Climate Policy Engagement Analysis
Climate Policy Engagement Overview: ExxonMobil demonstrates strategic policy engagement that is oppositional to science-aligned climate policy. The company consistently opposes climate regulations and advocates for energy policies that would accelerate fossil fuel development. The company retains memberships to an extensive network of industry associations that oppose climate policies globally.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: ExxonMobil’s high-level communications appear to support climate action with caveats that could undermine an ambitious response. The company’s Advancing Climate Solutions report, released in April 2025, supported the goals of the Paris Agreement and action to respond to climate change, portraying climate mitigation as a “dual challenge” alongside energy poverty. In its 2022 Lobbying Report released in January 2024, ExxonMobil supported the US and EU’s participation in the Global Methane Pledge. However, this top-line support for climate action is often coupled with statements that appear to caution against rapid emissions reductions. For example, in May 2023, the company’s Form DEFA14A Proxy Statement filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) stated that IEA’s net-zero emissions pathways would lead to “degradation in global standard of living.”
ExxonMobil appears unsupportive of an ambitious policy response to climate change. In the April 2025 Advancing Climate Solutions report, the company advocated for “rational” and “constructive” policies focused on product-level carbon-intensity standards for fossil fuel products and “well-designed” emissions accounting. The company appears to promote these policy approaches to justify a continued role for fossil fuels and fossil fuel derivates.
Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: ExxonMobil engages negatively on climate-related regulations. In July 2023, ExxonMobil did not support the tailpipe GHG emissions standards for light-duty and medium-duty vehicles in comments to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The company advocated to weaken the 2022 supplemental methane regulation for the oil and gas sector in a submission to the US EPA in February 2023. In comments to the EU in April 2025, ExxonMobil did not support the proposed carbon storage mandate for oil and gas producers.
ExxonMobil takes unsupportive positions on circular economy policies. The company advocated against measures to limit primary plastic polymer production and address hazardous chemicals under the Global Plastics Treaty in a meeting with an EU policymaker, as revealed through Freedom of Information request in April 2024. The company undertook similar advocacy in the US through its comment to the EPA in July 2024.
However, in a July 2024 consultation response, the company appeared to support Australia’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard.
Positioning on Energy Transition: ExxonMobil opposes the energy transition and advocates for continued fossil fuel development. In the US, ExxonMobil opposed a Colorado state bill that proposed to phase out new oil and gas permits by 2030, as per the state’s Lobbyist Registry in June 2024. Public statements made by the company CEO Darren Woods in 2023-2025 frequently advocate for continued oil and gas development and a “balanced” energy transition”, while opposing a reduction in fossil fuel use.
In the 2023 Advocacy Report, released in January 2025, ExxonMobil did not take science-aligned positions on energy transition issues such as hydrogen production, electrification of transport, electricity sector decarbonization, industrial decarbonization, and carbon capture and storage. The company’s direct policy advocacy reflects these positions, as most advocacy promotes an ongoing role for fossil fuels over other zero-carbon options. A July 2023 submission to EPA on tailpipe emissions standards advocated in support of ICE-powered vehicles over a rapid transition to electric vehicles (EVs). The company also advocated to weaken the US Inflation Reduction Act’s Section 45V clean hydrogen tax credit by calling for inclusion of fossil gas feedstocks and flexible requirements for credit eligibility in February 2024 comments. The company’s June 2023 comments to the US EPA called for CCS adoption in the state of Louisiana, claiming that CCS can “support energy production” while reducing emissions. This suggests that the company supports CCS applications in conjunction with enhanced oil recovery that extracts fossil fuels while storing carbon dioxide. ExxonMobil also advocated against US EPA’s stringent federal regulation of carbon emissions from existing gas power plants in May 2024 comments.
Industry Association Governance: ExxonMobil has partially disclosed information regarding its indirect influence over climate policy via industry associations through its 2023 Advocacy Report, released in January 2025 and has undertaken a review of 65 industry associations. ExxonMobil retains memberships to several associations that actively advocate against climate policy such as the American Petroleum Institute, American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, Australian Energy Producers (formerly APPEA), and the Western States Petroleum Association, among others.
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.