Climate Policy Engagement Analysis
Climate Lobbying Overview: ATCO, Ltd. (“ATCO” or “Atco”) is somewhat engaged on climate-related policy, but discloses limited information with respect to its policy positions and indirect engagement through industry associations. ATCO is most actively engaged on policy related to the energy transition, such as the integration of hydrogen into the energy mix, and generally appears to support a continued role for fossil gas.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: ATCO demonstrates limited top-line messaging on climate policy. In its 2022 Sustainability Report, released April 2023, ATCO appears to support widespread net-zero targets in line with IPCC timelines. The company also appeared to support 2050 net-zero targets in an April 2024 consultation response on Australia’s Electricity and Energy Sector Plan Discussion Paper.
Engagement with Climate-Related Policy: InfluenceMap finds limited recent evidence of ATCO’s engagement on climate policy in Canada; however, the company appears actively engaged on policy related to renewable energy development in Australia. In a March 2024 consultation response on Australia’s Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS), ATCO advocated to extend the timeline of implementation to allow for renewable projects with longer lead times, such as offshore wind, to benefit from investment. ATCO submitted another response on CIS in May 2024, emphasizing concerns over grid reliability and advocating for a “technology-agnostic approach,” appearing to support investment in blended fuels over other renewable energy technologies.
Position on Energy Transition: ATCO is most actively engaged on policy related to the energy transition with positions that largely maintain a role for fossil gas in the energy mix. In its 2023 Sustainability Report, released May 2024, ATCO emphasized “the need for access to affordable, reliable energy while transitioning to a cleaner energy system.” Though ATCO appeared to support phasing out coal in the power sector in an April 2024 consultation response on Australia’s CIS, the company simultaneously advocated for a continued role for fossil gas in the energy transition, stating that “gas has an ongoing role to firm the use of increasing renewables in our current energy system and provide an alternative option to electricity.” In November 2023 comments on Canada’s Clean Energy Regulation (CER), ATCO states that “the design of the CER does not reflect system realities and operational considerations,” arguing that setting a 2035 target for grid electrification “puts the objectives of (energy) affordability and decarbonization at significant odds.”
ATCO also supports a role for hydrogen as an alternative fuel in the low-carbon transition: in a February 2022 interview with the Calgary Chamber, ATCO CEO Nancy Southern called hydrogen a “nation builder” that could bring “great prosperity” to Canada. However, Southern did not specify “green” hydrogen and offered no further detail on the need to decarbonize hydrogen production.
Industry Association Governance: ATCO is not transparent about its indirect engagement on climate policy. ATCO did not provide a response to the 2023 CDP request, and has not published a formal review of its direct and indirect climate policy engagement. InfluenceMap finds that ATCO is a member of several industry associations which are active on climate policy, including Energy Networks Australia, the Canadian Gas Association, and the Business Council of Canada, where ATCO is represented in the Entrepreneurs’ Circle by CEO Nancy Southern.
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 Q4 2024.