Yesterday, after I returned home from my meeting with a representative of the UN Food Programme in Copenhagen, I found my e-mail inbox more flooded with more junk than usual. However, the following e-mail caught my attention for two reasons:

1. Though I am signed up to receive press releases from many organizations to learn about their climate change goals, especially in the run uip to the COP15, I don't think

2. I was surprised to see that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce would suddenly reverse their position 50 days prior to the COP15.

Here we go:

CONTACTS: Erica Avidus
(202) 596-2357

October 19, 2009

U.S. Chamber of Commerce Announces Free Enterprise Survival Strategy
Internal Conflict Resolves in Commitment To Long-Term Prosperity

WASHINGTON, D.C.-The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is throwing its weight behind strong climate legislation, a spokesman for Chamber President Tom J. Donohue announced today at the National Press Club.

"We believe that strong climate legislation is the best way to ensure American innovation, create jobs, and make sure the U.S. and the world are on track to reduce global carbon emissions, and to provide for the needs of the American business community for generations to come," said the spokesman, Hingo Sembra.

The new position is an about-face on climate policy for the Chamber, which previously lobbied against government action. The shift comes after the defection of several prominent members of the Chamber, including PG&E, Apple, PNM Resources, and Exelon.

"We believe the Kerry-Boxer Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act is a good start towards strong legislation," noted Sembra, adding that such legislation "should include a stiff carbon tax and correspondingly strong incentives for industries we wish to foster."

"A carbon tax means less need for legislating by Congress, a surer business environment for companies, and a simpler, competition-friendly mechanism for reducing carbon than the bill's current cap-and-trade approach," said Sembra.

The Chamber announced an immediate moratorium on lobbying and publicity work opposing climate legislation.

Full prepared comments here.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business federation, representing more than 300,000 businesses and organizations of every size, sector, and region.

# # #

Only a few hours later, before I had a chance to blog about this development (which I was planning doing today), I received the following e-mail from The Yes Men... (I didn't publish this blog immediately because I would have looked like a fool in front of the whole Think About It community):

Monday, October 19, 2009, 4 PM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WILL THE REAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE PLEASE STAND UP?
Business as usual; Chamber is its own parody

Contacts: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), 202-596-2357
Complete comments: chamber-of-commerce.us
News reports: Fox Business Network, CNBC, Washington Post
Video and other updates: Please visit theyesmen.org/chamber

TOMORROW: SurvivaBall rally, 10:30am Tuesday, on the Capitol lawn, northeast corner, across from the Dirksen Senate Office Building

WASHINGTON, D.C. - In a dramatic announcement at the National Press Club today, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce reversed its position on climate change policy, and promised to immediately cease lobbying against the Kerry-Boxer bill.

Not.

Within minutes of the Chamber's dramatic announcement, it was revealed that the "Chamber spokesperson" was an impostor, and the press conference an elaborate hoax designed by activists to draw attention to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's "troglodytic" fight against climate change legislation. At the close of the news conference, a visibly rattled Chamber of Commerce spokesperson (Eric Wohlschlegel) barged into the room and declared the event a fraud. (Videohere.)

The stunt was pulled off by the Yes Men, the activists best known for posing as corporate executives in order to reveal how corporate greed negatively influences public policy. Recently, the Yes Men have focused their attention on the urgent need for action on climate change. Today they sought to highlight relentless corporate lobbying of elected officials aimed at derailing domestic climate legislation and a much-needed global climate accord.

The group of reporters at the Press Club listened closely as U.S. Chamber "representative" "Hingo Sembra" (Andy Bichlbaum of The Yes Men) asserted that the Chamber would put its full weight behind supporting the Kerry-Boxer bill, while working with Senators Kerry and Boxer to strengthen the bill.

"We believe that climate legislation currently being considered by the U.S. Senate is a great start towards a bill that will spur American innovation, create jobs, and give us all a good chance of survival," he said. To the visible delight of reporters in the audience, he added, "We at the Chamber have tried to keep climate science from interfering with business. But without a stable climate, there will be no business."

The Chamber has recently come under fire for launching multi-million dollar advertising campaigns designed to derail climate negotiations. Their position has been so controversial that Apple, Exelon, PNM Resources, PG&E, PSEG, Levi Strauss & Co, and the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce have all left the U.S. Chamber, and Nike very publicly stepped down from the board.

