Members criticise US IECA stance over Paris Climate Accord
The Industrial Energy Consumers of America (IECA), a US business group, has caused controversy by claiming to speak for its members when expressing its opposition to the Paris Climate Accord. The Business & Human Rights Resource Centre invited members of the IECA who were committed to sustainability, such as Eastman, International Paper, Owens Corning and SABIC, to respond. Eastman said that it was leaving the IECA, while the other three companies said that they did not approve of the group’s letter.

Story Members of US business org IECA disagree with its stance against Paris Agreement

President Trump's withdrawal from the Paris Agreement has faced significant criticism from the business community. In advance of the decision, over one thousand companies publicly declared their support for the Paris Agreement and following the decision, a coalition of US economic, education, and local government leaders representing cities and states that contribute $6.2 trillion to the U.S. economy committed to continue supporting climate action to meet the Paris commitment.

Despite this widespread support from the business and investor community, the Industrial Energy Consumers of America (IECA) sent a letter to the White House in opposition to the Paris Agreement, saying it did so on behalf of its members.

In its blog post, "Groups Misled Trump on Economic Case Against Paris Agreement" and "Companies Defend Paris Deal Because of Its Economic Benefits", the National Resources Defense Council states that with this letter in opposition to the Paris Agreement, the IECA is "grossly and intentionally exaggerating opposition [by]...falsely leveraging the voice of member companies," many of whom "claim to embrace sustainability."

Business & Human Rights Resource Centre invited several companies named in these blog posts to respond:

In its response, Eastman stated that it "supports the continued participation of the United States in the Paris Accord and did not approve the IECA letter...[IECA's] action is so at odds with Eastman's position that we cannot reconcile continued participation in IECA with our commitment to sustainability. As such, this week we discontinued our IECA membership." Dow, Kimberly-Clark, Owens Corning, International Paper, SABIC, and WestRock also stated that the IECA's letter opposing the agreement does not represent their views.

Full responses by Alcoa, Dow, Eastman, International Paper, Kimberly-Clark, Owens Corning, SABIC, WestRock, and Weyerhaeuser are available via the links above and in the section below. Business & Human Rights Resource Centre also invited Koch Industries/Koch Foundation and Nucor to respond to NRDC's criticisms of their support for IECA's position against the Paris Agreement. They did not respond.

We welcome responses from any other companies named in the NRDC blog post. To submit a response, please email Christen Dobson at [email protected]