April 11, 2007
ConocoPhillips calls for US Cap
ConocoPhillips has become the first major US oil company to announce it wants Washington to enact a federal global warming emissions cap, several US papers, including the Houston Chronicle and the Wall Street Journal (subscription required), report. Other companies have talked of the need for a mandatory federal system to tackle emissions, but ConocoPhillips is the first to throw its weight behind a specific proposal after having joined the US Climate Action Partnership. The move is not altruistic - except perhaps in terms of the company’s shareholders - but a way for the company to influence policy and minimise the impact on its bottom line. Executives from other US oil companies have told the FT they are also concerned about the prospect of multiple state requirements that would be difficult and costly to follow if the federal government did no enact US-wide legislation.
