Climate Lobbying Overview: Apple appears generally supportive of policy action on climate change. The company demonstrates clear support for renewable energy policy and the energy transition, although it is less engaged with many other forms of climate policy.

Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: Apple has positive top-line messaging on climate change. In its 2020 Environmental Progress report, Apple supports global GHG emissions reductions in line with a 1.5C target. Apple's vice president of Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives, Lisa Jackson, has been particularly outspoken on the need for climate policy. On twitter in September 2021, Lisa Jackson advocated for strong government policies to respond to climate change. The tweet does not refer explicitly to the climate provisions in the Build Back Better Act, although Apple’s Q4 2021 federal lobbying disclosure reports engagement on the clean energy provisions in the bill without stating a position. In addition, Apple clearly supports the Paris Agreement, as evident in a joint statement with We Are Still In calling on the U.S. to rejoin the agreement in December 2020 and a joint letter with the We Mean Business Coalition in April 2021 thanking the Biden administration for rejoining.

Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: Apple appears to lobby on a limited number of specific climate policies, with a clear focus on expanding access to renewables for corporate purchasing. However, in January 2022, Apple and other technology companies filed a joint amicus brief in support of the EPA's right to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, following West Virginia's case against the EPA. Additional recent activity has been limited, with the exception of a 2020 sign-on letter through the European Corporate Leaders Group which urged the EU to increase its emissions reduction target to 55% by 2030. Previously, in 2018, Apple strongly opposed efforts to repeal the Clean Power Plan in 2018. That same year, Apple (with Google), submitted a comment to the North Carolina Utilities Commission aimed at improving a green tariff structure proposed by Duke Energy. In the state of Iowa, Apple opposed a 2018 bill that would have undermined energy efficiency initiatives.

Positioning on Energy Transition: In general, Apple communicates clear support for a global clean energy transition. The company advocated to congress in a joint letter in July 2021 for a federal Clean Energy Standard to achieve 100% clean energy for the power sector by 2035. Lisa Jackson reiterated Apple’s support for a federal clean energy standard on twitter in September 2021. In May 2021, Bloomberg reported on Apple's pushback against the buildout of new gas plants by Duke Energy. Similarly, in 2020, the company signed a letter to Dominion Energy pushing the utility to invest in renewables and battery storage rather than natural gas expansion. In 2018, it urged the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to reject calls from the Department of Energy that would have subsidized coal while making clean energy more expensive.

Industry Association Governance: Apple is a member of Advanced Energy Economy, which has lobbied positively on all forms of climate policy in the US, and the Japan Climate Leaders Partnership. In 2009, Apple renounced its membership with the US Chamber of Commerce in response to the association’s comments against the US EPA. Conversely, Apple retains its membership with Business Europe and the Japanese Business Federation, two organizations which have largely opposed climate action in their respective jurisdictions.