Climate Policy Engagement Analysis
Climate Policy Engagement Overview: thyssenkrupp is strategically engaged on climate change policy, supporting top-line climate ambition but taking a mix of positive and negative positions on key EU climate legislation as well as industry decarbonization. The company holds several influential positions in the Federation of German Industries (BDI), which engages negatively on climate change policy in Europe.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: thyssenkrupp supports climate ambition in its top-line messaging, but seemed to take less supportive positions on the need for climate regulation. In November and December 2023 press releases, the company supported emissions reductions in line with the 1.5°C target and more ambitious action. A September 2023 presentation stated top-line support for the need for a regulatory framework and incentives in the EU, but advocated for unspecified ‘adaptation of instruments’ in the Fit for 55 package. In February 2024, the CEO Bernhard Osburg signed the Antwerp Declaration which advocated against prescriptive regulations following the EU Green Deal targets and emphasized the impacts on international competitiveness of climate policy. InfluenceMap did not detect positions on the UN Climate Treaty in 2023-25.
Engagement with Climate-Related Policies: thyssenkrupp engages with specific climate policies with a mix of positive and negative positions.
The company supported dedicating revenues from the EU ETS to climate action in a meeting with the EU Commission in October 2023. However, it did not support reducing indirect cost compensation under the policy, advocating to maintain the mechanism beyond 2030 in a statement submitted to the German Lobby Register in June 2024. thyssenkrupp supported the EU CBAM by advocating to extend its scope to downstream sectors, including in a meeting with the EU Commission in February 2024. However, in a publication sent to German policymakers in June 2024, the company appeared to advocate for the inclusion of export rebates in the policy, calling for an “export solution”, and not supporting the inclusion of indirect emissions.
In an October 2023 meeting with the EU Commission, thyssenkrupp supported simplifying permitting rules in the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive (RED). The company supported an increase in overall renewable energy targets in the RED in its 2023 CDP Climate Change Disclosure, but called for provisions on renewable hydrogen to be more flexible and include a transition period, a position which is misaligned with the EU Commission.
Positioning on Energy Transition: thyssenkrupp broadly supports the energy transition and decarbonization of industry, albeit with exceptions. In a May 2024 meeting with the EU Commission, the company called for government support to enable the European steel sector to produce steel for the grid expansion needed for the energy transition. thyssenkrupp supported wind energy in a June 2024 post on X. However, in a meeting with the EU Commission in March 2024, the company did not appear to fully support the decarbonization of the steel industry, stressing concerns around economic feasibility. In another meeting with the EU Commission in January 2025, thyssenkrupp cited investment challenges in steel decarbonization.
thyssenkrupp’ positions on the role of hydrogen in the energy transition appear to be partially science-aligned. The company supported the development of renewable hydrogen in its 2023-24 Annual Report, published in November 2024, however it appeared to emphasize economic challenges associated with hydrogen production as well as the need to ensure competitive electricity prices. In addition, thyssenkrupp appeared to use its support for hydrogen to justify continued support for fossil fuel infrastructure in a position paper sent to the German government in March 2025. In the US, thyssenkrupp advocated for policymakers to maintain the Inflation Reduction Act's clean hydrogen production tax credit in a June 2025 industry letter to the US Senate leadership, however, it appeared to emphasize a role for fossil gas-based hydrogen, without mentioning renewable feedstocks beyond nuclear and hydropower.
Industry Association Governance: thyssenkrupp disclosed a partial list of some of its memberships to industry associations, but did not describe the climate policy positions of the associations nor how the company is influencing the groups, and excluded three entities which are actively engaged on climate policy. The company does not appear to have published a review of alignment with industry associations. Senior executives of thyssenkrupp are chairs of the boards of several climate-related working groups in the Federation of German Industries (BDI), which is negatively engaged on climate policy in the EU and Germany.
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 Q2 2025.