Mariusz Jurgielewicz/Dreamstime
The world's largest oil company ExxonMobil is on the record as favoring a revenue neutral carbon tax. Just prior to the U.N. Paris climate change conference in December, the company observed:
When it comes to policies for putting a price on greenhouse gas emissions, we believe their effectiveness will be determined by how closely they hew to certain core principles. Among these are uniformity of application; global participation; reliance on markets to drive the selection of solutions; minimal regulatory complexity and maximum transparency; and the flexibility to make future adjustments.
Back in 2009, CEO Rex Tillerson declared:
A carbon tax is also the most efficient means of reflecting the cost of carbon in all economic decisions — from investments made by companies to fuel their requirements to the product choices made by consumers. A carbon tax may be better suited for setting a uniform standard to hold all nations accountable. This last point is important. Given the global nature of the challenge, and the fact that the economic growth in developing economies will account for a significant portion of future greenhouse-gas emission increases, policy options must encourage and support global engagement.
Now the new climate lobbying group Partnership for Responsible Change is publishing a series of 12 advertisements in the Wall Street Journal explaining its views of the science and economics of climate change. The Partnership asserts that "climate change threatens our liberty, freedom and prosperity. It's time to end the partisan divide and unite behind policies that work." The group claims that it favors "a free market solution to climate change." The first advertisement takes direct aim at the Journal's long-standing editorial skepticism with regard to "mainstream" climate change science. From the ad:
Exxon's CEO Says Fossil Fuels Are Raising Temperatures And Sea Levels. Why won't the Wall Street Journal? Exxon's CEO Rex Tillerson agrees that carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels are raising global temperatures and sea levels. "I'm not disputing that increasing CO2 emissions in the atmosphere is going to have an impact. It'll have a warming impact," he told the Council on Foreign Relations in June of 2012.
Full ad below:
Partnership for Responsible Change
For a Journal op-ed opposing a carbon tax go here. For a Journal analysis of why Obama and the Democrats wouldn't be thrilled with a carbon tax check here.
And just in case, New York State Attorney-General General Eric T. Schneiderman is still wondering, ExxonMobil has been acknowledging the risk of climate change in its annual reports since 2006.
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