Climate Lobbying Overview: Glencore appears broadly unsupportive of immediate action on climate change, and continues to support a sustained role for coal in the energy mix. Glencore also retains membership to a network of industry associations which engage negatively on various strands of climate change policy.

Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: Glencore appears broadly supportive of climate action in its top-line communications. In its 2021 Climate Report, published in December 2021, Glencore supported emissions reductions in line with the temperature goals of the Paris Agreement. Further, on its corporate website, accessed in August 2022, the company supported limiting temperature rise to well-below 2°C. In its 2021 Sustainability Report, published in April 2022, Glencore stated that the global response to climate change should pursue “twin objectives” of limiting temperatures in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement, and supporting the UN Sustainable Development Goals, stressing access to affordable energy. In its 2020 Annual Report, published in March 2021, Glencore also supported a broad policy response to climate change, including incentives for low-carbon technologies and market-based regulations such as carbon pricing.

Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: InfluenceMap has found limited evidence of transparent engagement with specific climate policies in 2020-22. Glencore has also declined to respond to CDP since 2017. In its 2021 Climate Report, published in December 2021, Glencore appeared to support a "pass-through" mechanism for liquid fuels under South Africa's carbon tax, which would weaken the ambition of the policy. In its 2018 Industry Association Review, published in June 2019, Glencore disclosed that it supported the Minerals Council of South Africa’s position which, in the lead up to the carbon tax bill’s approval in 2019, repeatedly called for further delays to its implementation and demanded relief be agreed for the mining sector.

Positioning on Energy Transition: Glencore continues to promote a sustained role for coal in the global energy mix. In its 2021 Climate Report, published in December 2021, CEO Gary Nagle supported a "phase down" of coal in the energy mix in line with the Glasgow Climate Pact, but stated that coal would be required to support global energy needs in the short term. In a July 2022 Sydney Morning Herald article, the company supported the role of coal in Australia’s economy, global electricity generation, and energy security. In its 2020 Industry Association Review, released in December 2020, the company stated that coal, oil and gas will continue to be a part of the global energy mix “for decades". In the same report, Glencore described CCUS as a “key technology” in the energy transition, but did not propose timelines or the need for an overall reduction of coal in the energy mix.

However, Glencore has supported the development of low-emission technologies. In its 2021 Climate Report, published in December 2021, CEO Gary Nagle supported the transition to non-fossil fuel commodities including renewable energy, electric vehicles and battery storage. In the same report, Glencore also supported the development of green hydrogen, and hydrogen produced with fossil gas dependent on the deployment of carbon capture and storage (CCS). The company also supported CCS deployment in hard-to-abate sectors, including cement and steel, in its 2021 Sustainability Report published in April 2022. In the same report, Glencore appeared to support the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy, and the electrification of transport.

Industry Association Governance: Glencore discloses its industry association memberships and has published three reviews of its alignment with these groups on climate change in 2019, 2020, and 2021. Glencore decided to terminate its membership with the World Coal Association in 2022. However, the company retains strong links to several industry associations actively opposed to meaningful climate change policy, including as a director on the board of the Queensland Resources Council, board-membership of the Minerals Council of Australia and The Minerals Council South Africa, and regular membership of the New South Wales Minerals Council.

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 2022.

A detailed assessment of the company's corporate review on climate policy engagement can be found on InfluenceMap's CA100+ Investor Hub here.