Some 35 of the world’s 50 most influential companies shaping climate and energy policy are actively lobbying against decarbonisation plans, a new report from InfluenceMap reveals.
These include organisations in the fossil fuel value chain, heavy energy users, and electric utilities with vast amounts of coal generating capacity.
The report measures firms’ stance on climate policy, lobbying activity and overall economic clout to determine their ‘Carbon Policy Footprint’, rather than just greenhouse gas emissions. Koch Industries, Southern Company and ExxonMobil were found to be the worst offenders, while Apple, Unilever and IKEA were identified as the best performers.
Although just 15 of the top 50 companies are pushing for ambitious green policy agendas, the research shows that the amount of pro-climate companies has expanded noticeably in the past two years.
This trend is expected to continue as more large corporations around the world try to influence government policy in a way that helps them meet their own decarbonisation goals effectively.
“The data shows the climate policy agenda, in terms of corporate influencing, is being driven by a small number of massive global corporations,” InfluenceMap’s executive director, Dylan Tanner, said.
“It also shows a group of powerful of companies in the tech, consumer goods and utilities sectors increasingly pushing for policy to implement the Paris Climate Agreement.”