Biodiversity Policy Engagement Analysis
Biodiversity Lobbying Overview: The US Chamber of Commerce (“the Chamber”) has actively opposed policy to prevent biodiversity loss. Although the Chamber has limited top-line messaging on biodiversity, it lobbied extensively for numerous rollbacks to biodiversity-relevant policy under the Trump administration and has since opposed the repeals of these rules.
Top-line Messaging on Biodiversity Loss: The Chamber has very limited top-line messaging on biodiversity loss. The Chamber has not transparently acknowledged the science showing unprecedented biodiversity loss nor the need for drastic action to reverse this trend. In 2023, the Chamber stated on an events page that the EU's Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), which would establish a duty to prevent negative environmental impacts in the company’s own operations, their subsidiaries and their value chains, was on the Chamber’s “list of EU regulations of concern”.
Engagement with Biodiversity-Related Regulations: The Chamber has been highly engaged on the Water of the United States (WOTUS) rule which prevents biodiversity loss due to both land-use change and pollution. Under the Trump administration in 2017-18, the Chamber was highly supportive of efforts to rescind this rule in consultation responses to the EPA, joint letters and on social media. In May 2020, the Chamber wrote an Op-Ed supporting the replacement rule, the Navigable Waters Protection Rule, which weakened the scope of the WOTUS rule. In September 2021, as part of the “Water Advocacy Coalition”, the Chamber opposed the repeal of the Navigable Waters Protection Rule in a regulatory comment to the EPA. In February 2022, the Chamber opposed the proposed new definition of WOTUS in both its own comment to the EPA and as part of the "Water Advocacy Coalition". The Chamber of Commerce submitted amicus briefs in the Sackett v. EPA case, advocating against wetlands (and potentially some streams) falling under federal protection under the Clean Water Act in October 2021 and April 2022.
The Chamber has been highly engaged against efforts to regulate the use of certain PFAS, also known as ‘forever chemicals’, which have a significant impact on biodiversity loss. In July 2021, the Chamber wrote to the House of Representatives to urge them to vote against the PFAS Action Act, H.R. 2467. In a June 2022 letter, the Chamber opposed the EPA's proposal to designate PFAS as hazardous. The Chamber signed a similar joint letter in October 2022. In June-July 2023, the Chamber opposed provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 that would prohibit the Defense Department from buying some products containing PFAS and report on efforts to phase out non-essential uses of PFAS, in letters to the US Senate and House, and in a joint letter. In July 2023, the Chamber responded to a consultation on PFAS by the European Chemicals Agency, advocating for numerous exemptions from the proposed restrictions on their use.
Positioning on Statutory Protection of Wildlife: The Chamber has generally taken negative positions on legislation giving statutory protection to wildlife. In 2018-19, the Chamber supported the Trump administration’s weakening of the Endangered Species Act in comments to the Fish and Wildlife Service and a position paper. According to reporting from the Wall Street Journal in 2021, the Chamber lobbied to weaken the Migratory Bird Treaty Act by allowing the incidental take of migratory birds. The Chamber has since opposed Biden administration efforts to reverse this in comments to the Fish and Wildlife Service made in 2021. In a joint letter to the Fish and Wildlife Service in 2022, the Chamber opposed the listing of the northern long-eared bat as endangered. In a letter to the Fish and Wildlife Service in August 2022, the Chamber opposed the expansion of the Endangered Species Act to allow the introduction of experimental populations of species outside their 'historic ranges'. In July 2023, the Chamber wrote to the Senate in support of bills that would overturn protections under the Endangered Species Act for the lesser prairie-chicken and northern long-eared Bat.