Shell Oil Company President Marvin Odium mentioned that a global carbon policy, such as a carbon tax or cap-and-trade system, would be more suitable for the energy industry than state and federal regulations. He stated that the global carbon policy should target all industries. Even with a global carbon policy, Odum mentioned that Shell will stick with oil and natural gas. He believes that natural gas will provide a significant amount of business. He believes that technology will progress to aid in cleaner oil and gas production and power generation. Fossil fuels and hydrocarbons will be in demand over the next half-century, according to Odum. He mentioned that he would not support a carbon in which revenues are allocated to governments’ general funds to spend as they desire (Blum, 2015).
AparnaMathur, an American Enterprise Institute resident scholar, believes that national carbon tax revenues should be used to offset inflation of power prices that low-income families would have to faces due to the tax’s regressive structure. Prices within a cap-and-trade structure can be quite difficult to predict, according to Mathur (Blum, 2015).
A carbon tax fixes a price on carbon dioxide emissions. A cap-and-trade system sets a cap on the amount of carbon dioxide emission, but companies can buy and sell permits to pollute above the limits (Blum, 2015).
References
Blum, J. (2015, November 10). Shell Oil Co. president touts carbon tax over piecemeal regulations. Retrieved November 21, 2015, from Fuel Fix: https://fuelfix.com/blog/2015/11/10/shell-oil-co-president-touts-carbon-tax-over-piecemeal-regulations/