A letter circulating among companies praising legislation introduced Monday taxing carbon emissions, has been signed by both BP and Shell, according to industry newsletter Axios.
These MOC's along with a few other big oil producers, have long said they support a tax on carbon emissions. Signing a letter — even though it’s still just a letter — is an early and important prerequisite that could likely lead to active lobbying Congress to support the bill.
The bill, which would replace the federal gas tax in the US with a carbon tax, was introduced by GOP Rep. Carlos Curbelo of Florida, with one fellow GOP co-sponsor, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania.
The letter, which is expected to include a range of corporations, does not explicitly endorse the bill. Instead, it’s expected to broadly praise it and its role jumpstarting what’s been a long dormant substantive conversation on climate policy on Capitol Hill, according to people who have seen a copy of it or are familiar with it.
Curbelo's legislation is symbolically important but has zero chance of passage in the foreseeable future, due to powerful GOP opposition to carbon taxes
For the record: Spokespeople for BP and Shell reiterated their support for a carbon tax, though they either declined or didn’t respond to requests for comments about the letter.
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