Climate Policy Engagement Analysis
Climate Policy Engagement Overview: LyondellBasell is strategically engaged on climate change policy in the EU and US taking a mix of positive and negative positions. The company appears to be mostly supportive of top-line action on climate change, but takes less supportive positions on the energy transition and some specific climate policies.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: LyondellBasell appears to broadly support action on climate change in its top-line messaging. In its 2024 Sustainability Report, published in April 2025, the company supported GHG emissions reductions in line with the 1.5°C target. The company also suggested support for government regulation to respond to climate change in its May 2025 Climate Advocacy Report. However, in February 2024, LyondellBasell’s CEO Peter Vanacker signed the Antwerp Declaration, which advocated for revising existing legislation under the EU Green Deal and avoiding implementing detailed regulation following EU climate targets. LyondellBasell supported the goals of the UN Paris Agreement on its corporate website, accessed in August 2024.
Engagement with Climate-Related Policies: LyondellBasell appears to take both positive and negative positions on specific climate policies. In a July 2025 meeting with the EU Commission, the company seemed to support the EU Carbon Adjustment Mechanism with major exceptions, supporting the expansion of the legislation's scope to include downstream products while also advocating for the continuation of existing carbon leakage protection measures under the EU ETS with no phase out. However, the company stated support for specific GHG emissions legislation and supported the creation of lead markets for low-carbon products in the EU in a July 2025 EU public consultation response on the Industrial Decarbonisation Accelerator Act. In a June 2025 EU public consultation response, LyondellBasell broadly supported the EU 2030 GHG emissions targets. The company also supported renewable energy policy in their May 2025 climate advocacy report, supporting 'market-based' policies including a policy framework for power purchase agreements.
Engagement with Circular Economy Climate-Related Policy: The company does not clearly support circular economy policy aligned with the waste hierarchy, for example, in its position on a US Accelerating a Circular Economy for Plastics and Recycling Innovation Act of 2024 in a Q2 2025 US Lobbying Disclosure in July 2025. It took a similar position in a June 2025 EU public consultation response on a circular bioeconomy, promoting biomass-derived plastics without clearly aligning its support with the waste hierarchy. However, in an April 2024 meeting with EU EVP Šefčovič and industry the company seemed to support circular economy legislation with major exceptions, advocating against measures to limit primary plastic polymers production and address hazardous chemicals under Global Plastics Treaty.
Positioning on Energy Transition: LyondellBasell does not appear to support policies to transition the energy mix in the EU and US, specifically on hydrogen. In a July 2025 EU public consultation response, the company took an unclear position on the transition of the energy mix, advocating for the use of hydrogen without specifying its production method or end-use sector and stating support for CCUS infrastructure but with an unclear position on the long term role of fossil fuels. LyondellBasell seemed not to support the EU Hydrogen and Gas Decarbonization Package Delegated Act on the definition of low-carbon hydrogen in an October 2024 EU public consultation response, advocating for hydrogen produced using electricity sourced from low-carbon PPAs without temporal correlation. In comments on the Inflation Reduction Act credit for the production of clean hydrogen in February 2024, the company advocated for a weaker implementation of the policy by opposing the proposed sustainability requirements. In a March 2024 hearing on the same regulation, LyondellBasell opposed specific clean hydrogen production measures and urged policymakers to exempt "renewable natural gas" from the proposed requirements.
Industry Association Governance: LyondellBasell published a largely complete and accurate account of its industry associations' positions and engagement activities on specific climate-related policies in its Climate Advocacy Report, published in May 2025. However, it appears to exclude 1 actively engaged industry association, the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce & Industry The company is a member of industry associations which are actively engaging negatively on climate change policy, such as the National Association of Manufacturers and the American Chemistry Council, and a senior executive from the company holds a board position in the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers. A senior executive of LyondellBasell is on the Board and Executive Committee of Cefic, which engages with EU policies with positions which are partially misaligned with science based 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 Q3 2025.