Chamber Softening Anti-Clean Energy Stance?

Republicans on the Senate Environment & Public Works Committee are continuing their boycott today, refusing to work on amendments to the Clean Energy Jobs & American Power Act. But the bill’s supporters got some good news late yesterday:

The prospects of enacting a Senate bill got a tiny boost Tuesday when R. Bruce Josten, the chief lobbyist for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, sent a letter to Boxer and the committee’s ranking Republican, James M. Inhofe (Okla.), suggesting that a bipartisan approach along the lines of the compromise Kerry is trying to forge with Graham might work.

“The challenge of drafting comprehensive climate legislation is not ‘whether’ to do something, but ‘how,’ ” Josten wrote.

It remains unclear whether the missive will translate into a shift in the trade association’s policy, however. Jeremy Symons, senior vice president of the National Wildlife Federation, said he remains “cautious,” given the chamber’s historic opposition to mandatory limits on greenhouse gases.

Is the Chamber getting serious on clean energy & climate action? Will they support a cap on global warming pollution that holds polluters accountable for their emissions? We’ll find out.