Climate Lobbying Overview: E.ON appears actively engaged and supportive of climate change policy. Between 2020-22, E.ON has supported key streams of UK and EU climate regulation such as the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS). The company appears to take mixed positions on the energy transition, supporting an increased use of green hydrogen and the electrification of transport, but also continuing to support the role of fossil gas.

Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: E.ON appears supportive of climate policy in its top-line messaging. In the company’s 2021 Sustainability Report, published in March 2022, it stated support for the EU’s 2050 carbon neutrality objective. In the same report, E.ON supported the EU’s ambition for climate change regulation in its Fit for 55 climate package, and the use of carbon pricing. In a November 2021 COP26 joint declaration, the company stated support for the goals of the UN Paris Agreement on climate change. E.ON also supported the UK’s short and long-term plan to achieve its net-zero by 2050 target, including advocating for policy and market frameworks to achieve these targets, in a September 2022 joint letter to former UK Prime Minister Liz Truss.

Engagement with Climate-related Regulations: E.ON appears supportive of various strands of EU climate regulation. The company has supported reforms to increase the ambition of the EU ETS, such as the removal of more free allowances, in its 2021 consultation response, and also supported an extension of the EU ETS for sector-specific systems for mobility, transport and buildings in a July 2021 CEO Alliance joint letter. On its corporate website, accessed in January 2022, the company stated support for EU's carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM), although without specifying a position on the removal of existing carbon leakage protection for exposed sectors under the EU ETS. In 2021 the news outlet Utility Week suggested E.ON, alongside several other European utilities, supported the introduction of a carbon tax in the UK to deliver green heating ambitions.

On its corporate website, accessed in January 2022, the company supported increasing the 2030 energy efficiency target within the EU Energy Efficiency Directive revision, with despite supporting weakening the "Energy Efficiency First" principle to consider reducing losses to grid. The company also called for more ambitious energy efficiency legislation in the UK in oral evidence response to the Environmental Audit Committee in June 2022.

In a November 2021 EU public consultation response, E.ON supported increasing 2030 renewable energy targets within the Renewable Energy Directive revision. However, the company also advocated against stricter bioenergy sustainability criteria and for the definition of renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBOs) to provide more leniency on non-renewable fuels. In its 2021 Sustainability Report, published in March 2022, E.ON stated support for the EU’s 2030 55% GHG emission reduction target. In a 2021 EU consultation, the company also appeared to support zero-emissions CO2 standards for cars by 2035 and vans by 2040, along with ambitious 2025 CO2 vehicle standards.

Positioning on Energy Transition: E.ON appears to be broadly supportive of the decarbonization of the energy mix. On its corporate website, accessed in January 2022, E.ON supports the expansion of renewable energy in several sectors of the economy, including the transport and heating sectors. The company also advocated for a range of policies to support the scale up of green hydrogen imports in Europe and Germany, in a June 2022 joint white paper. In 2021 the news outlet The Energyst reported that E.ON supported measures to decarbonize the heating sector and phase out fossil fuel boilers, while a 2021 CEO joint letter stated support for the electrification of the heating sector and expansion of heat pumps.

However, in June 2022, Reuters reported that E.ON CEO Leonhard Birnbaum advocated for new investments in fossil gas, and for Germany to consider overturning its ban on fracking, in response to falling Russian fossil fuel supplies. E.ON CEO Birnbaum supported a weakening of the EU’s Sustainable Finance Taxonomy in a January 2022 Reuters article, by advocating for a higher threshold for electricity generation to enable the inclusion of fossil gas plants.

Industry Association Governance: E.ON has disclosed some of its industry association memberships in its Climate Advocacy and Associations Report in March 2022. However, the company does not disclose details of its role within each association or their climate policy positions. E.ON is a member of several industry associations with positive engagement on climate policy, including SolarPower Europe and Eurelectric, with E.ON CEO Leonhard Birnbaum being vice-president of the latter. However, it retains membership to the European Round Table for Industry (ERT), which has mixed engagement on climate policy, and Eurogas which advocates for a continued role for fossil gas in a future energy mix.

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 Q1 2023.