Climate Policy Engagement Analysis
Climate Lobbying Overview: RWE exhibits strategic climate policy engagement with both positive and negative positions. The company is supportive of climate policy in its top-line messaging, however it holds some inconsistent positions on specific climate related policies in the EU. RWE also states that it is supportive of the energy transition, however it continues to support a sustained role for fossil gas in the energy mix.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: RWE is supportive of climate policy in its top-line communications. In its 2023 Industry Association Climate Review, published in April 2024, the company supported greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions in line with 1.5°C temperature rise and the target of net-zero emissions by 2050, as well as supporting the UN Paris Agreement. The company CEO, Markus Krebber, also supported the need for government regulation to respond to climate change in the company’s Annual Report 2023, published in April 2024.
Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: RWE appears to have a mixture of positive and negative positions in its engagement with specific climate related policy. For example, in a January 2025 joint letter to policymakers, the company supported linking the UK and EU Emissions Trading Systems (ETS), while clearly continuing to support the need for the policies to contribute to climate goals. However, in December 2023 comments, RWE did not appear to support the phase out of free allowances under the EU ETS.
In relation to renewable energy policy, RWE actively supported renewable energy legislation in March 2024 regulatory comments. However, in October 2024 comments submitted on the EU's Methodology to determine the greenhouse gas (GHG) emission savings of low-carbon fuels, the company did not support the EU Renewable Energy Directive Delegated Act on RFNBOs, advocating for a longer transition period for additionality, geographical and temporal correlation rules on renewable hydrogen.
Positioning on Energy Transition: While it states RWE supports the increased development and use of renewables for the energy transition, the company still appears to advocate for a continued role for fossil gas in the energy mix. For example, in a February 2025 joint letter to the U.S. Congress, RWE advocated for stringent policy interventions to support a rapid increase in solar energy in the energy mix. The company also pushed Congress to pursue measures toward clean energy, especially for solar and storage. The company also supported infrastructure, investments or other systems to aid in the uptake of solar energy in the transition toward a renewables-dominated system in March 2024 EU regulatory comments. Furthermore, RWE supported the role of renewable hydrogen for renewable energy storage and use in hard-to-abate sectors in its 2024 Annual Report, published in March 2025.
However, the company appears to repeatedly advocate a continued role for fossil gas in the energy mix. For example, in a November 2024 UK consultation response, RWE appeared to advocate for new infrastructure that risks fossil gas lock-in. While the company supported retrofitting existing gas plants with carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies, it also advocated for new fossil gas plants fitted with CCS. RWE CEO Markus Krebber appeared to support an increase in renewable energy and hydrogen in an April 2024 Interview on IMD CEO Dialogue Series, however he also appeared to advocate for the continued use of fossil gas and related infrastructure on the basis of a future transition to decarbonized gas, without detailing clear timelines.
Industry Association Governance: RWE has disclosed a list of its industry association memberships in its 2023 Industry Association Climate Review, published in April 2024. However, the review was limited to top-line positions and no engagement activities of the associations and excluded 10 industry associations that are actively engaged on climate policy. RWE is a member of multiple industry associations with climate policy positions misaligned with delivering the 1.5ºC goal of the Paris Agreement, including: Euracoal and BusinessEurope
A detailed assessment of the company's corporate review on climate policy engagement can be found on InfluenceMap's CA100+ Investor Hub here.
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.