Climate Policy Engagement Analysis
Climate Policy Engagement Overview: Suncor demonstrates strategic policy engagement that is broadly misaligned with science-aligned climate policy. The company opposes climate regulations in Canada and has memberships in industry associations that undertake obstructive advocacy on regulations, such as Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) and Pathways Alliance.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: Suncor demonstrates broadly negative top-line positions on the need for climate action and policy. In a testimony to the Canadian government in June 2024, Suncor CEO Rich Kruger appeared to misrepresent the role of the fossil fuel sector in climate change. The company supported Canada’s commitments under the Paris Agreement and its 2050 net-zero target on its website, when accessed in February 2024. However, these positions are no longer available on the website since June 2024, and InfluenceMap could not find any recent evidence of the company’s support for climate action. Suncor’s June 2025 filing in Alberta disclosed its advocacy for government support for technologies to respond to climate change, although it is unclear if it supports climate regulation.
Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: Suncor advocates negatively on climate regulations in Canada. In March 2025, Suncor sent an open joint industry letter to policymakers, calling for withdrawal of the Output-based Pricing System and the Oil and Gas Emissions Cap. The company reiterated these positions in a letter sent to Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney in April 2025. Additionally, the company appeared unsupportive of Canada’s Clean Electricity Regulations, which set GHG emissions standards for the electricity sector, in a November 2023 consultation submission to the Canadian government. In this, Suncor advocated for several exceptions that would weaken the stringency of the standard, such as increased flexibility in compliance and timelines.
Positioning on Energy Transition: Suncor engages negatively on the energy transition and advocates for the continued role for oil and gas in the energy mix. In a June 2024 testimony to a Canadian parliamentary committee, Suncor CEO Rich Kruger advocated for expanded oil and gas production in Canada, stating that Canadian oil and gas reduces “the intensity of global energy grid.” Suncor’s June 2025 filing in the Federal Lobbyist Registry disclosed its advocacy for policy measures to support the oil and gas sector. In addition, the company stated its ongoing engagement on Canada’s commitment to ban fossil fuel subsidies, although it did not disclose a clear position on this issue.
Suncor’s support for the energy transition appears to be predicated on government support for technology-led solutions for decarbonization, mainly carbon capture and storage (CCS/CCUS). In a brief submitted to a parliamentary committee in June 2024, Suncor advocated for government incentives and funding to develop CCUS in the oil and gas sector, appearing to portray CCUS as justification for a continued role for oil production and use. In its 2023 CDP Climate Change response, Suncor advocated for the inclusion of fossil fuel technologies in the Clean Electricity Regulations, and the company’s comments to the government on this policy in November 2023 did not support the electricity decarbonization provisions or the CCS requirements for coal and gas plants.
Industry Association Governance: Suncor has limited transparency about its indirect influence and does not appear to have disclosed a full list of industry association membership on the website. Suncor is a member of several groups that engage negatively on climate policy, such as the Pathways Alliance, Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP), Canadian Fuels Association and Canadian Chamber of Commerce. The company has not published a review of indirect engagement through industry associations as of July 2025.
InfluenceMap collects and assesses evidence of corporate climate policy engagement on a weekly basis, depending on the availability of information from each specific data source (for more information, see our methodology). While this analysis flows through to the company’s scores each week, the summary above is updated periodically. This summary was last updated in Q3, 2025.