Climate Lobbying Overview: NextEra Energy (NextEra) appears to engage on U.S. climate change policy with mixed positions, although its subsidiary Florida Power & Light (FPL) demonstrates negative engagement on state-level renewable energy proposals. The company has a wide lobbying presence across multiple states including Florida, Kansas, Iowa, Maryland, and Massachusetts. NextEra is a member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which takes negative positions on U.S. climate policy, and its CEO serves on the Executive Committee for Edison Electric Institute, which demonstrates mixed climate policy positions and advocates for the long-term role of fossil gas.

Top-Line Messaging on Climate Policy: NextEra communicates limited top-line support for climate policy. In its 2021 ESG report, it appears to support the need for emissions reductions in line with IPCC recommendations but does not comment on the Paris Agreement or the need for climate policy in general. However, in March 2020, NextEra joined a coalition requesting the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to convene a conference to investigate integrating carbon pricing into US electricity markets.

Engagement With Climate-Related Policy: NextEra engages on specific U.S. climate policy with mixed positions. During the company’s Q2 2022 earnings call in July 2022, CEO John Ketchum appeared to support the Inflation Reduction Act’s clean energy tax credits. In January 2022, NextEra signed a joint letter organized by the American Clean Power Association advocating to Congressional leadership to pass the clean energy tax credits in the Build Back Better Act. In January 2021, the company predicted and appeared to support climate policy under the Biden administration that would expand the role for renewable energy. On earnings call transcripts in April and July 2021, NextEra issued support for federal climate policy including a clean energy standard (CES), with former CEO Jim Robo reiterating support for a federal CES in May 2021.

In Florida, subsidiary FPL appears to have directly engaged with policymakers to weaken rooftop solar incentives. In December 2021, the Tampa Bay Times published an article describing FPL’s direct engagement with state Senators to draft and introduce legislation in the state legislature that would disincentivize net metering. FPL subsequently testified in support of the House version of the bill, House Bill 741, during February 2022 committee hearings. After Governor DeSantis vetoed the bill in April 2022, E&E News reported a statement from FPL in which the subsidiary emphasized its commitment to “finding a more equitable net metering solution for all Floridians.” In a July 2022 article, the Guardian described how FPL’s CEO funded political campaigns from 2017-2019 to remove pro-rooftop solar policymakers from office.

Positioning on Energy Transition: NextEra has communicated support for a shift towards a low-carbon energy mix, however it appears to advocate for a continued role for fossil gas. In its 2022 ESG Report, it supports the use of green hydrogen to achieve decarbonization in high-emitting sectors, and on an April 2021 earnings call, former CEO Jim Robo described the company's direct engagement with the Biden administration advocating for an infrastructure package toward the decarbonization of the economy. However, NextEra has also taken mixed positions on the role of fossil gas. Previously, in 2019, former CEO Robo stated that he considers fossil gas pipelines "clean energy" while referring to protests against them as "surprising" in 2020. NextEra has also engaged with negative positions on the National Environmental Policy Act: in March 2020 comments, the company supported the maintenance of climate considerations but advocated for gas pipelines to still be considered favorably; in November 2021, it joined the Cross-Cutting Issues Group in advocating for the Council of Environmental Quality to narrowly define “cumulative impacts.” In January 2022 comments with the Class of ’85 Regulatory Response Group, subsidiary FPL appeared to oppose updates to methane emissions standards. Following the Supreme Court decision on West Virginia v. EPA, FPL did not comment on the ruling in a July 2022 article by the Florida Phoenix.

Industry Association Governance: NextEra published a Trade Association Review in June 2022 that describes its industry association memberships and alignment with each group’s climate positions, but does not include any detail on specific policies or desired outcomes. Subsidiary FPL is a member of the Consumer Energy Alliance, a 501(c)(4) non-profit with highly active and negative engagement with climate policy. NextEra is also a member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which engaged with largely negative positions on the Build Back Better and Inflation Reduction Act, although FPL no longer appears to serve on the board in 2022. NextEra’s CEO is a member of the Business Roundtable and serves on the Executive Committee for Edison Electric Institute, both of which demonstrate mixed positions on U.S. 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.