Climate Policy Engagement Analysis
Climate Lobbying Overview: Evergy appears to take mostly negative positions on US climate policy, with an advocacy presence at the federal level and in Kansas and Missouri. The company has minimal top-line messaging on climate policy, and has repeatedly advocated against the ambition of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s power plant rules.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: Evergy appears to have limited top-line messaging on climate policy. While it reports on its attempts to act on climate change within its own operations, the company does not appear to advocate in support of either the Paris Agreement or IPCC-demanded GHG emissions reductions.
Engagement with Climate-Related Policy: Engagement with Climate-Related Policy: Evergy appears to have minimal engagement on climate-related policy. At the federal level, the company appeared to oppose the EPA’s proposed methane regulation in January 2022 comments with the Class of '85 Regulatory Response Group (Class of ‘85). In that same month, Evergy registered in support of Missouri Senate Bill 745, which contained distributed solar energy provisions, however without disclosing whether it also supported the bill’s option to recover costs from operating coal power plants.
Positioning on Energy Transition: Positioning on Energy Transition: Evergy appears to take increasingly negative positions on the energy transition, with repeated opposition to the EPA’s power plant rules. The company has submitted multiple comments with the Class of ‘85 coalition against the power plant rules, including May 2024 comments that advocated against an ambitious regulation for existing gas power plants; December 2023 comments that advocated for flexible compliance measures that allowed hydrogen produced from fossil fuels; August 2023 comments against the original proposal; and February 2023 comments on the pre-proposal that advocated for a long-term role for fossil gas and exemptions for coal power plants. Evergy also opposed proposals around the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), submitting April 2023 comments against the interim guidance as well as September 2023 comments that pushed back on the NEPA Phase 2 Revisions.
Industry Association Governance: Industry Association Governance: Evergy lists its industry association memberships in its Public Policy Engagement document on its corporate website, but does not describe the associations’ climate policy positions beyond stating that they may engage in lobbying activities that may impact Evergy and its stakeholders. As of June 2024, Evergy's CEO serves as the Vice Chair of the Board of Directors Edison Electric Institute, which demonstrates a mix of positions on US climate policy and has been strategically opposing the EPA's power plant rules.