[Vision2020] Exxon Joining Talks on Greenhouse Gas Rules

[Ted Moffett]

Updated:2007-01-12 12:03:53
Exxon Joining Talks on Greenhouse Gas Rules
 By TIMOTHY GARDNER
Reuters

 (Jan. 12) -- Oil major Exxon Mobil <javascript:;>  Corp. is engaging in
industry talks on possible U.S. greenhouse gas emissions regulations, a move
experts said could indicate a change in stance from the long-time foe of
limits on greenhouse emissions.

Exxon <javascript:;> , along with representatives from about 20 other
companies, is participating in talks sponsored by Washington, D.C. nonprofit
Resources for the Future. The think tank said it expected the talks would
generate a report in the fall with recommendations to legislators on how to
regulate greenhouse emissions.

Mark Boudreaux, a spokesman for Exxon, the world's biggest publicly traded
company, said its position on climate change has been "widely misunderstood
and as a result of that, we have been clarifying and talking more about what
our position is."

Since Democrats won control of Congress in November, heavy industries have
been nervously watching which route the United States may take on future
regulations of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases scientists link
to global warming.

President George W. Bush <javascript:;>  has opposed mandatory emissions
cuts such as those required by the international Kyoto Protocol. He withdrew
the United States, the world's top carbon emitter, from the Kyoto pact early
in his first term.

Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, the new Senate majority leader, has said he wants
new legislation this spring to regulate heat-trapping emissions. Other
legislators also are planning hearings on emissions.

The industry talks center on the range of greenhouse gas policy options such
as cap-and-trade systems and carbon taxes, said Roy Kopp, head of the
climate program at RFF. There also will be debates on whether rules should
focus on companies producing oil, gas and coal, which release CO2 when
burned, or consumers who use the fuels.

To spur open industry discussion, RFF said the talks, which began in
December, exclude nongovernmental organizations. Boudreux said Exxon in 2006
stopped funding the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a nonprofit advocating
limited government regulation, and other groups that have downplayed the
risks of greenhouse emissions. Last year, CEI ran advertisements, featuring
a little girl playing with a dandelion, that downplayed the risks of carbon
dioxide emissions.

Kopp said Exxon's participation in the talks does not indicate a changed
policy on greenhouse emissions. But some environmentalists see Exxon's
participation in the talks, coupled with its pledge to stop funding CEI, as
early signs of a possible policy change.

"The fact that Exxon is trying to debate solutions, instead of whether
climate change even exists, represents an important shift," said Andrew
Logan, a climate expert at Ceres, a coalition of investors and
environmentalists that works with companies to cut climate change risks.

In a report last year on how oil majors are addressing global warming
emissions, Ceres gave Exxon a 35 -- the worst score. Oil majors BP Plc and
Royal Dutch Shell got 90 and 79, respectively.

"Given how large and influential Exxon is and that they are basically the
last big industry climate skeptic standing, even small moves can have a very
big impact," said Logan. But he said it was too early to tell the substance
of the change. "The devil is in the details," he said.

Peter Fusaro, a carbon markets expert, noted that Exxon already must comply
with Kyoto regulations in other countries, and said the company may want to
simplify compliance standards throughout its international operations.

"It's starting to crystallize that companies can't have dual environmental
standards," he said.

Copyright 2007 Reuters Limited.
-----
Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/vision2020/attachments/20070112/1813cd2f/attachment-0001.html