IRVING, Texas, Dec. 19, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Vistra Energy
(NYSE: VST) today announced it has joined the Climate Leadership
Council ("CLC") as a founding member. The CLC is an international
policy institute created in collaboration with prominent business,
opinion, and environmental leaders to promote a carbon dividends
framework as the most cost-effective, equitable, and politically
viable climate solution. Vistra joins 24 prominent companies across
a myriad of industries with a combined market cap of $3.8 trillion in advocating for a national carbon
fee and dividend policy. Founding members of the CLC include five
oil and gas supermajors, the two largest automobile manufacturers
in the U.S., as well as the largest telecommunications company,
insurance company, and healthcare company in the world, among
others.
![Vistra Energy logo (PRNewsfoto/Vistra Energy) Vistra Energy logo (PRNewsfoto/Vistra Energy)](https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/530816/Vistra_Energy_Logo.jpg)
Consistent with Vistra's commitment to the transformative impact
of a market-based, cost-effective, and politically viable climate
solution, the company is also contributing $1 million to the Americans for Carbon Dividends
("AFCD") advocacy campaign, underwriting its efforts to encourage
Congress to enact a carbon fee and dividend plan.
Vistra is joined by other prominent organizations including IBM,
Ford Motor Company, Calpine, and
General Motors, which the AFCD announced today have also made
financial commitments to the campaign. IBM will similarly be
joining the CLC as a founding member (Ford, Calpine, and General Motors are already
founding members).
"Over the last several years, Vistra has greatly accelerated its
efforts to reduce its CO2 footprint through, among other
initiatives, power plant retirements and billions of dollars of
investments in renewables, energy storage, emissions control
equipment, and other energy efficient technologies," said
Curt Morgan, Vistra's president and
chief executive officer. "These types of individual efforts,
however, must be complemented and supported by a national public
policy solution focused on reducing carbon emissions while
utilizing market-based, competitive principles. We believe an
economy-wide, adequately priced carbon fee and dividend plan would
be the most effective and equitable public policy solution to
advance this goal through appropriately incentivized investments in
carbon-free and carbon-reducing technologies. The plan put forth by
the CLC and advocated for by AFCD is exactly the type of actionable
plan to facilitate the country's transition to a lower-carbon
future while maintaining a prosperous American economy. With the
right policies in place, we believe Vistra can continue to reduce
our own emissions and contribute our part to meeting the goals set
forth in the Paris Agreement, all while continuing to provide safe,
reliable, and affordable power to our customers."
About the CLC
The CLC formally launched in
February 2017 with the publication of
The Conservative Case for Carbon Dividends, co-authored by
James A. Baker, III, Martin Feldstein, Ted
Halstead, N. Gregory Mankiw,
Henry M. Paulson, Jr., George P. Shultz, Thomas
Stephenson, and Rob Walton.
The founding members of the CLC believe the U.S. needs a consensus
climate solution that bridges partisan divides, strengthens our
economy, and protects our shared environment. The bipartisan carbon
dividends plan is centered around four policy pillars:
- A gradually rising and revenue-neutral carbon fee that if
implemented will cut U.S. CO2 emissions in half by
2035
- Carbon dividends that will be
returned to American people
- Streamlining regulations that would no longer be necessary upon
enactment of a rising carbon fee
- Border carbon adjustment on imports and exports that will
enhance competitiveness of American firms
Additional information about the CLC can be found at
www.clcouncil.org.
About AFCD
AFCD is a national education and advocacy
campaign that promotes a bipartisan climate solution where all
sides win. As the most popular, equitable, and politically viable
climate solution, carbon dividends offer the best hope for a
much-needed bipartisan climate breakthrough. It is already
supported by the broadest climate coalition in U.S. history.
Additional information about AFCD can be found at
www.afcd.org.
