Bethlehem Steel Corporation
For Immediate Release
BETHLEHEM, Pa., January 13, 2000 - In response to media inquiries concerning Bethlehem Steel Corporation� s participation in the Global Climate Coalition, Bethlehem said:
Bethlehem Steel Corporation is an associate member of the Global Climate Coalition and, as such, participates for informational, not voting, purposes only. The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), of which Bethlehem is an active member, represents the domestic steel industry�s interests on the global climate issue.
Over the past two years, Bethlehem has been concerned about the Kyoto Protocol and the uneven application of revised air quality standards, which would exempt nations with developing and heavily polluting industries and penalize those with mature and environmentally compliant industries, like the United States. Bethlehem believes that any climate change treaty must be based on sound science, that solutions should be global and, therefore, include all countries, and that voluntary programs such as Climate Wise with incentives for technology development and early actions will be more effective in achieving results than governmental mandates.
Bethlehem is committed to continuous improvement in our environmental performance. We will continue to work with the Administration and the Congress to evaluate the impact of the Kyoto Protocol on the U.S. economy and to develop appropriate technologies, policy measures and programs to address the issue of global climate change.
For its environmental performance and commitment, Bethlehem received in November 1999 the Climate Wise Partner Achievement Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for the corporation�s "significant accomplishments in improving energy efficiency and reducing pollution." Bethlehem�s actions are expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 1.2 million tons and achieve reductions in electrical usage of over 400 million kilowatt hours and non-electric energy usage of more than 8 billion btus.