Climate Policy Engagement Analysis
Climate Lobbying Overview: In 2023-25, Delta Air Lines is strategically engaged and exhibits policy engagement that is broadly misaligned with policy pathways for delivering the temperature goals of the Paris Agreement. Despite supporting US sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) incentives, Delta had negative engagement on sustainability criteria for sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs), SAF mandates, and the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. Delta retains memberships to multiple industry associations with negative engagement on climate policy.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: Delta’s 2024 Difference Report, published in May 2025, supported a long-term aspirational goal of net-zero CO2 emissions from international aviation by 2050. In the same report, Delta supported government regulation in response to climate change with major exceptions, including that it is feedstock and technology-neutral, while appearing unsupportive of regulatory mandates.
Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: Delta supported Michigan’s SAF tax credit in a September 2023 email to the Department of Transport, accessed via freedom of information request. In its 2024 Difference Report, published in May 2025, Delta also supported SAF tax credits in Minnesota, Michigan, New York, Massachusetts and Nebraska, alongside the Clean Fuel Production Credit and the International Civil Aviation Organization’s 2030 5% GHG emissions target through the use of SAF.
However, through the ‘Americans for Clean Aviation Fuels’ (ACAF) coalition, Delta appeared unsupportive of the use of indirect land-use change in fuel emissions estimations in December 2024 regulatory comments. Through ACAF, Delta also supported the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’, which proposes to weaken the Clean Fuel Production Credit by removing indirect land use change from carbon intensity calculations, in a July 2025 press release. The ACAF Coalition echoed this position while calling for a ‘SAF-specific rate’ which would increase the tax credit for SAFs in a June 2025 press release. In addition, in its 2024 Difference Report, published in May 2025, Delta supported the Farm to Fly Act which promotes aviation fuels produced from crops.
Delta appeared to oppose the EU SAF mandate if enacted ‘without appropriate incentives’ in its 2023 ESG report, published in May 2024. This report also called for ‘incentives over or alongside’ SAF mandates in Japan and Latin America. Delta further appeared unsupportive of the EU SAF mandate in a May 2024 media article.
In August 2024 regulatory comments, Delta opposed the removal of the exemption for intra-state jet fuel under California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard. Delta reiterated this position in its 2024 Difference Report, published in May 2025. In the same report, Delta also opposed a full scope non-CO2 monitoring, reporting and verification scheme and the extension of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme to extra-EEA flights.
Positioning on Energy Transition: In 2023-25, Delta supported a transition to sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs), but appeared to oppose other measures to transition the energy mix. In its 2023 ESG report, published in May 2024, Delta supported a transition to SAFs, power-to-liquid fuels and hydrogen. However, in the same report, Delta opposed Amsterdam’s proposed flight cap at Schiphol airport. In a July 2023 press release, Delta disclosed that it was taking legal action against Amsterdam’s decision to allow a flight cap at Schiphol airport. Its 2023 ESG report disclosed that Monroe Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of Delta, advocated for measures to prevent California from enacting policies to phase-out internal combustion engine-powered vehicle sales. Delta further endorsed the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’, which proposes to repeal or phase out many of the Inflation Reduction Act’s climate incentives and facilitate the build-out of fossil fuel infrastructure, on a May 2025 White House webpage. Delta also appeared to support corn-based SAFs in a May 2024 podcast.
Industry Association Governance: In its 2024 Difference Report, released in May 2025, Delta published a review of its industry association memberships and their alignment on climate change policy. Delta identified areas of misalignment with the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM), where the CEO of Delta’s subsidiary, Monroe Energy, holds board membership and the US Chamber of Commerce. Delta also disclosed membership to the International Air Transport Association (IATA)’s Fuels Task Group Committee, and that its CEO is on the board of Airlines for America (A4A). All of these industry associations have active, negative engagement on climate policy.
A detailed assessment of the company's corporate review on climate policy engagement can be found on InfluenceMap's CA100+ Investor Hub here.
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.