Shell could increase carbon price estimates

Royal Dutch Shell might increase the price it estimates for carbon dioxide pollution for internal accounting purposes, Bloomberg News reported.

Shell, the largest oil company in Europe, currently assumes that it’ll pay $40 for each metric ton of carbon emissions when it budgets for future investments, Bloomberg said, citing Angus Gillespie, vice president of for carbon emissions at Shell.

{mosads}That estimate is nearly six times what the European Union currently charges polluters. But Bloomberg estimates the price could reach $41 a ton by the next decade as the continent tries to further reduce emissions.

ExxonMobil Corp., the world’s largest oil company, uses a $60 per ton carbon estimate, Bloomberg said.

Oil companies and others involved in fossil fuels use the carbon price estimates to forecast how profitable projects will be in the future.