Analyst Note
| Stephen Ellis |The American Petroleum Institute, or API, which is considered to the be one of the most influential lobbying groups for the U.S. oil and gas industry, is now supportive of a carbon pricing policy. This shift marks a reversal from its earlier rejection of carbon pricing during former President Barack Obama's administration (notably the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009). While the API is not endorsing a specific carbon price or specific implementation approach (cap and trade versus tax and so on), it is supportive of a broader set of market-based principles on the idea. On a similar note, the API is specifically supporting methane emissions regulation, as well as industrywide standards for collecting and reporting key environmental, social, and governance-related data points. Finally, the group is supporting further action by President Joe Biden's administration to fund carbon capture technology and expand tax credits.