Climate Policy Engagement Analysis
Climate Policy Engagement Overview: The European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic) has taken positions that are both supportive and negative towards science-aligned climate policy and is strategically engaged with policymakers across a range of EU policy streams. The association’s engagement with several strands of climate change policy and the energy transition has become more positive in recent years, but it continues to engage negatively on certain areas of legislation, such as the EU Emissions Trading System or hydrogen-related legislation.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: Cefic supports ambitious climate action in its top-line messaging, albeit with significant exceptions on the need for climate change regulation. The association supported the European Green Deal in a September 2024 publication and the EU’s ambition to become climate neutral by 2050 joint recommendations in December 2024. However, in 2024 Cefic consistently emphasized the need to protect European competitiveness by advocating to revise policies under the EU Green Deal and avoid implementing detailed regulation, for instance in the February 2024 Antwerp Declaration initiated and coordinated by the association. InfluenceMap did not detect engagement from Cefic on the UN Paris Agreement in 2023-25.
Engagement with Climate-Related Policies: Cefic has predominantly negative engagement with key EU climate policies. In December 2024 joint recommendations, the association advocated to maintain and strengthen indirect cost compensation in the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) beyond 2030, in misalignment with the EU Commission.
In February 2025, Cefic opposed the RED Delegated Act on renewable hydrogen in a joined statement, advocating for a technology-neutral approach. Cefic supported measures to boost renewables in the EU Electricity Market Design (EMD) reform with major exceptions in a May 2023 position paper, stating that contracts for difference should only be utilized where market instruments fall short, in misalignment with the EU Commission proposal. However, in December 2024 joint recommendations, the association stated broad support for the EMD reform.
Engagement with Circular Economy-Related Policies: Cefic is not fully supportive of circular economy policies. The association did not specify if it supports policies aligned with the waste hierarchy in a July 2024 press release, emphasizing instead the need to scale up chemical recycling. Cefic advocated for the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) to adopt a mass-balance approach to calculate recycled content in plastic packaging, in a joint industry letter in April 2024, a weaker option considered in the EU Commission’s proposal.
Positioning on Energy Transition: Cefic has stated some support for policies to aid the energy transition and decarbonization of industry, however with major exceptions. In a press release published in April 2024, Director General Marco Mensink broadly supported decarbonizing industry through direct electrification. The association supported the EU’s Clean Industrial Deal to move towards the decarbonization of industry in December 2024 joint recommendations, advocating for measures such as increased funding of low-carbon technologies and grid expansion. In a March 2025 position paper, it supported an increased use of bio feedstocks to replace fossil fuel feedstocks. However, Cefic repeatedly advocated for a weakened EU Hydrogen and Gas Decarbonization Package Delegated Act on the definition of low-carbon hydrogen, including in October 2024 feedback comments and a February 2025 joint statement. The association supported the EU Electricity Market Design reform with major exceptions in December 2024 joint recommendations, stating that market flexibility schemes should not be limited to non-fossil energy sources.
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 association’s scores each week, the summary above is updated periodically. This summary was last updated in Q2 2025.