Climate Policy Engagement Analysis
Climate Policy Engagement Overview: The US Chamber of Commerce (the Chamber) demonstrates active opposition to US climate policy. While the Chamber appears supportive of 2050 climate targets and government action to respond to climate change in its top-line messaging, its direct engagement reveals consistent opposition to science-based climate policy, particularly on matters related to the transition of the energy mix. The Chamber has actively advocated for the repeal of several federal climate regulations, including the EPA’s power plant rules, methane regulations, and regulations to support the decarbonization of transportation.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: The association’s top-line communications on climate policy in recent years show a mix of positive and negative positions. In a June 2024 blog, the Chamber appeared to recognize the necessity of responding to climate change, calling on “government, businesses and households to invest in resilience” as climate change-induced weather events continue to escalate in frequency and severity. Another June 2024 blog highlighted the Chamber’s support for “private sector opportunities” provided by climate legislation such as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act. However, the association has consistently appeared to oppose regulatory action to address climate change, such as in a March 2025 blog decrying the “regulatory overreach” of various climate-related regulations from the Biden administration. In a January 2025 WTVB news article, the Chamber noted that it would prefer the US to “remain engaged in the UN climate process.”
Engagement with Climate-Related Policy: The Chamber has actively and consistently opposed various forms of climate policy. In a March 2025 joint letter to Congress, the group advocated for use of the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to repeal the EPA’s waivers for California’s regulations to support the decarbonization of transportation. This is consistent with previous advocacy on transportation: in October 2023 comments to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the Chamber sought to reduce the stringency of proposed Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) Standards, arguing that the standards “go too far, too fast.”
In March 2025, the Chamber submitted comments to the US Trade Representative emphasizing compliance challenges with the EU’s Methane Regulations and appearing to support exemptions for US liquified natural gas (LNG). In a February 2025 letter to Congress, the Chamber strongly advocated for Congress to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act's methane fee. Previously, the Chamber opposed the EPA’s use of the Social Cost of Greenhouse Gas Emissions (SC-GHG) to determine the value of climate-related benefits from methane emissions reductions in March 2024 comments to the agency, suggesting that the EPA was acting beyond its statutory authority.
The Chamber appears to promote positive top-line positions on policy related to the circular economy, but has opposed ambitious global plastics rules. For example, in July 2023 comments on the EPA’s Draft National Strategy to Prevent Plastic Pollution, the Chamber supported the use of the Waste Management Hierarchy to guide legislative development, as well as “leveraging the UN Global Plastics Pollution Agreement” to promote innovation on the use of virgin materials. However, it opposed production caps for plastics and broadly advocated for the US to push for “national flexibility” within the UN Plastics Treaty in a June 2025 letter to the US Secretary of State.
Positioning on Energy Transition: The Chamber appears most active on policy related to the energy transition, with consistently negative advocacy.
The Chamber has opposed various measures to delay the phaseout of fossil fuels in the energy mix. In July 2025 comments to the EPA, the Chamber advocated for the repeal of the EPA’s power plant rules. In June 2025 comments to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the Chamber advocated for increased leasing for offshore oil and gas production. Also in June 2025, the organization advocated for the inclusion of tax provisions to support oil and gas producers in the 2025 Budget Reconciliation Bill in a letter to the Senate Finance Committee Chair. In a May 2025 letter to the US House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, the group supported a flat fee on electric vehicles of $250. The organization strongly supported measures to promote LNG exports in a July 2025 letter to the US Trade Representative and strongly advocated for lifting the Biden administration’s permitting freeze on LNG exports in a March 2025 letter to the Secretary of the Department of Energy. The Chamber advocated for a long-term role for fossil gas in the energy mix in a joint letter to the G7 energy ministers in the same month.
The Chamber has also been highly active on the Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) Section 45V Clean Hydrogen Production Tax Credit. The Chamber repeatedly engaged on the credit in 2024 through several iterations of comments, coalition letters, and direct testimony in which the Chamber advocated for weaker implementation of the tax credit, calling for changes to the framework that would allow exemptions for the use of fossil gas as a hydrogen production feedstock. This advocacy appears to have been successful, with the publication of the finalized rules by the Treasury Department in January 2025 protecting a role for fossil gas-based hydrogen in the credit. The Chamber has advocated to defend the finalized regulation from Congressional repeal throughout 2025, including in a June 2025 letter to the US Senate, a February 2025 joint letter to Congress, and a June 2025 joint letter emphasizing a prominent role for fossil-gas based hydrogen in the credit.
The Chamber has also advocated for permitting reform to facilitate the buildout of fossil fuel infrastructure. In June 2025 letter to the US House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, it advocated for the passage of the PERMIT Act which would accelerate permitting for fossil fuel projects. In a March 2025 joint comment to the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), the Chamber advocated for permitting reform to support accelerated development of fossil fuel projects. While the organization signed a January 2025 joint letter defending the IRA’s carbon capture and storage (CCS) credit, 45Q, it did not clearly support the transition away from oil and gas or the need for decarbonization in its messaging.
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 Q3 2025.