Climate Policy Engagement Analysis
Climate Policy Engagement Overview: China Eastern Airlines (CEA) has limited engagement on climate policy. It supported China’s 2060 carbon neutrality target and engaged with the EU Emissions Trading System and policies on sustainable aviation fuel, though it is unclear how it sought to influence these policies.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: China Eastern Airlines has limited top-line communication on climate policy. In a January 2022 press release, it supported China’s 2030 carbon peak and 2060 carbon neutrality targets. In its 2022 Annual Report, published in March 2023, it disclosed its engagement with the International Civil Aviation Organization's long-term emissions reduction target, without providing details on its position.
Engagement with Climate-related Regulations: China Eastern Airlines appeared to have low engagement with specific climate regulations in 2021-23. In its 2022 Sustainability Report, published in March 2023, it disclosed its engagement on the EU Emissions Trading System, without details on its position. In its 2022 Annual Report, published in March 2023, CEA disclosed it had provided policy suggestions on the use of SAF, without further information on the policies or positions it advocated for. InfluenceMap did not find evidence of its engagement on other climate policy streams between 2022 and 2023.
Positioning on Energy Transition: In an October 2023 news release, China Eastern Airlines supported the increased use of sustainable aviation fuels. In its 2021 Sustainability Report, published in March 2022, the company disclosed that it directly engaged with Chinese policymakers to discuss feasible decarbonization pathways for aviation.
Industry Association Governance: China Eastern Airlines has disclosed some of its industry association memberships on its website. However, the disclosure does not include the associations’ positions on climate policy. CAE is a member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which is actively and negatively engaged on climate policy for aviation.
Additional Note: China Eastern Airlines 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 China Eastern Airlines' engagement intensity metric.