Why do corporations support regulating greenhouse gas but fund a lobby that opposes it?

Another big fear of the chamber is that U.S. companies, particularly in energy-intensive industries, will suffer if Congress raises the prices of fossil fuels while China and India remain unregulated. "Whatever we do should be international in scope," Bill Kovacs, the chamber's lead energy lobbyist, told me. The Waxman-Markey draft addresses this concern by placing a "carbon tariff" on goods imported from countries without climate controls. But the chamber doesn't like that either. "That could touch off a huge global trade war," Harbert says.

If you get the feeling that there's no way to write a climate regulation bill that would satisfy the chamber, you're not alone. It's probably no accident that Consol Energy (CNX), Massey Energy (MEE), Peabody Energy (BTU), and the Southern Co. (SO), which are among the loudest and strongest opponents of federal climate regulation, have executives on the chamber board.

As for those companies that say they want climate legislation and have influence at the chamber, there are two possible explanations. Either they have done a lousy job of advocating inside the group because climate change isn't a major priority. Or they are content to watch the chamber fight Waxman-Markey because they want to make sure that if a climate bill does pass, it's as friendly to business as it can be.

(Illustration by Kyle T. Webster)