The American Petroleum Institute, the United States’ largest trade association representing all aspects of the oil and gas industry, is set to release a statement endorsing carbon pricing, a cornerstone of the Paris Agreement to fight climate change, the Wall Street Journal reports.
In a major shift from its previous stance, API will come out in favor of carbon trading, an economic process by which businesses, states/provinces and even nations can sell excess allotments of carbon emissions to others, generating income for private entities or raising money for environmental initiatives for NGOs and governments.
“API supports economy-wide carbon pricing as the primary government climate policy instrument to reduce CO2 emissions while helping keep energy affordable, instead of mandates or prescriptive regulatory action,” the draft statement says.
Reducing carbon emissions has been the goal of policies as a way to curb the impacts of climate change. Excess carbon in the atmosphere leads to higher temperatures and promotes extreme weather. Policymakers have tried to encourage reduction in carbon emissions, but the fossil fuel industry has long resisted any efforts to curb the use of gas and oil.
President Joe Biden has set a goal of having the United States be a “net zero” carbon emitter by 2050, with most fuel used in the nation being generated by renewable sources.