Six Major Oil and Gas Companies Make Call for Carbon Pricing

(Paris, 1 June 2015) – Today, the CEOs of six major oil and gas companies – BG Group plc, BP plc, Eni S.p.A, Royal Dutch Shell plc, Statoil ASA, and Total SA – publicly called on governments to establish policy frameworks to price carbon.

In a public letter to Laurent Fabius, President of COP21, and Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the six companies acknowledged that current trends of greenhouse gas emissions will cause temperatures to rise beyond the IPCC recommended 2 degrees above pre-industrials levels and asked governments to “introduce carbon pricing systems and create clear, stable, ambitious policy frameworks” for further business action.

Citing a willingness to engage in an “open direct dialogue with the UN and willing governments,” the letter points to existing carbon pricing initiatives such as those undertaken by the World Bank and the UN Global Compact as “an appropriate ground for public-private dialogue on how to price carbon into energy.”

This united call is one in an increasing number of public commitments being made by companies, signally a growing support for carbon pricing. Companies worldwide are realizing that ignoring the costs associated with carbon externalities results in market distortions that detract from the long-term interests of business and society.

“We highly welcome this move in the right direction. The UN Global Compact pioneered the business movement calling for a price on carbon,” said Georg Kell, Executive Director of the UN Global Compact. “It signals a major movement which aligns with our own work as we prepare for COP21 in Paris this December.”

Through Caring for Climate, the UN Global Compact has helped to shape engagement of business to take a leadership role on carbon pricing. Companies at the forefront are becoming carbon pricing champions by setting internal carbon pricing measures, advocating for well-functioning carbon markets, and disclosing progress on them annually. A smaller share of companies is going even further by increasing investments in renewable energy and low-carbon technologies, and speaking up against negative lobbying on climate action. 

Although the private sector must be involved in developing and adopting solutions needed to address climate change and energy challenges, there is also a need for long-term and effective legislative and fiscal frameworks to create a stable price for carbon and support and motivate private sector actions. 

• Read the full letter
• Learn more about Caring for Climate’s Carbon Pricing Champions

Media Contact

Tim Wall
UN Global Compact
wallt@un.org
1 213 447 5954