Climate Policy Engagement Analysis
Climate Policy Engagement Overview: Duke Energy (Duke) exhibits policy engagement that is broadly misaligned with policy pathways for delivering the temperature goals of the Paris Agreement. The company demonstrates mostly negative positions on US climate policy, with evidence of advocacy at the federal level and across several states, including Kentucky, Ohio, and the Carolinas. Although Duke broadly supported the Inflation Reduction Act’s clean energy tax credits, it continues to advocate for fossil gas infrastructure and strategically opposed the Biden administration’s power plant carbon standards. Duke retains membership to obstructive industry associations, including the American Gas Association and the US Chamber of Commerce. In April 2025, Lynn Good stepped down as Duke’s CEO and was replaced by Harry Sideris.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: Duke appears to have a mix of positive and negative top-line messaging on climate policy. In its 2023 Impact Report published in May 2024, the company appeared to support market-based responses to climate change over government regulation. In the same report, Duke did not take a clear position on the ambition of COP28. Although Duke signed a February 2022 joint letter that recognized the need for urgent action to combat climate change, in its latest Impact Report it does not appear to have taken a clear position on IPCC-demanded GHG emissions reductions.
Engagement with Climate-Related Policy: Duke engages with a range of positions on US climate-related policy. At the federal level, the company has advocated for the Inflation Reduction Act’s incentives toward nuclear and renewables, including by CEO Sideris in a June 2025 interview with the Charlotte Business Journal. At the state level, Duke has taken negative positions on measures to expand solar energy. For example, in North Carolina, the company submitted a December 2022 joint proposal to state regulators that would lower rooftop solar payments and impose a monthly fee on customers, which was subsequently reported on by E&E News in June 2023.
Positioning on Energy Transition: Duke demonstrates a negative position on transitioning the energy mix, with a focus on promoting fossil gas infrastructure. Former CEO Good was vocal about championing fossil gas, co-writing a May 2023 opinion article with Business Roundtable that advocated for permitting reform toward facilitating increased fossil fuel production. At the federal level, Duke has consistently pushed for investments in fossil gas: its subsidiaries submitted a July 2023 amicus brief advocating for the completion of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, and in April 2023 the company signed Class of ‘85 joint comments that pushed for review processes to facilitate approval of gas projects. Duke also strategically opposed the ambition of the Biden administration’s power plant carbon standards, including in May 2024 individual comments, December 2023 comments, and August 2023 comments. Following the finalization of the rules for existing coal- and new gas-fired power plants, Duke challenged the rules in a May 2024 petition for review and an August 2024 emergency application for immediate stay with the ad hoc coalition Electric Generators for a Sensible Transition. Several days before the inauguration of President Trump, Duke signed a January 2025 joint letter to the Nominee to be Administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that advocated for the incoming administration to review or overturn a range of existing power sector emissions regulations, including the finalized carbon standards.
At the state level, Duke continues to advocate for fossil fuel infrastructure. For example, in North Carolina, a November 2024 Washington Post article on rising energy demand from data centers described how Duke advocated for state regulators to approve new gas-fired power plants, against compliance with the state’s climate law. Subsequent March 2025 reporting by Inside Climate News suggested that the company was supportive of Senate Bill 261, which would repeal its 2030 interim decarbonization target. In Ohio, subsidiary Duke Energy Previously, subsidiary Piedmont Natural Gas supported gas ban preemption bills in North Carolina and Tennessee, as reported by S&P Global in June 2023 and June 2020, respectively.
Industry Association Governance: Duke released an updated version of its Trade Associations Climate Review in its 2023 Impact Report published in May 2024, which describes its alignment with each industry group but lacks detail on specific climate policy engagement activities. The company remains a member of several groups actively opposed to US climate policy: Duke sits on the 2025 Board of Directors for American Gas Association and The Transport Project, and retains membership to the US Chamber of Commerce. According to Duke’s disclosure, then-CEO Lynn Good served on the Executive Committee and Board of Directors for Edison Electric Institute and previously held Chair of the Smart Regulation Committee for Business Roundtable, however it is unclear if the company retains any leadership positions in these pro-gas groups in 2025. At the end of 2023, Duke ended its membership to the American Clean Power Association.
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.