Climate Policy Engagement Analysis
Climate Policy Engagement Overview: The AES Corporation (AES) demonstrates policy engagement that is partially aligned with policy pathways aiming to deliver the temperature goals of the Paris Agreement. The company is actively engaged on climate policy, with an advocacy presence across several regions including the United States (US), Europe, and Latin America and the Caribbean. Despite positive top-line messaging, AES advocates for fossil gas buildout, including increased investments in liquified natural gas (LNG), in multiple jurisdictions. AES is a member of Edison Electric Institute and Business Roundtable, both of which similarly promote a significant role for fossil gas infrastructure.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: AES demonstrates positive top-line messaging on climate policy. The company broadly supported a range of government policies to address climate change in its 2022 Improving Lives report published in September 2023, and stated support for the goals of the Paris Agreement in its 2023 Improving Lives report published in July 2024. Previously, in September 2023, the company signed a Global Renewables Alliance joint letter to policymakers that supported GHG emissions reductions in line with a 1.5°C target and advocated for greater ambition at COP28.
Engagement with Climate-Related Policy: AES appears to take a mix of positions on climate-related policy, with instances of negative engagement on US state climate policy in the past year. For example, subsidiary AES Ohio submitted April 2025 testimony and March 2025 testimony that opposed the solar provisions in Ohio House Bill 15. However, at the federal level, AES appeared in a February 2025 joint letter asking Congress to defend existing federal clean energy incentives, especially for solar and storage. Previously, in September 2023, AES signed a joint letter with the Global Renewables Alliance that called for world leaders to triple global renewable energy capacity by 2030.
Positioning on Energy Transition: AES demonstrates inconsistent positions on the energy transition across regions, supporting renewable energy deployment while calling for investments in fossil fuel infrastructure. For example, in a May 2023 interview with the US Department of Energy Deputy Secretary during the Annual Washington Conference on the Americas, CEO Gluski advocated for a moderated energy transition and continued investment in LNG, emphasizing its importance for “supplying not its friends and allies in Europe and in Asia but also in Latin America.” AES advocates for fossil fuel use in other geographies as well: on its corporate website accessed August 2025, the company promotes fossil gas in the Caribbean, Central America, and South America by supporting a transition from oil to LNG on the basis that LNG is “cleaner-burning.” This push for fossil fuels contrasts with the company’s advocacy for renewable energy, which includes statements in a June 2022 interview with Axios emphasizing that “renewables are the only way to achieve full energy independence” in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In the US, AES has been advocating for the buildout of fossil gas infrastructure, particularly in comments with the Class of ‘85 Regulatory Response Group (the Class of ‘85) across the 2021-2025 period. For example, the company signed multiple Class of ‘85 joint comments that opposed the ambition of the Biden administration’s power plant carbon standards, including August 2025 comments in support of their repeal, May 2024 comments advocating against a stringent regulation for existing gas-fired power plants; December 2023 comments calling for reliability mechanisms that prolong fossil fuel use; and August 2023 comments opposing the original proposal on legal and technical grounds. At the state level, subsidiary AES Ohio submitted multiple pieces of testimony on Ohio Senate Bill 2 and House Bill 15, including April 2025 testimony and February 2025 testimony that specifically opposed the bills’ proposal to repeal subsidies for the Ohio Valley Electric Coal (OVEC) coal plants.
Industry Association Governance: AES published an industry associations review in December 2021 that included some details on the company’s role within each organization, however it did not disclose the associations’ advocacy on specific climate policies. The company does not appear to have published a second industry association review. In its 2024 CDP report, AES stated that it engaged with Business Roundtable in developing the group's climate policy and that the company's CEO serves on the board of directors for Edison Electric Institute. Both industry groups engage with a range of positions on US climate policy and consistently advocate for the long-term role of fossil gas.
A detailed assessment of the company's corporate review on climate policy engagement can be found on InfluenceMap's CA100+ Investor Hub here.
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.