Climate change bill delay bad for biz

TEXT OF STORY

Stacey Vanek-Smith: Three senators were scheduled to unveil a climate change bill today, but it’s been indefinitely postponed. And that delay could put a damper on business investing. From the Marketplace Sustainability Desk, Jennifer Collins reports.

Jennifer Collins: Businesses say delays put their plans in limbo. Jim Owen represents Edison Electric Institute. That’s a trade group for utility companies.

Jim Owen: As our industry CEOs gaze out over the horizon, they see a lot of challenges going forward in terms of what kinds of power plants to build and where to build them.

And Owen says those CEOs need to know what to expect from climate-change legislation before they invest. There were reports the bill would have provided billions for upgrades on coal-fired power plants. There were also loan guarantees for nuclear plants. Kate McMahon with Friends of the Earth says those incentives made the bill:

Kate McMahon: A complete disaster zone.

She was unhappy with the way the bill derailed regulations already in the works.

McMahon: This is a really good time for us to kind of to step back and reassess the situation and figure out what we really need rather than bargaining and playing all these politics.

She says she prefers smaller bills that target specific industries.

I’m Jennifer Collins for Marketplace.