Climate Policy Engagement Analysis
Climate Policy Engagement Overview: BASF is strategically engaged with climate change policy in Europe, generally supports climate policy in top-line messaging with some exceptions, while taking negative positions on specific climate policies such as the EU Carbon Adjustment Mechanism and EU Low Carbon Hydrogen Delegated Act.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: BASF supports climate change action in its top-line messaging, with some exceptions on the need for climate regulation. The company stated support for GHG emissions reductions in line with 1.5°C target in its April 2025 Climate Advocacy Review. In its 2024 Annual Report, published in March 2025, BASF seemed to support government regulation to respond to climate change with conditions. However, in February 2024, BASF’s CEO signed the Antwerp Declaration, which advocated against implementing detailed regulations following EU climate targets. On its corporate website, accessed in July 2025, BASF supported the UN Paris Agreement goals.
Engagement with Climate-Related Policies: BASF seems to engage with climate change regulations in the EU and Germany with predominantly negative positions, often supporting policies with major exceptions that would weaken the policy’s ambition. The company appeared to support the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism while advocating for the continuation of existing carbon leakage protection measures under the EU ETS with no phase out in a July 2025 public consultation. Additionally, BASF advocated for the exclusion of the organic chemical sector from the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism in a June 2025 public consultation on the EU emissions trading system. BASF also opposed reform of the EU ETS free allocation in a June 2025 public consultation response. Additionally, BASF advocated against measures to limit primary plastic polymers production and address hazardous chemicals under Global Plastics Treaty in an April 2024 with EU EVP Šefčovič and industry. In a June 2024 submission to German Lobbying Register, BASF supported energy efficiency standards with some exceptions, stating the need to adapt the 'one-sided focus on climate-friendly heating' in the legislation.
Positioning on Energy Transition: BASF is broadly unsupportive of the transition of the energy mix. In a June 2025 joint letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson, the company supported measures that would maintain a high GHG energy mix by advocating for the passage of legislation that facilitates the buildout of fossil fuel infrastructure and repeals or weakens climate incentives. Additionally, BASF did not support an ambitious EU Low Carbon Hydrogen Delegated Act, stating that the rules are too complicated and it "introduces considerable obstacles that may delay the necessary expansion of the hydrogen economy" in October 2024 public consultation feedback. BASF Antwerpen CEO Jan Remeysen signed the Oslo Declaration in June 2024, advocating for CCU without specifying the power sector fuel type and advocating for a “technology-neutral” and “market-based” approach to decarbonizing the energy mix. Additionally, former BASF CEO Martin Brudermüller signed the Antwerp Declaration in February 2024, which took an unclear stance on supporting measures to decarbonize industry by advocating for more funding for 'clean' technology but with no detail provided as to what this includes and advocated to expand the scope of the Net Zero Industry Act with no further details provided on what should be included.
Industry Association Governance: BASF disclosed a partial account of its industry associations’ positions and engagement activities on specific climate-related policies in its Climate Advocacy Review in April 2025, which outlined the associations’ positions on climate policy and a framework for reviewing alignment, but did not find any misalignments. Company executives have senior leadership roles in a number of industry associations that do not appear to be supporting key climate change policies in the EU, notably the German Chemical Industry Association (VCI), the Federation of German Industries (BDI), and Cefic.
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.