Media
Meranda Cohn
214-875-8004
Media.Relations@vistraenergy.com
Analysts
Molly Sorg
214-812-0046
Investor@vistraenergy.com
About Vistra Energy
Vistra Energy (NYSE: VST) is a premier, integrated, Fortune 350
energy company based in Irving,
Texas, providing essential resources for customers,
commerce, and communities. Vistra combines an innovative,
customer-centric approach to retail with safe, reliable, diverse,
and efficient power generation. The company brings its products and
services to market in 20 states and the District of Columbia, including six of the
seven competitive retail markets in the U.S. and markets in
Canada and Japan, as well. Serving nearly 5 million
residential, commercial, and industrial retail customers with
electricity and gas, Vistra is the largest competitive residential
electricity provider in the country and offers over 40 renewable
energy plans. The company is also the largest competitive power
generator in the U.S. with a capacity of approximately 39,000
megawatts powered by a diverse portfolio of natural gas, nuclear,
coal, solar, and battery energy storage facilities. In addition,
the company is a large purchaser of wind power. The company is
currently developing the largest battery storage system of its kind
in the world – a 300-MW/1,200-MWh system in Moss Landing, California. Vistra is guided by
four core principles: we do business the right way, we work as a
team, we compete to win, and we care about our people, our
neighbors, and our stakeholders. Learn more about our
environmental, social, and governance efforts and read the
company's sustainability report at
https://www.vistraenergy.com/sustainability/
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking
Statements
The information presented herein includes
forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking
statements, which are based on current expectations, estimates and
projections about the industry and markets in which Vistra Energy
Corp. ("Vistra Energy") operates and beliefs of and assumptions
made by Vistra Energy's management, involve risks and
uncertainties, which are difficult to predict and are not
guarantees of future performance, that could significantly affect
the financial results of Vistra Energy. All statements, other than
statements of historical facts, that are presented herein, or in
response to questions or otherwise, that address activities, events
or developments that may occur in the future, including such
matters as activities related to our financial or operational
projections, projected synergy, value lever and net debt targets,
capital allocation, capital expenditures, liquidity, projected
Adjusted EBITDA to free cash flow conversion rate, dividend policy,
business strategy, competitive strengths, goals, future
acquisitions or dispositions, development or operation of power
generation assets, market and industry developments and the growth
of our businesses and operations (often, but not always, through
the use of words or phrases, or the negative variations of those
words or other comparable words of a future or forward-looking
nature, including, but not limited to, "intends," "plans," "will
likely," "unlikely," "believe," "expect," "seek," "anticipate,"
"estimate," "continue," "will," "shall," "should," "could," "may,"
"might," "predict," "project," "forecast," "target," "potential,"
"forecast," "goal," "objective," "guidance" and "outlook"),are
forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place
undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Although Vistra
Energy believes that in making any such forward-looking statement,
Vistra Energy's expectations are based on reasonable assumptions,
any such forward-looking statement involves uncertainties and risks
that could cause results to differ materially from those projected
in or implied by any such forward-looking statement, including, but
not limited to: (i) adverse changes in general economic or market
conditions (including changes in interest rates) or changes in
political conditions or federal or state laws and regulations; (ii)
the ability of Vistra Energy to execute upon the contemplated
strategic and performance initiatives and to successfully integrate
acquired businesses; (iii) actions by credit ratings agencies; and
(iv) those additional risks and factors discussed in reports filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") by Vistra
Energy from time to time, including the uncertainties and risks
discussed in the sections entitled "Risk Factors" and
"Forward-Looking Statements" in Vistra Energy's annual report on
Form 10-K for the year ended December 31,
2018 and any subsequently filed quarterly reports on Form
10-Q.
Any forward-looking statement speaks only at the date on which
it is made, and except as may be required by law, Vistra Energy
will not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking
statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on
which it is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated
events. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not
possible to predict all of them; nor can Vistra Energy assess the
impact of each such factor or the extent to which any factor, or
combination of factors, may cause results to differ materially from
those contained in any forward-looking statement.
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