International oil majors British Petroleum (BP) and Royal Dutch Shell are each giving $1mn to Americans for Carbon Dividends, which is pushing the US Congress to approve a carbon tax and dividend plan.
This is part of a larger industry trend which has seen oil companies across the globe work to improve sustainability amid pressure from investors and stakeholders.
Bloomberg reported that BP and Shell’s financial contributions would go to a campaign underwritten by Exxon Mobil, among others.
If successful, it could see a price on CO2 emissions across the US starting at $40 per tonne. Revenue from these taxes would then be distributed to households in quarterly dividend checks, with the aim of helping low and middle-income Americans survive higher energy costs due to carbon taxes.
“With our $1mn pledge to the work of the Climate Leadership Council, we aim to make further progress on this front — and to keep advancing the transition to a lower-carbon future,” Susan Dio, chairman of BP America, reportedly said in an emailed statement.
Notably, Shell left an oil lobby in April 2019 due to a disagreement on climate change policy, and will set short-term climate change goals linked to executive pay.
