We have expanded the list of climate policies we assess company engagement with to incorporate land-use related policy, referring to legislative or regulatory measures to enhance and protect ecosystems and land where carbon is being stored. Assessments under this category are currently underweighted in terms of their contribution to the overall company metrics. This weighting will be progressively increased over the next 6 months.
We adjusted the terminology used to describe the queries running down the left-hand side of our scoring matrix and added additional explanatory text to the info-boxes. This has no impact on the scores and methodology. It has been done following user feedback to improve clarity.
Climate Lobbying Overview: The Australian Steel Institute (ASI) appears to have a mixed position on climate change policy, with limited engagement in 2020-2022. ASI has communicated broad top-line support for climate action, although with some qualifications and exceptions. ASI has not disclosed its positioning on specific climate-related policies since 2018 and also adopts a mixed stance on the energy transition, appearing to support the decarbonization of the steel industry as well as the maintenance of coal and fossil gas in the energy mix.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: ASI communicates qualified top-line support for action on climate change. The Association states broad support for the Paris Agreement on its corporate website, published in 2021. On the same page ASI also advocate for global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, although it is unclear whether this position is consistent with IPCC demanded emissions reductions. While ASI appears broadly supportive of the need for government regulation to respond to climate change, it qualifies this support by emphasizing issues of competitiveness, affordability and technology neutrality.
Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: ASI appears to have limited transparent engagement on climate-related regulations. InfluenceMap has not found any evidence of lobbying on specific climate-related policies since ASI advocated for a National Energy Guarantee in 2017-2018.
Positioning on Energy Transition: The evidence suggests ASI have a mixed position on the energy transition. In a June 2022 consultation submission ASI appeared to back the transition of the energy mix by calling for the NSW Renewable Energy Plan to ensure participation of the local steel supply chain. ASI also seems to offer broad support for the decarbonization of the steel industry on its corporate website, published in 2021. However, ASI appears to qualify this support for the transition to clean energy by suggesting that high greenhouse gas emissions energy sources are desirable in a future energy mix. As reported by the Financial Review in May 2020, Chief Executive Mark Cain appeared to suggest that coal would be necessary for the foreseeable future. On its corporate website, ASI also appears to emphasize issues of economic competitiveness and affordability in transitioning to a new energy model to back a continued role for fossil gas in the energy mix.