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)
Carsten Sphor, Lufthansa Group CEO, is the 2022 Chairman of A4E
Carsten Sphor
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
Lufthansa Group is a member of Airlines4Europe (As of February 2022).
not specified
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
Carsten Sphor, Lufthansa Group CEO, is the 2022 Chairman of A4E
Carsten Sphor
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
Lufthansa Group is a member of Airlines4Europe (As of February 2022).
not specified
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
Lufthansa's CEO is on the Board of Governors for IATA. Caroline Drischel, a Lufthansa Senior Executive, is on the Sustainability and Environment Advisory Council (as of June 2022)
Carsten Spohr
--no extract--
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
Lufthansa's CEO is on the Board of Governors for IATA. Caroline Drischel, a Lufthansa Senior Executive, is on the Sustainability and Environment Advisory Council (as of June 2022)
Carsten Spohr
--no extract--
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
CEO of Lufthansa is on the Presidential Board of BDI (correct as of January 2023)
Carsten Spohr
--no extract--
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
CEO of Lufthansa is on the Presidential Board of BDI (correct as of January 2023)
Carsten Spohr
--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: Lufthansa appears to be actively and negatively engaged on EU climate policies. Lufthansa appears to oppose ticket and jet fuel taxes in Europe, alongside the full inclusion of aviation in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS), while stating top-line support for the EU Green Deal and net-zero 2050 targets.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: Lufthansa appears to state top-line support for net-zero 2050 targets, while stating general opposition to more stringent regional and national climate policies. In its 2021 Annual Report, published in March 2022, Lufthansa stated support for the EU’s Green Deal and a global 2050 net-zero target for aviation. Through the endorsement of the Aviation Alliance in January 2022, Lufthansa also appeared to support the Paris Agreement. However, in a January 2021 email to the EU Commission Lufthansa argued “until there is adequate global regulation, we cannot stress enough the importance of a level playing field between European and non-European airlines”. At the A4E Aviation Summit in March 2022, CEO Carsten Spohr, appeared to emphasize connectivity and competitiveness concerns to advocate for global regulations, such as CORSIA, over the EU’s Fit for 55 climate package. Additionally, in a September 2022 Policy Brief, Lufthansa appeared unsupportive of the Fit for 55 package, stating “the current proposals would create massive competitive disadvantages for European network airlines and hubs”.
Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: In 2020-22, Lufthansa appears to be actively engaged with climate policy, with mostly negative positioning. In multiple EU consultation responses from 2020, Lufthansa advocated against reducing free emissions allowances for aviation and opposed the inclusion of international (EEA to/from non-EEA) flights in the EU ETS. Additionally, in a January 2021 email to the Executive Vice President of the European Commission for the European Green Deal, Frans Timmermans, obtained via FOI request, Lufthansa advocated for the exemption of intra-EU feeder flights (flights to hub airports from destinations not served by larger airlines) in the EU ETS. The Aviation Alliance declaration, signed by Lufthansa in January 2022, appeared to echo this position. Furthermore, in a July 2021 media comment about the EU's Fit for 55 climate package, Lufthansa appeared unsupportive of phasing out free EU ETS emissions allowances, alongside other climate measures. Lufthansa’s 2021 Sustainability Fact Sheet, published in 2022, also emphasized cost concerns resulting from a “stricter” EU ETS and a sustainable fuels quota. In a September 2022 Policy Brief, Lufthansa further appeared to oppose an extension of the EU ETS to all departing flights, as proposed by EU Parliament, and also supported exempting feeder flights from the EU ETS.
Lufthansa appears to have mixed engagement on an EU sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) mandate. In an October 2021 ReFuelEU consultation response, Lufthansa appeared to advocate for a feed-in tariff instead of a mandate, while emails to the EU Commission in January 2021 and February 2021, obtained by InfluenceMap via Freedom of Information request, emphasized concerns around competitiveness resulting from a SAF mandate. Similarly, Lufthansa’s September 2022 Policy Brief, emphasized cost and competitiveness concerns around an EU SAF mandate, arguing it “unilaterally burdens European aviation” and advocated for a SAF compensation mechanism following the increase to the mandate after 2030. However, a joint letter signed by Lufthansa to EU policymakers in July 2021 stated support for an EU e-kerosene target of 0.5%-1% in 2027 and 2.5% by 2030.
Lufthansa appears supportive of the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive, communicating support for increased overall and transport-specific renewable energy targets in a February 2021 public consultation response. Lufthansa also communicated support for ICAO’s global CO2 standard for aircraft and international energy efficiency standards in the company’s 2020 and 2021 CDP responses, respectively.
Positioning on Energy Transition: Lufthansa appears to have mixed engagement regarding a low-carbon energy transition. In January 2022, the Aviation Alliance Declaration, endorsed by Lufthansa’s CEO, appeared to oppose an EU kerosene tax, arguing “it would have a negative impact on Europe’s air transport sector”.
In 2021 website communications, Lufthansa also appeared to state opposition to German air ticket taxes and national jet fuel taxes. Additionally, in 2020, Swiss Airlines (a wholly-owned Lufthansa subsidiary) publicly criticized a Swiss ticket tax and in March 2022, Brussels Airlines (a Lufthansa subsidiary) opposed Belgium’s ticket tax. More positively, Lufthansa appears to support synthetic fuels produced from green hydrogen in it’s 2021 Annual Report, published in March 2022. Lufthansa’s February 2021 response to the EU’s RED public consultation appears to advocate for non-renewable hydrogen, without clear conditions on CCS, alongside green hydrogen, whilst also opposing an EU jet fuel tax. Lufthansa also appeared supportive of a modal shift from aviation to rail for domestic travel in it’s 2021 Sustainability report, released in 2022. Nevertheless, CEO Carsten Spohr, appeared to question the reality of a complete energy transition, calling for honesty about “what physics cannot do”, at the March 2022 A4E Aviation Summit.
Industry Association Governance: Lufthansa publicly discloses a list of its memberships to industry associations on its website without disclosing their climate-related engagement, their climate policy positions, or the company’s role within each association. Lufthansa has not published a review of its alignment with its industry associations. Carsten Spohr, Lufthansa’s CEO, is the 2022 Chairman for Airlines for Europe, which has actively lobbied against numerous strands of EU climate policy for aviation. Lufthansa’s CEO is also on the Board of Governors for the International Aviation Transport Association (IATA), which has actively lobbied against ambitious climate policy for aviation at global, regional, and national levels.