Exxon, BP Support Republican Elders' Climate Proposal

Major oil companies like Exxon Mobil and BP Plc have thrown their support behind a carbon tax plan proposed by a group of elder Republican statesmen, according to an advertisement published in the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday.

The corporate support for the plan, which would impose a $40 tax on each ton of carbon dioxide produced, follows a decision by President Donald Trump to pull the United States out of the Paris Climate Agreement, a global pact that fights climate change by slashing emissions from burning fossil fuels.

"This plan would achieve significantly greater emissions reductions than all current and prior climate regulations, while helping America's businesses and workers get ahead," according to the advertisement from the Climate Leadership Council.

The ad bore the corporate symbols of companies such as Exxon, BP, Shell, Total , GM, Johnson & Johnson, and PepsiCo.

The Climate Leadership Council proposal was co-authored by James Baker, secretary of state during the administration of George H. W. Bush, and George Shultz, secretary of state under Ronald Reagan.  The proposed $40 per ton tax on carbon would rise in price over time, and revenues would be paid into the Social Security Administration.

Read more at Exxon, BP Support Republican Elders' Climate Proposal