“So, what’s the big deal? Support for putting a price on carbon emissions is hardly newsworthy. Virtually every environmentalist thinks it’s crucial; many believe it’s the single most important thing we could do.But Michael Crothers doesn’t work for an environmental organization. He’s the president of Shell Canada. Steve Williams is head of Suncor, Canada’s largest oil company. Ben van Beurden is chief executive of Royal Dutch Shell. Bob Dudley is chief executive of BP.
Darren Woods? That statement was part of his first blog post in his new job: chairman and chief executive of Exxon Mobil, replacing Rex Tillerson, the new secretary of state — who also endorsed a carbon tax.All of these energy companies favor a tax on every ton of carbon emissions, which is one of two ways to price emissions. The other way is called “cap and trade” — creating a market in emissions by imposing a maximum. Companies who want to exceed the level can buy the right from others who pollute less.
Let’s assume for now that this support for a carbon tax is genuine. (More about this later.) In the age of Trump, this is a gift that shouldn’t be wasted.Could it actually happen?I’m not proposing to bet on its success, but a carbon tax plan written by the Climate Leadership Council, a group of prominent Republicans that includes George Shultz, James A. Baker III and Henry Paulson, has at least started a debate. The group proposes taxing each ton of carbon emissions — and then returning all the money to Americans by sending everyone a quarterly dividend check.”
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