Climate Policy Engagement Analysis
Climate Lobbying Overview: General Motors (GM) demonstrates strategic policy engagement that is partially aligned with policy pathways aiming to deliver the temperature goals of the Paris Agreement in 2025. GM recently opposed the Advanced Clean Cars II and Advanced Clean Trucks rules, and supported legislation that would revise and likely weaken emissions standards and fuel economy rules for light-duty and heavy-duty vehicles in the US. The company is also a member of multiple industry associations that actively oppose climate change policies globally.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: GM has positive top-line messaging on climate change in 2023-25. GM supported emissions reductions in line with a 1.5°C target in its 2023 Sustainability Advocacy Report, released December 2023. In the same 2023 report, the company stated support for the Paris Agreement’s goals, and supported multiple forms of government regulation to address climate change.
Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: General Motors has increasingly negative engagement with climate-related regulations in 2025. Despite initial advocacy advocacy in September 2022 for US federal emissions standards to ensure at least 50% of new vehicles sold by 2030 are zero-emission vehicles, and for 100% of new passenger vehicles to be zero-emission vehicles by 2035, GM position appeared to shift with its endorsement of the Transportation Freedom Act in a March 2025 press release. The Transportation Freedom Act would repeal existing US federal light-duty GHG emissions standards, Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards, and “eliminates” US heavy-duty GHG emissions standards. The company also advocated to weaken CAFE standards in statements reported in a June 2025 Reuters article.
Before supporting the Transportation Freedom Act, the company advocated to reduce the ambition of the proposed CAFE standards for light-duty vehicles in an October 2023 comment to the EPA, stating support for the Biden Administration’s previous targets that were less ambitious than those proposed by EPA. In the same comment, the company supported the proposed CAFE standards for heavy-duty vehicles with significant exceptions, including advocating to maintain technology credits that could weaken the policy. In July 2023 EPA regulatory comments on US light- and medium-duty vehicle GHG emissions standards for MY2027+, General Motors advocated for lower stringency GHG standards in line with a weaker 50% EV projection rate by 2030.
Positioning on Energy Transition: GM recently opposed zero-emission vehicle sales targets in the US. According to an article in the Wall Street Journal published in May 2025, the company requested that its employees advocate to nullify the Advanced Clean Cars II and Advanced Clean Trucks rules and support a series of Congressional Review Act votes opposing the policies. In a June 2025 statement after the votes were passed, CEO Mary Barra further opposed the rules. In a March 2025 press release, General Motors supported the Transportation Freedom Act, a bill that would repeal the Advanced Clean Cars II and Advanced Clean Trucks policies, which included zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandates, in all participating states including California.
General Motors has shown varying levels of support for tax credits for zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) in the US. According to a February 2025 article in Reuters, the company pushed the Trump administration to maintain tax credits for zero-emission vehicles in the US. The company supported tax credits for ZEVs and clean energy in a March 2025 joint letter to Michigan’s Congressional Delegation. However, in a December 2024 statement in Autoweek and a December 2024 statement in the Detroit Free Press, CEO Mary Barra did not take a clear position on the Trump administration’s stated plans to roll back EV consumer tax credits. The company was also supportive of changes to the EV tax credit program that would restrict access to the credits in statements in a June 2025 article in Politico. The company supported the US National EV Infrastructure Program in its 2023 Sustainability Advocacy Report, released in April 2024. GM advocated against additionality criteria for IRA-funded hydrogen projects to ensure only new renewable energy projects are used in a May 2023 joint policymaker letter.
In Colombia, General Motors promoted the electrification of light-duty road transport in an October 2024 press release in advance COP16, and in a separate October 2024 press release.
Industry Association Governance: General Motors 2025 US Political Engagement Overview discloses some of its industry associations memberships, but excludes memberships outside the US. GM's list of industry associations excluded membership to the Asociacion Nacional de Empresarios de Colombia (ANDI), Business Council of Canada, The Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers Association, Clean Energy Buyers Association, Federación Nacional de Comerciantes Empresarios (FENALCO), Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association, the Hydrogen Council, the Korea Automobile & Mobility Association, Korea Electric Vehicle Association, and the National Association of Automotive Vehicle Manufacturers (ANFAVEA). General Motors is a member of multiple industry associations with highly negative engagement with climate change policies, including the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association (EMA), and US Chamber of Commerce.
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.