Europe’s oil and gas companies took direct aim at the coal industry, calling upon governments to set a global price on carbon emissions that could dramatically drive market share from coal to natural gas.

The joint declaration issued by six European oil and gas majors was cautiously embraced by the United Nations, which will host negotiations this December in Paris aimed at designing a plan to cut the fossil fuel emissions that scientists blame for rising temperatures.

Total, Statoil, BP, Royal Dutch Shell, Eni and BG Group called for “decisive action” at the Paris summit that would recognise the “vital role of natural gas.”

The companies argued that when burned to make electricity, natural gas typically generates around half the carbon emissions of coal.
The willingness of oil and gas firms to accept a fee on carbon emissions was widely seen as an attempt to improve their image at coal’s expense.

It comes as the oil and gas industry is caught in a growing divestment campaign that urges investors to withdraw from fossil fuel companies because of their carbon emissions. They also face pressure from policy-makers in several countries who want to shut off billions of dollars in production and consumption subsidies that benefit the sector.