Lobbying for Profits over Planet

A new report by think tank InfluenceMap has revealed the companies exerting the strongest and most negative influence on climate policy action around the world. In the previous edition of the research, it was concluded that these organizations are using “prolific and highly sophisticated” methods to manipulate governments into taking their countries and the world down “incredibly dangerous paths” when it comes to their climate policies.

At the top of the list in 2022 are U.S. energy giants Chevron and ExxonMobil which, based on analysis of over 200,000 evidence points including regulatory consultation comments, CEO messaging, financial filings, media accounts, advertising/PR and trade association links, are the companies being the most obstructive of governments setting climate policies.

Ed Collins, a director at InfluenceMap, warned previously: “The corporate playbook for holding back climate policy has come a long way from science denialism but it is every bit as damaging. What we are seeing is not limited to efforts to undermine regulations directly. It also involves prolific and highly sophisticated narrative capture techniques". Elaborating on this, the latest report states: "As net-zero is impossible without government policy, an analysis of a company’s policy engagement is a profound test of the authenticity of its net-zero targets. Any company with a net-zero target that is not constructively supporting Paris-aligned climate policy is arguably engaging in a form of greenwashing."