Possibly acknowledging which way the political winds are shifting, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday updated its position on climate change to support "a market-based approach" to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, the National Association of Manufacturers urged the incoming administration to allow the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, which may be nixed because of climate concerns.

U.S. Chamber has long been wary of business regulation and has generally opposed government mandates to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. At one point the business group questioned the science behind climate change, but in 2019 it updated its position to affirm that human activity was the leading driver behind the phenomenon.

Former President Donald Trump didn't believe in climate change—at one point calling it a "Chinese hoax"—and his administration sought to roll back several environmental regulations meant to mitigate the problem. President Joe Biden is expected to undo many of those changes in his first few days in office.

In a statement on the Chamber's website, Senior Vice President of Policy Marty Durbin announced the business group recently added new language emphasizing market-based solutions to its policy position on climate change. It comes as the new Democrat-controlled Congress will likely push for policies to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and prop up renewable energy technologies.

"We believe that durable climate policy must be made by Congress, and that it should encourage innovation and investment to ensure significant emissions reductions, while avoiding economic harm for businesses, consumers and disadvantaged communities," the statement says.

The Chamber added that U.S. climate policy "should recognize the urgent need for action, while maintaining the national and international competitiveness of U.S. industry and ensuring consistency with free enterprise and free trade principles."

Concerns about climate change also behind Biden's reported plans to revoke a government permit to build the Keystone XL pipeline, which would transport oil from Canadian tar sands into the U.S. NAM joined with three unions on Sunday to urge Biden to allow the project to move forward.

"If this union project is blocked, workers and families will lose a huge opportunity," the groups said in a letter. "Renewable energy goals would be s<>et back, 1,000 union jobs would vanish in the cold of winter and in the middle of a pandemic, and the promise of the 10,000 jobs required to build this project would disappear."

The groups said the project would support 10,000 jobs during construction.

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