alone. ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' described the situation as a "saga of modern Washington, in which an 'American coalition' he ACCCEclaiming 200,000 supporters still relies on a subcontractor to gin up favorable letters." An investigation of ACCCE by
U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
Edward Markey Edward John Markey (born July 11, 1946) is an American lawyer, politician, and former Army reservist who has served as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from Massachusetts since 2013. A ...
, launched in response to the forgeries, disclosed an additional set of fraudulent letters sent to lawmakers to lobby against the environmental legislation. In response to the investigation, the ACCCE pledged to take "all possible steps" to verify the authenticity of letters sent by Bonner & Associates on its behalf, and stated that it was cooperating with Markey's investigation. The investigation concluded in October 2009 with Jack Bonner, chairman of Bonner & Associates, taking “full responsibility” for the forged letters. Bonner and Associates was never paid by ACCCE for their work on the legislation.


Members

, ACCCE is supported by 31 member organizations:
* Alliance Coal, LLC * American Electric Power * Associated Electric Cooperative Inc. * Berwind Natural Resource Corp * Big Rivers Electric Corporation *
BNSF Railway BNSF Railway is one of the largest freight railroads in North America. One of seven North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 35,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and nearly 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that ...
* Buckeye Power Inc. * Carbon Utilization Research Council (CURC) * Caterpillar Incorporated * Charah * Crounse Corporation *
CSX Corporation CSX Corporation is an American holding company focused on rail transportation and real estate in North America, among other industries. The company was established in 1980 as part of the Chessie System and Seaboard Coast Line Industries merger. T ...
* Drummond Company, Inc. * Jackson Walker LLP * John T. Boyd Company * Kentucky River Coal Corporation
* Kentucky Coal Association * Komatsu Mining Corporation *
Murray Energy Corporation American Consolidated Natural Resources, previously known as Murray Energy, is a US-based coal mining company. It is the fourth largest coal producer in the country, and the largest privately-owned coal company. Founded in 1988 by Robert E. Murra ...
* Natural Resource Partners * Norfolk Southern Corporation * Oglethorpe Power Cooperative * Ohio CAT * Peabody Energy Corporation *
PowerSouth Energy Cooperative West Florida Electric Cooperative, Inc. (WFEC) is a not-for-profit rural electric utility cooperative headquartered in Graceville, Florida. It is a member of thFlorida Electric Cooperatives Association the National Rural Electric AssociationPowerS ...
* Prairie State Generating Company, LLC *
Southern Company Southern Company is an American gas and electric utility holding company based in the southern United States. It is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with executive offices also located in Birmingham, Alabama. The company is the second largest ...
* Trapper Mining *
Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...
* Western Fuels Association * White Stallion Energy Center, LLC


See also

*
Coal power in the United States Coal generated about 22% of the electricity at utility-scale facilities in the United States in 2021, down from 39% in 2014. In 2021, coal supplied of primary energy to electric power plants, which made up 90% of coal's contribution to U ...
*
Clean coal technology Coal pollution mitigation, sometimes called clean coal, is a series of systems and technologies that seek to mitigate the health and environmental impact of coal; in particular air pollution from coal-fired power stations, and from coal burnt b ...


References


External links


American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity website

American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity
at SourceWatch * {{authority control Climate change in the United States Coal in the United States Coal technology Political advocacy groups in the United States Energy organizations