GENEVA, 1 June – A letter from the CEOs of six oil and gas companies calling for carbon pricing to play a role in the future international climate change agreement is a welcome boost as climate negotiators begin a two-week meeting in Bonn, IETA says.

The CEOs of BG Group, BP, Eni, Shell, Statoil and Total signed the letter to UN climate chief Christiana Figueres and France’s foreign minister Laurent Fabius.

“We need governments across the world to provide us with clear, stable, long-term, ambitious policy frameworks,” they write. “We believe that a price on carbon should be a key element of these frameworks. If governments act to price carbon, this discourages high carbon options and encourages the most efficient ways of reducing emissions widely.”

The six firms also highlight the opportunities for public-private dialogues that IETA provides, which could help inform the design of a carbon pricing system for energy. The letter also calls for the forthcoming Paris climate agreement to encourage linkages between pricing systems to level the playing field for business and provide policy certainty.

“Carbon pricing is a key component in driving low-carbon investment, and must play a significant role in the future climate agreement,” says IETA’s CEO and President Dirk Forrister. “Linkages between carbon markets can help keep costs down and enable greater emissions cuts to be achieved faster than they would otherwise. Introducing a price on carbon provides opportunities for clean economic growth in new areas, such as the technological innovations outlined in the letter.”