Climate Policy Engagement Analysis
Climate Lobbying Overview: Woodside appears to exhibit policy engagement that is oppositional to science-aligned climate policy. The company’s top-line messaging on positions on climate policy is unclear and the company appears to advocate for a major role for fossil gas in the energy mix. Woodside also retains a number of memberships to industry associations that advocate against climate policies.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: Woodside appears to hold unclear top-line positions on climate. In its Climate Change Policy, published in February 2025, the company acknowledged the objectives of the Paris Agreement without stating a clear position. Similarly, in the company’s 2024 Annual Report, published in February 2025, Woodside recognized that additional regulation will impact the emissions of its operations, without stating whether the company supports such regulations. In its April 2024 submission to the Senate Inquiry on Net Zero Economy Authority, it stated support for "technology neutral" federal policy that appeared to be at the expense of state regulation. Also in the company’s 2024 annual report, Woodside recognized President Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement without expressing a clear position on the UN Treaty itself.
Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: Woodside appears to be unsupportive in its engagement with specific climate-related policies. In its May 2024 comments on the Climate Change Authority's (CCA) 2024 Issues paper: Targets, Pathways and Progress, the company appeared to support emissions targets with major exceptions, stating that the CCA should consider resource exploration and appeared to promote the role of fossil fuels in such a target. In July 2024 comments on the Hydrogen Production Tax Incentive, Woodside advocated for hydrogen produced from fossil fuels to be eligible for the tax credit while also suggesting that the emissions intensity threshold should be increased. Woodside has also advocated for the extension of the Capacity Investment Scheme, a renewable energy support mechanism, to support fossil fuel projects, such as in its November 2023 comments on the Future Gas Strategy. Previously, the company appeared to not support the proposed design of the Safeguard Mechanism Reforms in multiple consultation responses on the issue, including in February 2023 and September 2022.
Positioning on Energy Transition: Woodside strongly advocates for a role for fossil fuels in the future energy mix. The company disputed that advocacy for fossil gas is at odds with climate goals in its Climate Transition Action Plan, published in February 2024, while in May 2025, CEO Meg O'Neill stated in a conference address that the government must implement reform to allow for new fossil fuel supply. In May 2024, Woodside submitted comments on the Climate Change Authority's 2024 Issues paper: Targets, Pathways and Progress in which it called for an increase in Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) exports from Australia to Asia. In the US, Woodside submitted comments on the Section 45V Credit for Production of Clean Hydrogen in February 2024, where it did not support the proposed requirements around temporal matching and advocated for new and current thermal generation using carbon capture and storage to be eligible for the tax credit. In November 2023 comments on the Future Gas Strategy, Woodside advocated for the government to increase the social license of continued fossil gas production and development; advocating for new fossil gas supply to be prioritized, and opposed any artificial reduction in fossil gas demand. Woodside also appeared to oppose any prescriptive fossil fuel phase out in Australia, in its July 2023 consultation response to the Climate Change Authority. Woodside also appears opposed to prescriptive hydrogen policies.
Industry Association Governance: Woodside discloses its industry association memberships in its 2023 1916080 Industry Association Review, published in February 2024. It finds that it is "aligned" with 17 of 20 associations assessed, with the others being deemed to be "mostly aligned" or "partially aligned". However, the company's disclosure on its industry associations is limited to top-line climate statements without reference to specific climate policies. Woodside has therefore excluded key instances of engagement with specific climate-related policies by its industry associations. For example, the American Petroleum Institute's opposition to a zero-emission vehicle mandate in July 2023, the Australian Energy Producers opposition to policy measures to reduce fossil gas demand in November 2023, the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia (CME) opposition to the Safeguard Mechanism in February 2023 and the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (IOGP) advocacy for weaker ambition in the EU Methane Regulation in August 2023. Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill is also chair of the the Australian Energy Producers board.
*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.