Climate Policy Engagement Analysis
Climate Policy Engagement Overview: Cheniere Energy is negatively engaged on climate policy. The company engages with federal methane regulations for the oil and gas sector in the US, demonstrating both supportive and unsupportive positions. Cheniere advocates consistently for a continued role for fossil gas in the energy mix, particularly in the form of liquefied natural gas (LNG). The company is also a member of industry associations which have strong negative engagement with global climate policy, including the American Petroleum Institute (API) and Eurogas.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: Cheniere Energy has limited top-line communications on climate change. Cheniere acknowledges the risk of future climate regulation in its 2023 Corporate Responsibility Report published in August 2024, but takes no clear position on the need for such regulation. InfluenceMap has not found any evidence of the company's support for the goals of the Paris Agreement or a 2050 net-zero target in line with IPCC guidance in recent years.
Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: Cheniere Energy is engaged on federal methane emissions regulations in the US. The company has stated general support for methane regulations in its 2022 Corporate Responsibility Report published in August 2023. However, the company’s direct engagement with such policies appear less supportive. In a January 2022 regulatory comment on the EPA’s proposed Methane Regulations, Cheniere broadly supported the proposal, however in a February 2023 comment, the company advocated to weaken several provisions in the finalized rule. The company also submitted a comment in January 2023 which recommended incorporating third-party modeling and direct measurement data into the EPA’s Methane Regulations, the Methane Emission Reporting Program, and the Methane Fee, rather than using national average emissions factors. It is unclear how this suggestion would affect the scope and stringency of the regulation.
Positioning on Energy Transition: Cheniere Energy consistently advocates for a continued role for fossil gas in the energy mix. In Cheniere’s 2023 Corporate Responsibility report published in August 2024, the company advocated for coal-to-gas switching as a central mechanism in the energy transition and claims that fossil gas will remain necessary to compensate for intermittency of renewable energy. In a quarterly investor call in May 2024, Cheniere CEO Jack A. Fusco advocated for increased investment in fossil gas infrastructure worldwide. Fusco has also appeared unsupportive of the US Biden administration’s pause on LNG export permits for non-free trade agreement countries, including in a February 2024 investor call and a January 2024 media statement.
Cheniere reports direct engagement with US policymakers on LNG exports and fossil gas infrastructure development, most recently in its Q1-Q2 2024 Lobbying Disclosure Act reports, without stating a position.
Industry Association Governance: Cheniere Energy discloses a partial list of its memberships to industry associations in its ‘Memberships and Trade Associations’ document on the associated website, accessed in October 2024. However, the company does not disclose details on the associations’ positions on climate policy, engagement activities, or Cheniere’s role within the organization or in shaping the associations’ positions. The company also did not publish a full audit disclosure on its alignment with its memberships and industry associations. The company is a member of Eurogas and the American Petroleum Institute. InfluenceMap analysis suggest that both these groups undertake obstructive advocacy on climate regulations.