ExxonMobil throws $1mn into carbon tax push

ExxonMobil has become the first oil company to make a major contribution to a lobbying campaign for a tax on US carbon emissions, with the proceeds to be returned to the public.

The company will provide $1mn over the next two years to Americans for Carbon Dividends, a group started this summer being led by former senators John Breaux (D-Louisiana) and Trent Lott (R-Mississippi). The group is seeking a rising carbon tax that would start at $40/t, with revenue going back to US residents as a monthly dividend.

ExxonMobil has said for years that it supports a carbon tax but until today has not announced a major financial contribution to the effort. Oil industry support for a carbon tax could help it gain traction among lawmakers worried about getting blamed for a new tax or increasing energy prices.

"Their contribution today is momentous," Climate Leadership Council senior vice president Greg Bertelsen said. "This is a big step in a process we have known all along would take time to get to the finish line."

Americans for Carbon Dividends is the advocacy wing of the Climate Leadership Council, a related non-profit that is supporting the tax-and-dividend approach and counts BP, Shell, Total and ExxonMobil as its members.

ExxonMobil's contribution to Americans for Carbon Dividends comes in addition to $2mn that electric utility Exelon has pledged, along with contributions from solar company FirstSolar and industry group the American Wind Energy Alliance.

Republican lawmakers remain widely opposed to taxing carbon emissions. The Republican-led US House of Representatives earlier this year voted 229-180, in a mostly party-line vote, to approve a symbolic measure opposed to carbon taxes.

ExxonMobil has spent an average of $12.4mn/yr on lobbying since 2010 on issues such as taxes, energy policy, environmental regulations and trade. The company referred requests for comment to the Climate Leadership Council.