Climate Policy Engagement Analysis
Climate Policy Engagement Overview: E.ON is strategically engaged on climate change policy and demonstrates policy engagement that is partially aligned with policy pathways aiming to deliver the temperature goals of the Paris Agreement. The company supports the electrification of heating and transport, but appears to not support the EU’s ambition to prioritize renewable hydrogen, and has advocated for expanding fossil gas electricity production.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: E.ON is supportive of climate policy in its top-line messaging. In a January 2024 joint letter to policymakers, the company supported a climate neutral German economy by 2045. E.ON CEO Leonhard Birnbaum signed an open letter in September 2023 supporting the EU's 2050 climate neutrality target and the Fit for 55 package, calling for a regulatory environment that supports decarbonization. In a March 2025 supplementary disclosure published on its corporate website, the company also called on European countries to put in place ambitious nationally determined contributions in line with the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C target.
Engagement with Climate-related Policies: E.ON is supportive of various strands of climate regulation in the EU, Germany and the UK, with several exceptions. The company actively supported a global target of tripling renewable energy by 2030, by signing a joint letter ahead of COP28 in October 2023. In its 2023 Integrated Annual Report, published in April 2024, E.ON endorsed the German government’s measure to increase the deployment of renewable energy. However, the company opposed the EU’s rules on renewable hydrogen in a March 2025 joint position paper, stating that they should be abolished in favor of a 'pragmatic' definition.
E.ON also did not support the EU Commission's proposal for a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), stating that the phase-out of free allowances and the implementation of CBAM should be delayed, in a March 2025 position paper. It also supported emissions trading as a key policy but at the expense of other legislation in a March 2025 joint position paper.
The company supported an EU 2040 GHG emissions reductions target of 80 to 90% compared to 1990 levels, higher than the average trajectory of emission reductions, in a June 2023 consultation response. E.ON supported the EU's CO2 standards for light-/medium-duty and heavy-duty vehicles in a July 2024 joint letter. CEO Leonhard Birnbaum also supported the emission standards for heavy-duty vehicles in a July 2024 press release.
E.ON has been supportive of energy efficiency measures in the UK and EU. It supported measures to insulate the residential UK building stock in a September 2023 joint letter. The company’s CEO supported scaling up energy efficiency measures, demand management and renovation in a December 2023 letter to EU policymakers.
Positioning on Energy Transition: E.ON appears supportive of the decarbonization of the energy mix, but with some exceptions in 2023-25. The company supported phasing out fossil fuels in a June 2024 joint statement, and supported a renewables-dominated power sector in a February 2025 meeting with the European Commission. However, in a March 2025 joint position paper, E.ON appeared to support the expansion of gas-fired power plants. In the same paper, it also did not support the EU Commission's ambition of prioritizing renewable hydrogen, stating that there should be no differentiation between types of low-carbon hydrogen. In October 2024 comments to the European Commission, the company did not support a robust definition of low carbon hydrogen through EU Hydrogen and Gas Decarbonization Package Delegated Act, calling instead for exempting existing production facilities and appearing to not support stringent measures on methane leakage.
The company strongly supported measures to electrify heating in residential and industrial buildings, including tax incentives, and targeted subsidies, in a March 2025 study on the energy transition.
E.ON advocated in favor of increasing the roll out of electric vehicle charging infrastructure in the EU's Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation, and called for the implementation of a zero-emissions vehicle mandate for light, medium and heavy-duty corporate fleets in a July 2024 joint letter.
Industry Association Governance: E.ON disclosed a list of its industry association memberships in its Climate Advocacy and Associations Report published in May 2024. The company does not appear to have disclosed an account of its industry associations' positions and engagement activities. E.ON is a member of several industry associations with positive engagement on climate policy, including SolarPower Europe and Eurelectric. However, it retains membership to the Federation of German Industries (BDI) and Eurogas, both of which have negatively engaged with various strands of EU climate policy, including the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism. It is also a member of the Natural & bio Gas Vehicle Association (NGVA Europe), which engages negatively on EU transport and renewable energy policies, advocating for regulations to include natural gas and biomethane.
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.