Climate Policy Engagement Analysis
Climate Policy Engagement Overview: DTE Energy (DTE) appears to engage on US climate policy with mostly negative positions, with an advocacy presence at the federal level and in several states including California and Michigan. CEO Jerry Norcia served as the 2024 Chair for American Gas Association, an obstructive industry group that strategically opposes climate policy, and remains on the board in 2025. DTE advocates directly for measures to prolong the role of fossil gas infrastructure, a position promoted by American Gas Association as well as negative member industry groups Edison Electric Institute, Michigan Chamber of Commerce, and US Chamber of Commerce.
Top-Line Messaging on Climate Policy: DTE demonstrates broadly positive top-line messaging on climate policy, although seemingly with fewer positive statements in recent years. For example, CEO Norcia supported a net-zero economy by 2050 in March 2021 testimony before the Michigan House Energy Committee, with then-Executive Chairman Gerry Anderson co-writing a Forbes article in the same month that advocated for federal action to achieve IPCC-recommended emissions reductions. Previously, in a January 2021 open letter with Ceres, DTE advocated for then-President Biden and Congress to enact “durable” climate policies and applauded US re-entry to the Paris Agreement. However, as reported in a March 2023 New York Times article, DTE appeared to emphasize the costs of a climate package proposal in Michigan.
Engagement with Climate-Related Policy: DTE appears to engage on climate-related policies with a mix of positive and negative positions. At the federal level, the company has been supportive of certain climate provisions in the Build Back Better Act: in a February 2022 C2ES joint letter, DTE advocated for the clean energy tax credits in the bill. That same month, then-Executive Chairman Anderson joined other utility executives in a roundtable with then-President Biden and other federal policymakers to discuss the tax credits in the bill, though the contents of that meeting are unknown.
In Michigan, DTE appears to engage with negative positions on solar energy legislation. According to an April 2021 article by Energy News Network, the company has funded the advocacy group Alliance for Michigan Power to mobilize opposition to rooftop solar incentives. DTE has also directly advocated to Michigan policymakers to limit incentives for distributed solar, including in February 2021 testimony against House Bill 4236 regarding the cap on rooftop solar, October 2021 testimony against community solar legislation, and June 2019 testimony against House Bill 4477 on microgrid expansion. More recently, Energy News Network reported in a December 2023 article on the company’s persistent opposition to community solar in the state.
Positioning on Energy Transition: DTE engages on the energy transition with mostly negative positions, with a focus on prolonging the role of fossil fuels. At the federal level, the company submitted March 2025 comments with the Utility Water Act Group that supported the Trump administration’s interim final rule regarding the removal of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) implementing regulations, further advocating for measures that would exclude a broader array of energy projects from stringent environmental review. DTE also signed a January 2025 industry letter that defended the Inflation Reduction Act’s carbon capture tax credit without specifying how CCUS contributes to decarbonization. Previously, the company repeatedly opposed the ambition of the Biden administration’s power plant carbon standards, submitting August 2023 individual comments as well as comments with the Midcontinent Power Sector Collaborative and Power Generators Air Coalition that criticized or legally questioned the feasibility of the proposed decarbonization pathways.
In Michigan, DTE submitted June 2023 testimony on the state’s clean energy standard legislation that emphasized feasibility concerns with the proposed targets. A November 2023 article by the New York Times similarly reported that, although the company was taking a publicly neutral position on the standard, it was advocating for delayed timelines. This echoes previous statements by CEO Norcia, who on an April 2021 earnings call suggested that then-President Biden’s goal to decarbonize the power grid by 2035 was too ambitious and that he hoped there would be a “compromise over time.”
Industry Association Governance: DTE discloses its industry association memberships on its corporate website, but has not provided any details on each organization’s climate change policy positions. CEO Norcia served as the 2024 Chair for the American Gas Association (AGA) and remains on the board of directors in 2025. Former DTE Executive Chairman Anderson previously served as the Chairman of the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) between June 2021 and June 2022. A DTE senior executive sat on the board of directors for the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), however the company was no longer listed on the board as of 2024. The company is also a member of the US Chamber of Commerce and Michigan Chamber of Commerce. AGA, US Chamber, and the Michigan Chamber all demonstrate strategically negative positions on US policy. Although EEI takes a mix of positive and negative climate policy positions, it persistently opposed the ambition of the Biden administration’s power plant carbon standards.
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 Q2 2025.