US oil lobbying group mulls throwing weight behind carbon pricing

The main United States oil industry lobby group, the American Petroleum Institute (API), is considering throwing its weight behind putting a price on carbon emissions – a move that would mark a major shift after years of the API resisting mandatory government climate policies, a source familiar with the decision-making said.

The API, which includes most of the world’s biggest oil companies, is weighing whether to endorse carbon pricing “among other policy solutions to reduce emissions and reach the ambitions of the Paris Agreement”, the source said, confirming a report about the policy shift by The Wall Street Journal.

The API has been forced to confront its resistance to regulatory action on climate change.