Climate Lobbying Overview: Sinopec has communicated a positive top-line position regarding climate policy. It supported market-based policy measures including emissions trading and a carbon tax in China, as well as the development of renewable energy. However, the company promotes a continued role for coal and natural gas in the energy mix.

Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: Sinopec appears broadly supportive of ambitious climate action in its top-line communications. In a paper co-authored with Deloitte published in April 2022, Sinopec backed the Paris Agreement and appeared supportive of rapid effort to limit global warming to under 1.5oC. In a March 2022 blog post, Sinopec disclosed that during the national Two Sessions, it has advocated to policymakers to formulate government policies that facilitate the progress of carbon neutrality in China.

Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: Sinopec appears broadly supportive of climate-related regulations, especially market-based measures, with an exception of policies on oil used as raw materials in petrochemicals. In a March 2021 Weibo post, Sinopec suggested establishing a carbon tax as a means to ensure the country will meet its climate targets on time. In a March 2022 blog post, Sinopec disclosed that it has advocated to policymakers during the national Two Sessions to expand the national carbon market in China to include industries such as petrochemicals, building materials, and iron and steel. However, in another March 2022 blog post, Sinopec stated it has suggested in the Two Sessions to include CCUS in the emissions trading scheme, which will result in unclear outcome on the price of carbon.

In a March 2022 blog post on Weibo, Sinopec disclosed that it has called for policy support and tax benefits to incentivize renewable energy production during the Two Sessions. In terms of emissions reduction, in the paper published in April 2022 co-authored with Deloitte, Sinopec supported China’s 2030 carbon peak target. In a joint declaration made at the inaugural meeting of the China Oil and Gas Methane Alliance in March 2021, Sinopec stated support for government regulation on methane emissions. In a March 2021 blog post on Weixin, Sinopec disclosed that it has advocated to policymakers for a national carbon emission cap and to improve relevant policy frameworks to ensure the transparency of carbon emission data. Contrary to these positive positions, in a March 2021 blog post on Weixin, Sinopec disclosed its proposal to policymakers to exempt oil used as raw material in petrochemical production from energy consumption cap and the energy intensity target.

Positioning on Energy Transition: Sinopec appears to have a mixed position on the energy transition. In an April 2022 paper, co-authored with Deloitte, Sinopec supported a society-wide transition to a low-carbon economy in China as well as using green hydrogen to decarbonize the petrochemical industry. In a March 2021 blog post, Sinopec disclosed that it has advocated to policymakers to formulate policies to guide green hydrogen development, with a special focus on its use in the transport and petrochemical sectors. However, in a March 2022 blog post on Weibo, Sinopec disclosed that it has advocated for subsidies and tax relief for shale gas exploration in China during the Two Sessions. In another March 2022 blog post, Sinopec disclosed that it advocated to policymakers in support of an increased role of natural gas in the energy mix and natural gas infrastructure. In September 2021, on Twitter, the company’s CEO Ma Yongsheng suggested that “natural gas will become China's top fossil fuel resource around 2050,” without placing conditions on CCS deployment. On Weibo in May 2021, it stated that coal bed methane is an economic and clean energy resource. Moreover, in a March 2021 blog post on Weixin, Sinopec disclosed that it advocated to policymakers to exempt oil and gas industry from resource tax in the Resource Tax Law.

Industry Association Governance: As of August 2022, Sinopec does not appear to disclose a list of its industry association memberships. However, Sinopec is a member of Oil and Gas UK (OGUK), International Air Transport Association (IATA), and the International Gas Union (IGU). IATA is actively lobbying against ambitious climate policy for aviation at global, regional, and national levels. OGUK and IGU appear to strongly advocate for policies in favor of gas.

Additional Note: Sinopec 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 and private engagement with government officials that InfluenceMap is unable to assess, and therefore are not represented in Sinopec'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 2022.