Climate Lobbying Overview: Air Liquide is actively engaging on climate change policy in the EU and US, and appears to take positive as well as a few negative positions on regulation. The company strongly promotes the role of green and blue hydrogen in the energy mix, but appears unsupportive of increasing the ambition of several key climate policies in the EU, such as the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS).

Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: Air Liquide appears mostly supportive of action on climate change in its top-line messaging. In the company’s 2021 Universal Registration Document, it supported achieving net zero by 2050 in line with IPCC recommendations to keep global warming below 1.5°C. Furthermore, in March 2022 the CEO of American Air Liquide Holdings Michael Graff voiced support for the US net-zero by 2050 target in an official testimony before the US Senate. Air Liquide also welcomed the EU’s Fit for 55 package in response to an EU consultation in November 2021. However, in its 2021 CDP Climate Change Disclosure, the company stated that unilateral EU regulatory costs are burdensome and hamper the international competitiveness of EU industry. The company’s 2022 CDP Climate Change Disclosure did not contain that argument. In its 2022 Universal Registration Document, Air Liquide supported the UN Paris Agreement.

Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: Air Liquide takes both positive and negative positions on climate regulations. In response to an EU public consultation in November 2021, the company supported some reforms to increase the ambition of the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) proposed by the EU Commission in the Fit for 55 package, but was unsupportive of a proposal to make the free allocation of emissions allowances conditional on corporate decarbonization efforts. In an earnings call in July 2021, the CEO Benoît Potier supported a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism in the EU alongside existing free allowances in the EU ETS, a position which contradicts the EU Commission’s proposal.

In response to an EU public consultation in November 2021, Air Liquide voiced support for the EU Commission’s proposed reforms to increase the ambition of the Energy Efficiency Directive, on the condition that mandatory audits are “manageable and workable.” The company was supportive of a sub-mandate for e-fuels within the sustainable aviation fuels mandate in the ReFuelEU initiative in response to a public consultation in November 2021. In a December 2022 joint letter, the company supported ambitious targets for renewable liquid and gaseous fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBOs) in the transport sector within the EU Renewable Energy Directive (RED). However, Air Liquide advocated to include low-carbon hydrogen, produced with fossil gas and CCS, in the renewable hydrogen target in RED in response to a public consultation in November 2021.

Positioning on Energy Transition: Air Liquide seems to support the energy transition, and has strongly promoted the role of hydrogen, but has adopted partially negative positions in relation to transport decarbonization. In its Public Affairs Charter, published in February 2023, the company supported decarbonization of industry and mobility based on CCUS, renewable energies and low-carbon hydrogen. Air Liquide has advocated for higher ambition regarding hydrogen infrastructure in the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR) in an April 2022 open letter. However, in the same month the company also signed an Open Letter to EU Policymakers strongly advocating against measures to support the electrification of transportation in the EU, specifically advocating against the role of electromobility in the EU’s efforts to reduce GHG emissions.

Air Liquide supported the promotion of renewable and low-carbon hydrogen in the Energy Taxation Directive in response to an EU public consultation in November 2021, but did not support the phase out of exemptions for energy intensive industries. In an interview in September 2022, CEO François Jackow supported the EU’s Hydrogen Strategy, however, in February 2022, former CEO Benoît Potier promoted the idea of a ‘hydrogen society’ without referencing the need to decarbonize hydrogen production.

Industry Association Governance: Air Liquide disclosed a list of memberships to industry associations in its Trade Associations Climate Review 2022, which found one misalignment with the Air Liquide’s climate-related positions, but overall falls short of investor expectations in several regards. The company retains a number of strong links to organizations that are engaging negatively on climate policy. A senior executive is on the board of the National Association of Manufacturers and Air Liquide is a member of the US Chamber of Commerce. Furthermore, Air Liquide chairs the climate change committee of Mouvement des Entreprises de France (MEDEF).

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 Q2 2023.

A detailed assessment of the company's corporate review on climate policy engagement can be found on InfluenceMap's CA100+ Investor Hub here.