We have expanded the list of climate policies we assess company engagement with to incorporate land-use related policy, referring to legislative or regulatory measures to enhance and protect ecosystems and land where carbon is being stored. Assessments under this category are currently underweighted in terms of their contribution to the overall company metrics. This weighting will be progressively increased over the next 6 months.
We adjusted the terminology used to describe the queries running down the left-hand side of our scoring matrix and added additional explanatory text to the info-boxes. This has no impact on the scores and methodology. It has been done following user feedback to improve clarity.
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
Kimberly S. Watson, the president of Tennessee Gas Pipeline, a subsidiary of Kinder Morgan, is on the Board of Directors of AGA (Updated August 2022)
Kimberly S. Watson
--no extract--
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
Kimberly S. Watson, the president of Tennessee Gas Pipeline, a subsidiary of Kinder Morgan, is on the Board of Directors of AGA (Updated August 2022)
Kimberly S. Watson
--no extract--
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
Senior executive of Kinder Morgan is on the Board of Directors of Texas Gas Association (Updated March 2023)
Tom Dender
--no extract--
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
Senior executive of Kinder Morgan is on the Board of Directors of Texas Gas Association (Updated March 2023)
Tom Dender
--no extract--
In this section, we depict graphically the relationships the corporation has with trade associations, federations, advocacy groups and other third parties who may be acting on their behalf to influence climate change policy. Each of the columns above represents one relationship the corporation appears to have with such a third party. In these columns, the top, dark section represents the strength of the relationship the corporation has with the influencer. For example if a corporation's senior executive also held a key role in the trade association, we would deem this to be a strong relationship and it would be on the far left of the chart above, with the weaker ones to the right. Click on these grey shaded upper sections for details of these relationships. The middle section contains a link to the organization score details of the influencer concerned, so you can see the details of its climate change policy influence. Click on the middle sections for for details of the trade associations. The lower section contains the organization score of that influencer, the lower the more negatively it is influencing climate policy.
Open PDF file of Data Source
Climate Lobbying Overview: Kinder Morgan appears to engage negatively on climate change policies. The company advocates for a continued role for fossil gas in the energy mix, particularly with regard to fossil fuel infrastructure, and opposes the transition to a net-zero emission energy system.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: Kinder Morgan appears to have very limited top-line messaging on climate policy. In June 2021, Kinder Morgan published its climate change statement, in which the company recognizes climate change as a “global priority”. However, the company has not explicitly supported the Paris Agreement or the need for economy-wide emissions reductions in line with the IPCC. In its 2020 ESG Report, published in October 2021, Kinder Morgan appeared to support policies that are “practical and economical”, and those that bring “positive benefits” to the company’s stakeholders and customers.
Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: Kinder Morgan appears to have generally negative engagement with specific climate policies, albeit with limited transparent engagement. The company has disclosed in its 2021 ESG Report that it engages with various levels of the US government on climate-related regulations relating to methane emissions and pipelines. However, the report offers no further details on the policies engaged on or the outcomes sought. Further, the company not responded to CDP Climate Information Requests since 2016.
On Kinder Morgan’s corporate website, when accessed in August 2022, it stated support for “performance-based federal regulations” for methane emissions. On the contrary, Kinder Morgan’s comments to the US Environmental Protection Agency regarding the 2022 Methane Regulations did not support EPA’s proposed standards, stating that they are not “economically reasonable”. Additionally, in this submission, Kinder Morgan went on to support Interstate Natural Gas Association of America’s (INGAA) comments that appeared to contest the legal authority of EPA to regulate methane emissions.
Positioning on Energy Transition: Kinder Morgan strongly supports a continued role for fossil fuels in the energy mix. The company’s website, when accessed in August 2022, supported a long-term role for fossil gas alongside renewables, citing that gas is “reliable, flexible, and clean”. Further, a June 2022 report by The Guardian revealed that Kinder Morgan, along with other pipeline companies, supported an advocacy group called Natural Allies for a Clean Energy Future, that undertook campaigns to promote fossil gas.
Kinder Morgan appears to be actively engaged on policies supporting fossil gas at the federal level in the US. In March 2022, following the Russia-Ukraine crisis, Kinder Morgan along with three other pipeline companies, sent a letter to the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) advocating for a quick and simpler approval process for fossil gas pipelines. Similarly, in May 2022, a Kinder Morgan subsidiary, Kinetrex Energy wrote a joint letter to the US House Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development advocating for policy incentives and funding in favor of fossil gas, including investments in fossil gas vehicles.
There is some evidence to show that Kinder Morgan supports an increased role for bioenergy. For instance, on the website, when accessed in August 2022, the company suggested that renewable diesel is “critical” to energy transition in California.
Industry Association Governance: Kinder Morgan has briefly disclosed its memberships to associations where it has dues in excess of $50,000 in its 2021 ESG Report, published in July 2022. However, this report does not disclose the positions held by the company in these associations. Kinder Morgan is a member of the American Gas Association, which undertakes negative lobbying on US climate policy.
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 Q1 2023.