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: China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) appears to have limited, mixed engagement with climate policy. It has communicated a positive top-line position on climate policy, however, the organization does not appear fully supportive of a strong carbon price and the low-carbon energy transition.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: CAAM appears to have communicated a positive top-line position on climate policy. According to an October 2021 press release published on the China Auto Supply Chain Conference website, CAAM has communicated a clear and detailed position on climate science in a speech delivered at the conference. In an article authored by CAAM’s vice president An Tiecheng, originally published in the magazine Automobile Experts Commentary in August 2021, the organization called for government policy to clarify the decarbonization pathway for the automobile sector. CAAM has not communicated positions on the Paris Agreement and IPCC aligned global GHG emission targets.
Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: As of February 2023, CAAM appears to have mixed positions on specific climate regulations in China. In a September 2021 article published on the Auto Review, an online news site owned by CAAM, the Vice Secretary of CAAM, He Yi, supported setting up a carbon tax in China to induce more purchase of low-emission vehicles, whilst at the same time also suggesting an “effective combination” of carbon tax with current taxes, including fuel tax, automobile consumption tax, et cetera, with unclear impact on the price of carbon. In the same September 2021 article, He Yi did not support the participation of the automotive sector in emissions trading in China, instead arguing in favour of a credit trading system as an alternative for the sector. However, in an August 2021 article published on Automobile Expert Commentary, Vice President of CAAM An Tiecheng called for strengthening average fuel consumption standards to limit carbon emission in vehicles and supported the dual credit policy. The dual credit policy promotes new energy vehicles (including battery electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and fuel cell vehicles) and imposes a fuel efficiency standard. In a September 2021 article authored by He Yi, the Vice Secretary of CAAM, the organization supported setting up a carbon emission standard for vehicles.
Positioning on Energy Transition: CAAM does not appear supportive of the rapid decarbonization of the transport sector as part of the energy transition away from fossil fuels. As reported by the Battery Network in January 2023, CAAM endorsed plug-in hybrid vehicles and extended range electric vehicles as technological diversification for ‘new energy’ vehicles in its recently released industry report. As reported by Xinhua Auto in January 2023, the organization advocated to change the temporary tax exemption for passenger cars and light duty vehicles powered by internal combustion engine (ICE), initially planned to cease in December 2022, to a long term policy. However, in a March 2023 interview reported by the Auto Review Magazine, CAAM supported electrification of transport and zero-carbon vehicles.