Climate Policy Engagement Analysis
Climate Policy Engagement Overview: INPEX Corporation (Inpex) appears to have high engagement with climate policy and displays largely negative positions. Although the company is broadly supportive of climate action in its top-line messaging, it consistently advocates for the long-term role of fossil gas in the energy mix and adopts largely unsupportive positions on Australia’s Safeguard Mechanism reforms.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: Inpex displays broadly positive top-line messaging on climate change. The company supported the goals of the Paris Agreement and Australia’s target of net zero emissions by 2050 in a February 2023 consultation submission. However, Inpex appeared to communicate a mixed position on the need for government regulation to respond to climate change in a September 2022 consultation submission, emphasizing the need for climate policy to minimize costs and to be fully consistent with policies in other areas, including economic growth and international trade.
Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: Inpex displays limited engagement with specific climate-related regulations. The company appeared to advocate for several provisions that risk undermining Australia’s Safeguard Mechanism reforms in September 2022 and February 2023 consultation submissions, including a reduced baseline decline rate for the LNG sector. Inpex CEO Takayuki Ueda likewise appeared unsupportive of the reforms in a March 2023 news article in the Australian Financial Review, suggesting that changes to the reforms will restrict the expansion of LNG projects in Australia. In contrast to this advocacy, Inpex supported Australia’s 2030 and 2050 greenhouse gas emissions targets in its February 2023 consultation submission on the Safeguard Mechanism reforms. Inpex also supported the introduction of a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism in Australia in the same consultation submission, however, it appeared to qualify this support by advocating for additional financial support via an export rebate for Australian producers competing in regions without similar carbon costs.
Positioning on Energy Transition: Inpex’s positioning on the energy transition appears to be largely confined to promoting the long-term role of fossil gas in the energy mix. The company emphasized the need for policy changes to not impact future investment in Australia’s LNG industry in its September 2022 consultation submission on the Safeguard Mechanism reforms. As reported in a December 2023 news article in The Guardian, Inpex also opposed the Northern Territory government’s proposal to set net-zero emissions requirements for oil and gas developments in the state in an October 2022 letter to the state government released under freedom of information laws. Although Inpex also continually advocates for incentives and government support for Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), for example in its November 2023 consultation submission on Australia’s Future Gas Strategy, it does not appear to transparently communicate the risks and uncertainties described by the IPCC in relation to fossil fuels paired with CCS or the need to reduce the role of fossil gas in the energy mix. The company also appeared to use support for hydrogen to justify a continued role for fossil gas in an October 2023 consultation submission, stating that “the energy transition will require hydrocarbons such as natural gas for decades to come if we are to be successful in the development of new, cleaner technologies and energy sources such as hydrogen, solar and wind power.”
Industry Association Governance: Inpex disclosed a complete list of its industry association memberships in its 2022 Sustainability Report, published June 2023. However, the company’s disclosure does not provide an account of its industry associations’ climate positions and engagement activities. Among others, Inpex is a member of the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers and the Australian Energy Producers, both of which are actively engaged on climate policy and support a prolonged role for fossil gas in the energy mix.