The first blog post by ExxonMobil’s new CEO and Chairman Darren Woods is refreshing. Mr. Woods advocates a nationwide carbon tax to discourage use of polluting fuels. Exxon also endorsed the Paris Agreement. Actually, former CEO and now Secretary of State Rex Tillerson wasn’t a climate denier unlike his predecessors. Rex Tillerson said that climate change is real, but downplayed humanity’s responsibility for raising the global thermostat. Tillerson was also favor of a carbon tax. The fact that Mr. Woods is repeating these commitments is encouraging. He doesn’t want to start his term labelled a climate denier.
Exxon and other energy companies are facing huge challenges. The Company needs to meet growing demand for energy while managing the risk of climate change. The neutral carbon tax would promote greater energy efficiency and the use of today’s lower-carbon options, avoid further burdening the economy, and also provide incentives for markets to develop additional low-carbon energy solutions for the future. Woods’ view continues the corporate policy implemented during Tillerson’s reign at Exxon.
I occasionally visit the East Coast, the Gaspé peninsula on the Atlantic ocean, where I’m from. That region is a front row seat to climate change. Scientists’ warnings that the rise of the sea would eventually imperil the coastline is no longer theoretical. In Gaspé they are seeing increasing severity of extreme weather, floods and heavy rain in the summer. Because the Gulf doesn’t freeze as often it used too in the winter, tidal floods increasingly inundate the roads that are too deep to drive through. Certain roads are disappearing beneath the sea several times a year. These things didn’t happen when I was a kid. Now its a few times a year.
It is a good sign that we are starting to move away from discussions about whether climate change is real, and talking about solutions. Let’s see if these nice words can translate into action.
