Exxon's Faustian Gambit

When an oil giant, especially Exxon, calls for carbon taxes, a prudent person will wait for the other shoe to drop.

Exxon, apparently catching a smoky whiff of the wildfire barreling its way, welcomes carbon taxes but there's a catch.

ExxonMobil, the largest investor-owned oil company in the world, announced last week that it will spend $1 million over two years to lobby for a US carbon tax. 

The announcement came just after the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Changereported that the world may have as little as 12 years to act to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, and Exxon’s news got somewhat buried. 

...But what’s gone largely unnoticed is that Exxon’s proposal comes with a massive catch: In exchange for a tax, the company wants immunity from all climate lawsuits in the future.

The proposal Exxon wants to enact is one that would shield the company from lawsuits while also preventing further climate change regulations. All in all, it would grant oil companies the kind of immunity from litigation the gun industry currently enjoys.