Exxon CEO sees carbon emissions rising 1 pct a yr

SINGAPORE Nov 13 (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) said on Friday carbon emissions were forecast to rise by an average of 1 percent annually for the next 20 years, and one option to stem the rise in greenhouse gases was to promote use of natural gas.

"Stemming the rise in greenhouse gases is a challenge. One way of expanding supply and reducing emissions is to invest in technologies to bring more natural gas to the Asia Pacific region," Chief Executive Rex Tillerson said in a speech at an APEC summit in Singapore.

Tillerson said the use of natural gas was expected to increase more than 50 percent globally by the year 2030, and by over 130 percent in the Asia Pacific region alone.

Exxon, a major natural gas producer, has in the past been sceptical about global warming and is now facing U.S. regulation from a climate change bill. Tillerson told Reuters on Friday he advocated a carbon tax rather than carbon trading [ID:nSIN56965]. (Reporting by Jennifer Tan; Editing by Neil Chatterjee)