Advocacy group Climate Leadership Council (CLC), which aims to make policies to address climate change, has suspended oil giant Exxon Mobil, one of the founding members.
An Exxon Mobil lobbyist recently said the company supports a carbon tax publicly because the plan to curb climate change would never gain enough political support to be adopted. Exxon Chief Executive Officer Darren Woods had condemned the comments.
“After careful consideration, we have decided to suspend ExxonMobil’s membership in both the Council and Americans for Carbon Dividends, our advocacy arm,” CLC CEO Greg Bertelsen said in a statement.
Exxon was a founding member of the group along with ConocoPhillips, BP, Shell and Total.
The CLC’s decision marks a u-turn after it supported the oil major in June after the lobbyist’s comments.
Exxon said in a statement the CLC’s decision was disappointing and counterproductive.
Exxon said it would continue to be a part of the Alliance for Market Solutions, an organization that also works to try and reduce carbon pollution.
The non-profit organization World Resources Institute (WRI), a CLC member, said Exxon was not aligned with the council’s push to put a price on carbon as a key response to the climate crisis.