Oil and Gas Jobs Laser Talk

Won’t Carbon Fee and Dividend kill the oil and gas jobs and companies?

Absolutely not! Managing climate change risk means reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which does not necessarily mean eliminating fossil fuels or the companies that currently produce them. The same scientists, engineers, project managers, financiers, and operators that oil and gas already employs will be needed more than ever to supply low-carbon fuels to an energy-hungry world.

So, Carbon Fee and Dividend won’t “kill” jobs, but it will change some. Oil and gas companies can build on their core competencies with production of low-carbon fuel like natural gas and biofuels. Energy companies have studied these technologies and tried to make them profitable, but have been unable to without a clear price signal. That price signal is exactly what Carbon Fee and Dividend will provide.

Further, capital investment planning takes time, which is why the carbon fee starts low and escalates steadily, predictably, and transparently over decades. That gives companies a clear roadmap by which to invest in future research and projects that will be profitable in a low-carbon economy. It is for these very reasons that our independent study finds that natural gas remains a large energy source providing grid power (Fig. 1).

FIGURE 1. National electric power generation from our independent study.

Also, though we’ll use oil more efficiently, it will remain a significant part of the energy mix until comparable, cost-effective energy storage alternatives emerge (Fig. 2).

FIGURE 2. Oil and gas consumption estimates from our independent study.