WASHINGTON—Top oil company executives, in a meeting with White House officials Monday, expressed support for putting a price on carbon emissions as a means to address greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change.
White House environmental officials hosted the videoconference meeting with executives from 10 of the industry’s biggest companies, including giants like Exxon Mobil Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell PLC. The meeting was the White House’s first with oil industry leaders after a series with other industries.
Gina McCarthy, the White House national climate adviser, told executives the administration must focus on oil-and-gas companies—especially their emissions of the greenhouse-gas methane—in addressing climate change as a priority, according to people familiar with the meeting.
Among those attending were Exxon CEO Darren Woods, Chevron Corp. Chief Executive Mike Wirth, Shell U.S. President Gretchen Watkins as well as Mike Sommers, president and chief executive of the American Petroleum Institute.
Company leaders, particularly from the European-based companies, said they wanted to work with the administration and pledged support for policies that would make it more expensive to emit the gases that contribute to climate change, according to the people.
