In a big shift, ExxonMobil
is now helping fund a multi-million dollar political advocacy campaign
lobbying Congress for a price on carbon emissions.
Why it matters:
This is a significant turning point in Washington’s mostly static
climate debate. Exxon officials have said for years they support a
carbon tax, but they haven’t backed that up with actual lobbying dollars
— until now. This move increases the odds that Capitol Hill could
consider big changes to climate and energy policy in the coming years.
The big picture: A seminal report released this week
by a United Nations scientific body underscored the growing urgency of
climate change, the collective lack of will to address it and how a
price on greenhouse gas emissions is an essential part of the solution.
Driving the news: Exxon,
the world's largest publicly traded oil company, has committed $1
million over two years to the political advocacy group, called Americans
for Carbon Dividends. At $500,000 a year, that represents just over 4%
of Exxon’s roughly $12 million annual lobbying budget in recent years, according to the Center for Responsive Politics...MORE
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