Climate Policy Engagement Analysis
Climate Policy Engagement Overview: China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) is actively engaged on climate policies with a mix of negative and positive positions. Despite support for a number of climate policies in China, including carbon pricing and renewable energy policy, CNOOC’s engagement on the transition of the energy mix appears to be misaligned with IPCC guidance. CNOOC has actively advocated for a continued role for fossil fuels and supported further exploration of offshore oil and gas resources.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: CNOOC’s top-line messaging on climate policy is broadly positive. In its 2024 ESG Report published in April 2025, the company appeared to recognize the need for urgent climate action. In a February 2025 blog post, the CNOOC Energy Economics Institute (EEI), CNOOC’s think tank, appeared to support government policy to respond to climate change.
Engagement with Climate-related Regulations: CNOOC communicated positively on several climate-related policy streams, including carbon pricing and renewable energy policy. In an October 2024 EEI blog post, it supported the introduction of a carbon tax in China and advocated to expand inclusion to non-key industries that are not yet covered by the emissions trading scheme. According to a September 2024 EEI blog post, CNOOC advocated for policies to support green electricity trading at China’s Two Sessions in March 2024. In an April 2024 news release, EEI also strongly supported strengthening China's national carbon market, expanding its coverage to include more industries, such as steel, cement and electrolytic aluminum, and increasing policy support for offsetting carbon emissions with green electricity.
Positioning on Energy Transition: CNOOC does not appear to be supportive of the energy transition by continuously advocating for fossil fuels. According to a March 2025 Huashengton article, CNOOC directly advocated for the increased production of fossil gas and the use of CO2 injection to justify increased oil and gas exploration in a Two Sessions policy proposal. In a February 2025 co-authored blog post, EEI advocated for increased reserves and production of oil. According to a December 2024 Xinhua article, Wang Zhen, Deputy Chief Economist of CNOOC and director of EEI, suggested that fossil fuels are desirable in a future energy mix, arguing that they are necessary for a smooth energy transition. In an October 2024 blog post, EEI advocated for increased reserves and production of oil and fossil gas in the 15th Five-Year Plan. In an October 2024 blog post, EEI advocated for the continued role for coal in the energy mix without CCS, as well as suggesting that oil and fossil gas are desirable in the long-term energy mix.
Industry Association Governance: CNOOC has not disclosed its industry association memberships as of July 2025. According to InfluenceMap’s database, CNOOC is a member of several industry associations which have advocated for a long-term role of oil and fossil gas in the energy mix, including the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) and the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (IOGP), and holds an executive role at the Brazilian Institute of Oil and Gas (IBP).
Additional Note: CNOOC is a listed company with more than 50% of its shares owned by the government of China. State-owned enterprises likely retain channels of direct engagement with government officials that InfluenceMap is unable to assess, and therefore are not represented in CNOOC's engagement intensity metric.
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.