58% Of Nearly 300 Of World's Biggest Companies' Net-Zero Claims Erased By Their Lobbying Efforts

Companies’ climate commitments are largely misaligned with their lobbying activities, with more than half of the world’s largest corporations at risk of “net zero greenwashing,” according to a new report. An analysis of nearly 300 of the top companies from the Forbes 2000 list found that 58 percent did not match their climate policy influencing actions with their public claims of being committed to the Paris Climate Accord and achieving net zero emissions.

“Net Zero Greenwash: The Gap Between Corporate Commitments and Their Policy Engagement,” assessed companies’ lobbying against their net zero pledges. It determined that a company is at risk of greenwashing if it has announced a net zero or similar target, but is not sufficiently supportive of policies needed to achieve the Paris Agreement objectives, based on the LobbyMap platform that tracks corporate engagement on climate policy.

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In the report, researchers examined 293 of the world’s biggest corporations on their policy engagement, including direct lobbying and lobbying through industry associations. They found that 36.5 percent of them were at “moderate risk” of net zero greenwashing, while 21.5 percent were at “significant risk” of it. Chevron, ExxonMobil, Delta Airlines, Duke Energy, Glencore International, Nippon Steel Corporation, Repsol, Stellantis, Southern Company, and Woodside Energy Group Ltd. are among the companies identified as being at significant risk of net zero greenwashing as they advocate to weaken or block climate policies or expand fossil fuels at the same time that they profess to be committed to climate action or net zero goals.

Swiss mining giant Glencore, for example, opposed the introduction of new climate policy in the European Union last year. Australian oil and gas producer Woodside Energy lobbied in support of new fossil gas supply while opposing a fossil fuel phaseout in Australia this year. And the U.S.-based gas and electric utility, Southern Company, advocated to preserve the role of fossil gas in transportation and buildings last year, InfluenceMap points out. All three companies have made commitments to reach net zero emissions by 2050.

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https://www.desmog.com/2023/11/15/influencemap-study-greenwashing-corporate-climate-commitment-net-zero-greenwash/