Royal Dutch Shell Backs Global Price on Carbon
Royal Dutch Shell‘s recently appointed Chairman, Jorma Ollila (he’s also chairman of Finnish telecom giant Nokia) told a group of journalists in Washington last week that a global agreement on the price of carbon should be one of the key takeaways of the upcoming climate change conference in Copenhagen, reports Energy Intelligence‘s Oil Daily.
That’s a stark contrast with Exxon Mobil‘s stand. Earlier this month Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson — we wrote about it, here – gave a detailed critique of cap-and-trade in which he said the price volatility of the system “will carry a heavy cost for both the economy and the environment.”
Instead Tillerson favored an outwright carbon tax. On this surprising stance, we had this to say:
We think it’s fair to view Exxon’s opposition to cap-and-trade – Tillerson’s reasonable critiques notwithstanding – as a tactic meant to delay passage of meaningful legislation.
But back to Shell Chairman Ollila who on cap-and-trade and the need for a global price on carbon, said:
We do not need definite signed agreements [in Copenhagen]. We need some agreement which will bring us a further step toward a low-carbon economy. If there was a common acceptance that we need a price on carbon — that would take us a long way.
On the Kerry – Boxer climate change and energy bill now making its way through the Senate, Ollila urged Presidential action to ensure the U.S. comes to Copenhagen with a comprehensive climate change legislation on the books.
