May 31 (Reuters) - Europe's six largest oil and gascompanies, including Royal Dutch Shell and Britain's BPPlc, have united together in seeking help from the UnitedNations to stop global warming, the Financial Times reported onSunday.
The companies asked for direct talks with the United Nationsand governments on creating a global carbon pricing system aheadof U.N. climate talks in Paris in December. (http://on.ft.com/1eKkOaA)
"We owe it to future generations to seek realistic, workablesolutions to the challenge of providing more energy whiletackling climate change," the FT quoted the companies' chiefexecutives as saying in a letter to the newspaper explainingtheir plan.
The group of six companies, which include France's Total SA, Norway's Statoil, Italy's Eni andBritain's BG Group, argue that avoiding the use of coalto generate electricity would help reduce carbon emissions, thenewspaper said.
The business daily said the companies' chief executives hadwritten on Friday to the U.N.'s top climate official, ChristianaFigueres, asking for direct meetings with the U.N. and willinggovernments to discuss an international carbon scheme.
"We have important areas of interest in and contributionsto make to creating and implementing a workable approach tocarbon pricing," the newspaper quoted the chief executives assaying.
The companies said that to encourage climate-friendlyinvestments, governments should launch carbon pricing measures,such as the EU's emission trading system, the newspaper said.
The paper said ExxonMobil and Chevron, thetwo largest U.S. oil producers, last week had opted out ofjoining any European initiative to forge a common position onglobal warming.
Reuters reported last week that around 200 governments areset to sign a global deal at the U.N. meeting in Paris in sixmonths.
The governments will meet at a conference in Paris from Nov.30 to Dec. 11 to agree on a deal to slow global warming.
Royal Dutch Shell, Britain's BP Plc and BG group could notbe reached immediately for comments outside regular businesshours. France's Total, Italy's Eni and Norway's Statoil couldnot be reached immediately either.
The United Nations could not be reached immediately outsideregular business hours. (Reporting by Rishika Sadam in Bengaluru; Editing by SandraMaler)
BP (BP.)