"The Chamber's position against climate legislation is completely troglodytic," said Bichlbaum. "The rest of the world sees the need for urgent action on the climate. The rest of the world's rich countries have pledged large emissions reductions. With scientists saying if we don't reduce carbon emissions, then sooner or later we're doomed, the Chamber represents corporate America at its most backwards."

"An entity claiming to represent the public good, but that opposes action on the climate, is obviously illegitimate," Bichlbaum added.

News outlets were quick to jump on the story, including a Reuters story which was reprinted in the New York Times and elsewhere. The Chamber's "about-face" was also reported on Fox Business Network and CNBC before the anchors were forced to retract in mid-sentence.

At the end of Sembra's remarks, Eric Wohlschlegel confronted Bichlbaum. In the stand-off, both accused the other of being a fraud. The standoff ended with Wohlschlegel dispensing his business card to reporters in the room, and attempting to field a number of pointed questions about the Chamber's real stance on climate legislation currently in Congress, which the real Chamber opposes. (Video here.)

"Mr. Wohlschlegel was feeling defensive," added Bichlbaum. "He should, what with the Chamber's ridiculous stance in the face of all science."

International climate talks are currently stalled, largely because the U.S. negotiators won't make any promises that Congress can't keep. Breaking the gridlock in negotiations will require the passage of ambitious U.S. legislation within the next 2 months.

An official response from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce read: "These irresponsible tactics are a foolish distraction from the serious effort by our nation to reduce greenhouse gases."

"The only irresponsibility and distraction here is the Chamber's doublespeak," said Bichlbaum. "They're pretending to support the idea of legislation while opposing actual proposed legislation."

The Yes Men collaborated on this action with activists from BeyondTalk.net, the "Climate Pledge of Resistance," which calls on citizens to risk arrest in the interest of creating pressure for sane climate legislation, and received tactical support from the DC Climate Action Factory, a semi-autonomous group of climate activists sponsored by Avaaz.org.

The Yes Men will be holding a rally tomorrow at 10:30am on the Capitol lawn, northeast corner (across from the Dirksen Senate Office Building), to kick off the 350.org Day of Climate Action by showcasing a fleet of SurvivaBalls, an alternate solution to climate change that protects America's most valuable citizens from the ravages of climate change.

The Yes Men's award-winning new documentary film, The Yes Men Fix the World, opens at the Avalon Theater in NW Washington this Friday, Oct. 23.

Here's how Bloomberg reported the hoax:

Oct. 20 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Chamber of Commerce was the victim of a hoax by a satirical group that staged a phony announcement saying the business organization had flip-flopped on climate change.

The Yes Men, a New York group that pulls pranks on corporations, issued a fake press release and the text of a purported speech by Chamber President Thomas Donohue under the chamber’s letterhead yesterday, said Jacques Servin, a Yes Men member. The imposters also held a news conference at the National Press Club with ersatz chamber officials.

The chamber, the largest U.S. business organization, has been criticized by some environmental groups that say it has obstructed efforts by Congress and President Barack Obama to adopt climate-change policies. Several companies, including PG&E Corp. and Apple Inc., quit the chamber, citing its stance on efforts to combat global warming.

“Public relations hoaxes undermine the genuine effort to find solutions on the challenge of climate change,” Donohue said in a statement indicating he would ask law enforcement agencies to investigate the stunt. “These irresponsible tactics are a foolish distraction from the serious effort by our nation to reduce greenhouse gases.”

Eric Wohlschlegel, executive director of communications at the chamber, went to the press club in downtown Washington and broke up the fake news conference there, according to Donna Leinwand, club president. Staff of the press club learned of the hoax and also sought to stop the event, Leinwand said.

Chamber Critics

The Chamber of Commerce has said action proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency and House-passed climate legislation would hurt U.S. businesses and consumers. Donohue told reporters Oct. 8 that the chamber favors passing climate- change legislation, and that it had no preference on whether a cap-and-trade system or a carbon tax is a better approach to curbing greenhouse gases tied to global warming.

The bogus announcement said the chamber was switching positions and now favors a tax on carbon emissions.

The fictional Donohue said in the speech, “We at the Chamber have tried to keep climate science from interfering with business. But without a stable climate, there will be no business. We need business more than we need relentlessly higher returns.”

I've been a fan of The Yes Men since they pulled off a really, really successful stunt at the business school of my undergraduate university. These guys never cease to amaze me. At the very least, this is yet another good reason to go see their latest film!