Climate Lobbying Overview: Fortum is actively lobbying EU energy and climate policy, with mixed and potentially inconsistent positions on decarbonization. Fortum appears to consistently support strong EU GHG emissions targets and reforms to strengthen the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) but has argued against EU regulations to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy, including binding targets. Furthermore, in 2020, Fortum appears to have expressed increasingly supportive positions on a prolonged role of coal in the EU’s energy mix.

Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: Fortum appears supportive of the Paris Agreement and in 2021 stated that it is a core principle of the company’s climate advocacy. The company is supportive of the EU Climate Law, which sets a carbon neutral by 2050 target, but stated in its 2021 response to the Fit for 55 legislative climate package posted on its website, that the approach should remain cost-efficient and technology-neutral. In 2020, Fortum advocated for a market-based response to climate change, supporting carbon pricing as the EU’s “main instrument” of climate regulation.

Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: Fortum appears to have consistently lobbied in support of ambitious EU GHG emissions targets. In its 2020 Sustainability Report, published in April 2021, the company stated support for the raising of the EU’s 2030 GHG emissions target to at least 55%. Fortum also appeared to advocate for an increase in ambition for the Effort Sharing Regulation to align with the EU’s climate objectives. In its 2021 Fit for 55 response posted on its website, Fortum strongly supported reforms to the EU ETS, including increasing the linear reduction factor, rebasing the emissions cap and strengthening the marginal stability reserve. Fortum also appeared to support new emissions trading systems for the transport and buildings sectors, and to eventually integrate them into the EU ETS. Fortum appears to be mixed on the introduction of the EU carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM), in its 2020 consultation response on the policy the company seemed to prefer global carbon pricing over the CBAM, stating the challenges to apply the policy in the industrial sector. However, its 2021 blog on the Fit for 55 package suggested support for the CBAM, but did not specify a position on removal of existing carbon leakage protection for exposed sectors under the EU ETS.

However, Fortum’s support for the EU ETS has come at the expense of other alternative and complementary EU climate regulations. Fortum appears to have lobbied against EU energy efficiency and renewable legislation. In a 2020 EU consultation response, Fortum argued that the “EU’s current three target approach (GHG, renewables, energy efficiency) needs to be carefully reconsidered” to prioritize carbon pricing as the “leading instrument”. In a 2020 presentation by their Public Affairs team, Fortum stated that “renewable energy is already mainstream and should be fully market-driven” and that “subsidies for mature RES should be phased out”. However, its position on energy efficiency legislation appears to have improved, with the company supporting increased ambition through binding targets in the EU’s Energy Efficiency Directive, stated in its 2021 consultation response on the policy.

Positioning on Energy Transition: Since 2020, Fortum appears to have communicated positions increasingly supportive of new thermal coal capacity and coal’s continued use in Europe, despite also continuing to communicate support for a low-carbon energy transition. In 2020, despite communicating general support for “phasing out coal in energy production”, without specifying clear IPCC-aligned deadlines, it has also vocally defended the opening of a new German coal plant by its new subsidiary, Uniper. Furthermore, in 2020 Fortum has publicly endorsed its subsidiary Uniper following legal action against a 2030 Netherlands coal phase-out date. However, in 2018-20, Fortum has also advocated to policymakers to support the EU’s energy transition and decarbonization, including in a 2018 consultation on long-term EU GHG emissions reductions. Fortum has further communicated support in 2019-20 for the electrification of buildings, heat, transport and industry and the decarbonization of the economy in CEO communications. In a 2021 blog, the company also appeared to show support for expanding the role of green hydrogen in the energy mix, while maintaining some role for blue hydrogen.

Industry Association Governance: Fortum has publicly disclosed information on its membership to industry associations on a corporate webpage without providing further details on the company's role within each association’s governing bodies or influence over their climate positions. However, Fortum appears to have transparently disclosed its trade association memberships, their climate positioning and Fortum’s influence over, and consistency with their positions in its 2020 CDP response. Fortum states that it is aligned on climate policy with all the trade associations it remains a member of. Fortum is a member of Eurelectric, which is actively lobbying EU climate policy with increasingly positive recent engagement, and the International Emissions Trading Association, which advocates in support of the EU ETS while opposing ambitious EU renewable and energy efficiency legislation.