Climate Lobbying Overview: Vedanta Resources appears to have mixed engagement on climate policy. The company has positive top-line messaging on climate change, but appears to have limited engagement on specific climate policies beyond support for India’s 2030 and 2070 GHG targets. Vedanta appears unsupportive of the energy transition and has actively advocated a sustained role for fossil fuels, including coal, in India’s energy mix.

Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: Vedanta has broadly positive top-line communications on climate change. In its 2021-22 Sustainability Report, published in July 2022, the company supported climate action in line with the temperature goals of the Paris Agreement, including reference to the more ambitious 1.5°C goal. In the same report, Vedanta also welcomed India’s GHG target of net-zero emissions by 2070. In the same report, Vedanta appeared to support government regulation to respond to climate change, stating that climate mitigation and the transition to a low-carbon economy will require “extensive changes” to policies and regulations.

Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: Vedanta appears to have limited, transparent engagement on specific climate-related policies. In its 2022 TCFD Report, the company appeared to support India’s target of reducing the country’s emissions intensity by 33-35% between 2005 and 2030. In its 2022 CDP response, Vedanta supported energy efficiency and renewable energy legislation in India, including a framework for power purchase agreements. Previously, in November 2020, Vedanta signed a declaration as part of the India CEO Forum on Climate Change which appeared to support India’s 2030 renewable energy target and 2030 GHG target.

Positioning on Energy Transition: Vedanta appears to be actively engaged on the energy transition with mixed positions. In its 2021-22 Sustainability Report, published in July 2022, the company stated that it would carry out policy advocacy in the medium-term to facilitate the transition away from coal and remove bottlenecks for cleaner fuels. In its 2022 TCFD Report, Vedanta also supported the decarbonization of the economy and the transition to green and renewable energies.

However, Vedanta has consistently advocated a sustained role for fossil fuels in India’s energy mix. In a January 2022 letter to India's Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board, Vedanta directly advocated for the authorization of a new fossil gas pipeline in India. In March 2021, Chairman Anil Agarwal supported a significant role for coal in the energy mix without reference to the need for carbon capture and storage (CCS). In April 2021 and October 2021, Agarwal called for relief on taxes and royalties to incentivize increased oil and gas investment in India.

Industry Association Governance: Vedanta has disclosed a list of its industry association memberships in its 2021-22 Sustainability Report (published in July 2022), but with no further details of the organizations’ climate policy positions or Vedanta’s role within them. Vedanta has not published a review of alignment with its industry associations. Vedanta retains membership to Minerals Council South Africa which has lobbied negatively on climate policy in South Africa.

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 Q4 2022.