Nike Steps Back From Chamber Over Climate-Change Dispute

Nike Inc. (NKE) is resigning a seat on the board of directors of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, citing disagreement over the business group's stance on global warming.

In a statement Wednesday, the Beaverton, Ore., sportswear company called for "urgent action" to counter climate change, and said the Chamber's approach hasn't reflected that viewpoint. But Nike plans to remain a member of the Chamber, at least for now, in contrast to three utility firms - Exelon Corp. (EXC), PG&E Corp. (PCG) and PNM Resources Inc. (PNM) - that recently quit the business group altogether due to the climate-change dispute.

A Chamber spokesman wasn't immediately available to comment.

Chamber President and Chief Executive Thomas Donohue issued a statement Tuesday that called climate change policy to be set by Congress, not the Environmental Protection Agency, while opposing a climate-change bill that cleared the U.S. House of Representatives in June. Donohue said the approach taken by the House isn't comprehensive or international, and likely would provoke U.S. trade partners by imposing a carbon tax on imported goods.

Donohue endorsed measures to reduce air pollutants that many link to global warming, saying critics who suggest the Chamber doesn't believe there is a global warming problem are "dead wrong" about the group's position.

Nike's announcement came as senators Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and John Kerry, D-Mass., introduced legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions starting in 2012.

-By Judith Burns, Dow Jones Newswires, 202-862-6692; [e-mail]