Yes, you read that right.
Representatives from ExxonMobil visited the editorial board of the Washington Post on Sunday where they apparently said the consequences for inaction could be worse than anyone else has predicted.
More amazingly, they called for implementing a carbon tax.
With no government action, Exxon experts told us during a visit to The Post last week, average temperatures are likely to rise by a catastrophic (my word, not theirs) 5 degrees Celsius, with rises of 6, 7 or even more quite possible.
“A properly designed carbon tax can be predictable, transparent, and comparatively simple to understand and implement,” Exxon says in a position paper titled “Engaging on climate change.”
As the Post points out, the Republican party will soon find itself at odds not just with environmentalists, scientists, and other world governments, but with the fossil fuel industry as well.
Unfortunately, I don't expect ExxonMobil's newfound faith will sway a single Republican politician in the right direction. I expect their general reaction will be one of scorn, conspiracy, and denial.
Scientists employed by ExxonMobil may say catastrophic climate change is coming but, as you know, Republicans aren't big on scientists regardless of who employs them. New Jersey Governor and Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie, a man who allegedly governs a state devastated by extreme weather, recently said he doesn't rely on scientists. Christie says he knows climate change is a myth because his gut feeling told him so.
House Republicans have made several attempts over the past couple years to limit or prohibit the consideration of scientific evidence at the Environmental Protection Agency, not to mention their attempts to defund the agency.