Overnight Energy: Oil giant supports carbon tax push | Poll finds majorities in both parties back Green New Deal | NJ moves to rejoin regional climate pact
CONOCOPHILLIPS BACKS CARBON ‘DIVIDENDS’ PROPOSAL: Oil and natural gas giant ConocoPhillips Co. is backing an effort to impose a tax on carbon dioxide emissions.
The company is pledging $2 million over the next two years to Americans for Carbon Dividends, an advocacy group that pushes a carbon tax, starting at $40 and rising thereafter, as part of a plan developed by the Climate Leadership Council (CLC) and its leaders, former Republican secretaries of State James Baker III and George Shultz.
ConocoPhillips, the nation’s second largest oil producer, is also joining the Climate Leadership Council. Exxon Mobil Corp., the country’s largest oil company, joined the effort in October, and BP and Royal Dutch Shell were already onboard.
{mosads}Under the Baker-Shultz plan, all of the money brought in from the carbon tax would be distributed back to taxpayers as “dividends.” Axios first reported on ConocoPhillips joining.
“We are pleased to now join the CLC to continue the dialogue around carbon price policy development in the United States,” ConocoPhillips chief Ryan Lance said in a statement.
And another prominent backer: The World Wildlife Fund also joined the Climate Leadership Council, Axios reported.
“It’s about opening up spaces where we can actually have conversations with all the players that are going to be part of the decision to get us on a different trajectory,” Lou Leonard, a senior vice president at the wildlife group, told Axios.
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POLL FINDS SUPPORT FOR GREEN NEW DEAL: More than 80 percent of registered voters support the Green New Deal proposal being pushed by progressive Democratic lawmakers, a new poll found.
The survey conducted by the Yale Program on Climate Communication and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication found that 92 percent of Democrats and 64 percent of Republicans back the Green New Deal plan.
The organizations behind the poll explained poll-takers avoided mentioning to respondents which representatives were backing the New Green Deal to prevent injecting bias.
Progressive Democrats like Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.) and Rep. John Lewis (Ga.) are some of the loudest voices behind the idea, which has been backed by only Democratic lawmakers back so far.
“Other research has shown that people evaluate policies more negatively when they are told it is backed by politicians from an opposing political party. Conversely, people evaluate the same policy more positively when told it is backed by politicians from their own party,” the poll takers wrote in a blog post explaining its results.
“Therefore, these findings may indicate that although most Republicans and conservatives are in favor of the Green New Deal’s policies in principle, they are not yet aware that this plan is proposed by the political Left.”
LIME HIRES CAROL BROWNER: Lime, the scooter and bike sharing company, is brining on former Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) chief Carol Browner as an adviser for sustainability.
The company said Monday that Browner, who was EPA chief throughout President Bill Clinton’s time in office and a climate adviser to President Barack Obama, will work closely with Andrew Savage, its incoming vice president of sustainability.
“If we are serious about addressing the carbon pollution that contributes to climate change we need dedicated and smart businesses like Lime offering creative solutions,” she said in a statement from the company.
“I am proud to join Lime as its first sustainability-focused advisor and look forward to working with the team to meet our sustainability objectives and inspire others to take action.”
Lime recently launched Lime Green, an initiative with the goal of charging its fleet entirely with renewable energy and making its other operations carbon neutral. Browner will be focusing on that initiative.
NJ MOVES TOWARD REJOINING CARBON PACT: New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) announced Monday that the state will rejoin a region-wide carbon cutting initiative after having pulled out under former Gov. Chris Christie (R).
The Garden State will once again become a partner of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, made up of Mid-Atlantic and New England states focused on reducing energy emissions through a cap-and-trade auction process. Other member states include Delaware, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont.
“Climate change and sea-level rise affect every one of us,” Murphy said on Monday. “From Superstorm Sandy to the powerful nor’easters and devastating flooding this year, it is imperative that New Jersey reclaim its leadership role in fighting back.”
New Jersey was a charter member of the partnership, but Christie withdrew the state’s membership in 2012.
OUTSIDE THE BELTWAY:
Qatar Petroleum is planning a $20 billion investment into the United States, Reuters reports.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) is calling for his own version of a Green New Deal, which would make the state’s electricity mix carbon-neutral by 2040, the Buffalo News reports.
A new study found “alarming” levels of certain harmful chemicals inside turtles around the Great Barrier Reef, the Guardian reports.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
Check out stories from Monday and the weekend …
– Poll: Majorities of both parties support Green New Deal
– ConocoPhillips backs carbon tax plan
– Nations agree on rules for implementing Paris climate accord
– Zinke blames ‘false’ attacks in resignation
– Dems, environmentalists cheer Zinke’s departure
– Interior chief Zinke to leave administration
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