El Paso Chamber announces opposition to proposed climate charter

The El Paso Chamber is taking a firm stance against the proposed climate charter, set to appear on the May ballot as Proposition K, which a recently released study indicates could cost El Paso taxpayers billions in lost revenue and earnings, as well as thousands of jobs.

The study was commissioned by the chamber in October 2022, when it became evident that the climate charter would go before El Paso voters. It was conducted by Points Consulting of Moscow, Idaho, as a way "to inform and educate Chamber members and the community on issues that could potentially impact their livelihoods and the overall health of our business community," according to a chamber news release.

In that release, the El Paso Chamber announced its unequivocal opposition to the climate charter.

"The findings of this study show a clear detrimental effect to our local businesses and regional economy, and because of this, the El Paso Chamber is formally announcing its opposition to the Climate Charter Amendment, a decision supported unanimously by the El Paso Chamber Board of Directors," the announcement stated.

The release of the full study, as well as the chamber's opposition to the climate charter, follows the release of the report's executive summary, which sparked heavy criticism from the charter's backers, activist groups Ground Game Texas and Sunrise El Paso.

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Both groups previously slammed the report as "chock full of lies" and little more than propaganda fueled by a chamber board of directors populated by members tied to the fossil fuel industry and wealthy developers.

What the El Paso climate charter would do

Specifically, the climate charter would implement the following policies:

• The city would appoint a climate director to serve as the city's lead representative on climate and fulfill the goals of the city's climate policy.

• The city would establish a Climate Department, which would be led by the climate director and be provided with sufficient personnel and resources to carry out the climate policy and related duties and responsibilities.

• The climate director would provide the city with a climate impact statement prior to any City Council vote affecting the city's climate policy and would work with the city manager to provide an annual climate impact statement on all city activities and departments.

• The climate director would prepare an annual report on climate impacts for the city, to include all emissions generated within the city limits, and be authorized to collaborate with research institutions and consultants to prepare the report.

• The city manager would collaborate with the climate director to create an annual goal for the creation of climate jobs, including specific goals for each city department, to be announced when the city manager proposes the city’s annual budget.

• The climate director would create an annual Solar Power Generation Plan for the city, which would include a feasibility analysis to describe how the city can develop internal capacity to generate energy through solar power.

• The city would employ all available methods to require that energy used within the city is generated by clean renewable energy, with the goals of requiring (1) 80% clean renewable energy by 2030 and (2) 100% clean renewable energy by 2045.

• The city would employ all available efforts to convert El Paso Electric to municipal ownership.

• The city would undertake all necessary efforts to prepare city infrastructure to withstand extreme weather conditions and ensure uninterrupted provision of basic services and utilities to city residents.

• The city would not sell or transfer any water for purposes of fossil fuel industry activities outside of the city limits, or otherwise allow any city water to be used for such purposes.

• To the extent that any contracts to sell or transfer city water for fossil fuel industry activities outside of the city limits were enacted prior to adoption of the charter provision, the city manager would prepare a report to the City Council, within three months of the adoption of this charter amendment, identifying the relevant contracts and presenting all available methods for canceling such contracts.

• The city would not impose any fees, fines, or other financial or nonfinancial burdens that limit the purchase, use, or generation of renewable energy.

• The mayor and City Council would appoint representatives to a new Climate Commission, which would exist for the purposes of overseeing the implementation and fulfillment of the city’s climate policy and related provisions.

Chamber criticizes charter backers' lack of analysis

Since publication of the study's marquee findings, the El Paso Chamber has seen "a great deal of interest" in the study's results and methodology, according to the news release, which prompted the chamber's announcement of opposition.

Alongside its opposition, the chamber criticized the charter's creators, who worked for months securing petition signatures to have the proposal included on the May ballot, for not conducting an analysis of their own before bringing the issue to the fore.

Read More:After signatures verified, El Paso Climate Charter qualifies for May ballot

"As interested parties continue to call into question the findings of this analysis, we encourage a multitude of analyses on the climate initiative slated for the May ballot," the chamber's statement read. "In fact, we believe that with such a high financial impact to the community, it was irresponsible of the authors of the climate charter to not have conducted a similar analysis prior to presenting the item to voters."

Along with its assertion that the climate charter will cause widespread damage to the El Paso economy, the chamber also is leaning on Proposition C, which was approved by voters in November 2022 and allocated $5 million for the creation of a Climate Action Plan for the city.

"This plan, once complete, will provide El Paso with a realistic, innovative, and collaborative resilience road map and the initial study is expected to finish within the next 12–18 months," the chamber said in its release. "Taxpayersapproved the $5,000,000 plan as the initial steps to combat the negative impacts of climate change in El Paso. Approving 'Prop K,' a rushed and unrealistic multi-billion-dollar charter amendment, would be premature, costly, and in direct conflict with the already passed 'Prop C.'"

While the chamber expressed support for growing El Paso's business community "in a sustainable way," its statement claimed that approval of the climate charter "would bring our economy to a screeching halt and roll back decades of investment – across all industries."

"The El Paso Chamber believes wholeheartedly action must be taken to move toward a sustainable future," the statement read. "However, we cannot, in good conscience, support an amendment that has the potential to put thousands of El Pasoans at risk of losing their jobs and livelihoods."

Mike Siegel, political director for Ground Game Texas, was contacted for comment but said his group stands by his earlier comments. He added that there is "no quantifiable support" for many of the assertions made in the report, specifically related to a decrease in energy availability as a result of new climate charter policies.

Siegel had no further comment on the chamber's statement or future plans to garner support for the climate charter.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso Chamber announces opposition to proposed climate charter