GENTLE PERSUASION

THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION'S POSITION ON REGULATING CARBON dioxide (CO2) emissions is crystal clear: hands off. In evidence is the United States' refusal to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, which would have imposed mandatory reductions of the nation's CO2 emissions. Coupled with that is recent passage of a

Yet many manufacturers that operate in the United States are voluntarily reducing their CO2 emissions. They point to a wealth of good business and environmental stewardship as reasons to do so, even absent federal regulation.

But there also exists a wealth of risk for businesses that ignore or dismiss the need to manage their CO2 emissions-risks of angering their shareholders, losing customers, as well as the specter of liability.

Indeed, lawsuits aimed at forcing reductions of CO2 emissions in the United States already exist. In July 2004, eight states and New York City sued five power companies they called "the five largest global warming polluters in the United States." The suit didn't seek monetary damages. Instead, it called on companies to reduce CO2 emissions. That suit was dismissed last September in a federal court, with the judge saying that setting environmental policies was a role suited for branches of government other than the judiciary. More recently, a group representing the native people of the Arctic filed a human rights complaint against the United States with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Like the lawsuit, this complaint aims to compel mandatory reductions of greenhouse gas emissions.