In an abrupt, oil supertanker sized U-Turn, ExxonMobil has signaled that it now supports a tax on carbon dioxide.  The corporation, the world’s largest crude oil refiner, was for years one of the most adamant (and powerful) opponents of any measures set to restrict or penalize industries emitting harmful CO2.

Here are the words I thought I would never, ever hear from ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson who expressed his, albeit reluctant, support for the tax in a speech to the Woodrow Wilson International Center for scholars in Washington DC, “As a businessman, it’s hard to speak favorably about any new tax, but a carbon tax strikes me as a more direct, more transparent and more effective approach,”.  Last month Tillerson had also expressed his support for he system over the cap and trade system currently in place in Europe. 

Although, I guess, it is good news that ExxonMobil is finally getting on board with curbing emissions - after the political winds in this country have firmly shifted against it - I would advise a strong dose of caution going forward in dealing with the supermajor oil companies whose profits rely so strongly on the fossil fuel emissions which are choking this planet.  A common approach for any industry that has seemingly lost both the PR and political battles over its products or business practices is to pretend to agree with the prevailing sentiment while dragging its heels and gumming up the works through legal actions and whatever other means it has at its disposal for years, if not decades into the future.  For proof one need look no further than the tobacco industry who spent over thirty years playing games with the Feds over the health risks associated with cigarettes while millions of people died form lung cancer.  America and indeed the world are much more addicted to oil than we ever were to cigarettes and it will take an effort of truly historic proportions to break our economy off of fossil fuels permanently.

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LINKS:

Dallas Business Journal: ExxonMobil CEO prefers carbon tax

Houston Chronicle: Exxon Mobil CEO favors carbon tax over cap-and-trade

CNNMoney:  UPDATE: ExxonMobil CEO Urges CO2 Tax, Not Cap-And-Trade Law