Exxon wants the EU to let the market be: The EU should follow the example of US policy with regards to climate action and “let the market work” to avoid pushing companies away with limiting rules, Bloomberg reports, citing comments made by Exxon Mobil CEO Darren Woods. “I think it’s a huge mistake to be picking winners and losers and focusing on specific technologies,” Woods said. “Instead we should be looking more broadly at letting the markets figure out which solutions provide the most emissions reductions for the lowest cost.”

Pass the subsidies: Woods was referring to the Biden administration’s landmark Inflation Reduction Act passed last year, which offers USD 370 bn in tax subsidies to slash carbon emissions. The package is stirring interest in CCS technologies, which are otherwise seen as costly and likely to fail. Exxon has committed to spending USD 17 bn on low-carbon initiatives until 2027, including plans for carbon capture.

OTHER STORIES WORTH KNOWING ABOUT THIS MORNING-

• Italy-based Eni energy company’s renewables subsidiary Eni Plenitude has completed construction of a utility scale battery plant with an installed capacity of 15 MW in the Italian island of Sardinia. The plant will be complemented with an energy storage unit totaling 9 MW. (Reuters)
• A Shell advertising campaign promoting green initiatives has been banned in the UK for not making it clear to consumers that most of the company’s business is based on fossil fuels. (The Guardian)
• Japanese financial conglomerate SBI Holdings and climate tech startup Asuene established a Japan-based JV for regional carbon trading called CarbonEX. The exchange will host both private-sector voluntary credits and non-fossil certificates. (Bloomberg)