Deep Currents

To summarize a lengthy profile in the New York Times: while the environmental movement continues its infighting over whether it’s time to work with or against heavyweight corporations, Jim Rogers has been pushing for sustainability from his seat at the top the country’s third-largest carbon emitter, the coal-fired Duke Energy. He pumps 100 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere a year and yet is also one of the world’s most powerful environmentalists. Powerful because he speaks for the interests of corporate energy, a lobby that can both demand and afford Washington’s ear, and yet has decided to use his voice to promote sustainability. His stated motivation is to get out ahead of the issue: it’s clear to him that curbing emissions and pollutants is a necessary shift, and as he said, “It’s the old saw — ‘If you’re not at the table, you’re going to be on the menu.’” His new project is to cut emissions in half by 2030 and fully decarbonize the firm by 2050, cutting coal from two-thirds of its portfolio down to a quarter while phasing in a diverse group of new options including nuclear, wind, solar, and other new varieties of cleantech. He also talks about “the grandchildren test” of his decisions. He got to this point by inviting his biggest critics into his inner circle: he’s had long dinners with Gaia-theorist James Lovelock, NASA climatologist James Hansen, and has made fast friends with many other prominent greens. He’s worked in tandem with them on Capitol Hill, using his influence to clear the way for cap-and-trade legislation. Cap-and-trade will be a staple of the next president’s agenda in no small part thanks to his work. He has consistently shocked his industry peers and remains an iconoclast. There are some environmentalists, such as Frank O’Donnell who heads up Clean Air Watch, who view his reforms as too weak and accuse him of mere greenwashing. They should not look a gift stallion in the mouth.

Written: June 24th, 2008