Union Pacific Corp. derives about a fifth of its annual revenue from coal shipments. Power plants burn coal to generate electricity, a process that emits carbon dioxide believed to contribute to global warming.
Bob Turner, U.P. senior vice president of corporate relations, talked about global warming and the company’s role in the issue.
Q: Is global warming a real phenomenon?
A: There is a tremendous amount of science that says it is. The consensus of science is that CO2 emissions are going up, and something needs to be done about it. The challenge is to find a way to do it without costing the economy.
Q: What can be done?
A: For example, investing in the technology to reduce emissions from coal. That kind of investment, to us, will let our economy grow and keep the jobs that are critical to this country.
Q: How does Union Pacific balance hauling coal and global warming?
A: We are required to carry coal. The federal government says we must quote a rate to move coal. It’s not an optional business for us. Could it (burning coal with improved technology) be as clean as natural gas? I think there are people that say it could be.
Q: What happens to Union Pacific’s business if Congress passes stringent requirements on carbon emissions that stifle the use of coal?
A: There are so many variables in what could happen. And the details are pretty important — timelines, objectives and so on. So we really can’t say what the impact specifically would be in terms of revenue or tons or capital. We don’t know at this point. That’s why it’s important to get the answer right, and that the issues really do get debated.
Q: If half the electricity used in this country is generated by coal, what do we replace it with?
A: Mandates for renewables and particularly the wind energy business is a wonderful business opportunity for us. You have to be real careful when you put them (turbines and blades) on trains — where the trains go, bridge sizes and tunnels and that sort of thing.
Renewables are going to be out there. But I don’t think they close the energy gap fast enough to say they will replace a significant portion of the energy created from coal.
Q: Has Union Pacific seen any climate change legislation in Congress that it likes?
A: I haven’t seen it yet. If energy prices go through the roof, and the U.S. acts unilaterally, the jobs will go to Mexico, the jobs will go to Asia. There’s been a lot of ‘We all want to do this’ language, but nobody’s willing to go first.
Q: Should Congress do nothing? Could private industry, seeing what is going on around it, do enough?
A: If Congress doesn’t act, there is some belief that the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) will act on the regulatory arena, so solving this legislatively has some real appeal.
We do need to get some certainty in emission requirements so that utilities can invest in making sure we have electricity in sufficient quantity for industrial demand and consumer demand. A legislative solution has more appeal than a purely regulatory one.
Contact the writer:
444-1117, joe.ruff@owh.com
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