Major Oil, Gas Companies Back Carbon Pricing Scheme

The United Nations this week released a letter, signed by six of the world’s largest oil and gas companies, which asks national and regional governments to set a price on carbon linked to regional carbon markets.

“We need governments across the world to provide us with clear, stable, long-term, ambitious policy frameworks,” the letter says. The document also suggests that the actions would reduce global uncertainty while encouraging wide and cost-effective ways to reduce carbon emissions.

Paying for Carbon Letter

The joint statement, which was signed by the CEOs of Europe's Statoil, Total, BP, Shell, ENI and BG, is being interpreted by some as a clear reversal from previous industry claims that oil causes the environment no harm. The call for a global carbon pricing was not supported by U.S. oil giants Exxon Mobil and Chevron.

Exxon Mobil Vice-President Robert Franklin attended an industry conference in Paris this week, saying his company does not need to join this carbon pricing scheme, which urges companies to adopt cleaner technologies and shift away from using fossil fuels, primarily coal.

Environmentalists and the international community have criticized major oil companies for not not taking leadership against climate change, so the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference to be held later this year in Paris, France is being as an opportunity for companies to redeem themselves in the public eye.

The Paris summit will involve more than 200 countries and is expected result in a new agreement aimed at reducing carbon emissions. According to scientists, if greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, the planet will pass the threshold beyond which global warming becomes catastrophic and irreversible.