TC Energy
What do our scores mean?
The organizational score represents the degree to which the organization influencing climate policy and legislation. Corporations also have relationship scores reflecting their links with influencers like trade associations. Both are combined to place the corporation in a performance band. Full details can be found here.
Engagement Intensity
The engagement intensity (EI) is a metric of the extent to which the company is engaging on climate change policy matters, whether positively or negatively. It is a number from 0 (no engagement at all) to 100 (full engagement on all queries/data points). Clearly energy companies are more affected by climate regulations and will have a higher EI than, for example retailers. So an organization’s score should be looked at in conjunction with this metric to gauge the amount of evidence we are using in each case as a basis for scoring. On our scale, an EI of more than 35 indicates a relatively large amount of climate policy engagement.
Relationship Score, December 2020
A new batch of industry associations has been uploaded onto the InfluenceMap system and the relationship scores recalculated accordingly.
- Details of Organization Score
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What do the 0,1,2 and NSs, NAs mean?
Each cell in the organization's matrix presents a chance for us to assess each data source against our column of climate change policy queries. We score from -2 to 2, with negative scores representing evidence of obstructive influence. "NA" means "not applicable" and "NS" means "not scored" - that is we did not find any evidence either way. In both cases, the cell's weighting is re-distributed over others. Red and blue cells represent highly interesting negative or positive influence respectively. Full details can be found here.
- Details of Relationship Score
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What is the Relationship Score
A corporation, as well as its organizational score will have a relationship score. It is computed by aggregating the organizational scores of the Influencers (trade bodies etc.) it has relationships with, weighted by both the strength of these relationships and the relative importance of the Influencers towards climate change policy. Full details can be found here.
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QUERIES
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DATA SOURCES | |||||||
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Main Web Site
The main organizational Web site of the company and its direct links to major affiliates and attached documents. |
Social Media
We search other media and sites funded or controlled by the organization, such as social media (Twitter, Facebook) and direct advertising campaigns of the organization. |
CDP Responses
We assess and score responses to two questions from CDP's climate change information request (12.3 a & 12.3c) related to political influence questions (currently these are not numerically scored by the CDP process). |
Legislative Consultations
Comments from the entity being scored on governmental regulatory consultation processes, including those obtained by InfluenceMap through Freedom of Information requests. |
Media Reports
Here we search in a consistent manner (the organization name and relevant query search terms) a set of web sites of representing reputable news or data aggregations. Supported by targeted searches of proprietary databases. |
CEO Messaging
Here we search in a consistent manner (the CEO/Chairman, organization name and relevant query search terms) a set of web sites of representing reputable news or data aggregations. Supported by targeted searches of proprietary databases. |
Financial Disclosures
We search 10-K and 20-F SEC filings where available, and non US equivalents where not. . |
EU Register
Information provided by to the voluntary EU Transparency Register. |
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Climate Science Transparency
Is the organisation being transparent about climate change science? |
-2
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NS | NS | NS |
-2
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NS | NS | NA |
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Climate Science Stance
Is the organization supporting the science of climate change and the response demanded (as per the IPCC) |
-1
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-2
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NA | NS | NS | NS |
-1
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NA |
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Need for Climate Regulation
To what extent does the organization express the need for climate policy and regulations in general. |
0
|
NS | NA | NS |
-2
|
NS |
0
|
NA |
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UN Treaty Support
Is the organization supporting a global treaty on climate change and the UN FCCC process? |
1
|
NS | NS | NS | NS | NS | NS | NA |
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Transparency on Legislation
Is the organisation being transparent about their positions on climate change legislation and policy, including CEO statements. |
-1
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NA |
-1
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NA | NA | NA |
2
|
NS |
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Carbon Tax
Is the organisation supporting policy and legislative measures to address climate change: carbon tax. |
NS | NS |
0
|
NS |
1
|
NS | NS | NA |
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Emissions Trading
Is the organisation supporting policy and legislative measures to address climate change: emissions trading. |
1
|
NS | NS | NS | NS | NS | NS | NA |
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Energy Efficiency Standards
Is the organisation supporting policy and legislative measures to address climate change: Energy efficiency standards and targets |
NS | NS | NS | NS | NS | NS | NS | NA |
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Renewable Energy Legislation
Is the organisation supporting policy and legislative measures to address climate change: Renewable energy targets, subsidies and legislation. |
NS | NS |
0
|
NS | NS | NS |
0
|
NA |
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Energy Policy and Mix
Is the organisation supporting policy and legislative measures to address climate change: energy policy and the energy mix. We refer to IPCC thinking on renewables, coal, oil and gas. |
-1
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0
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-1
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-2
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-1
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0
|
-2
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NA |
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GHG Emission Standards
Is the organisation supporting policy and legislative measures to address climate change: GHG emission standards and targets. |
0
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0
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0
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NS | NS | NS | NS | NA |
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Disclosure on Relationships
The Caring for Climate “inventory” of climate change policy influences: Are companies being transparent about their business associations which may impact climate debate and policy |
0
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NS |
1
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NA | NA | NA | NS | NS |
Open PDF file of Data Source
Open PDF file of Data Source
How to Read our Relationship Score Map
In this section, we depict graphically the relationships the corporation has with trade associations, federations, advocacy groups and other third parties who may be acting on their behalf to influence climate change policy. Each of the columns above represents one relationship the corporation appears to have with such a third party. In these columns, the top, dark section represents the strength of the relationship the corporation has with the influencer. For example if a corporation's senior executive also held a key role in the trade association, we would deem this to be a strong relationship and it would be on the far left of the chart above, with the weaker ones to the right. Click on these grey shaded upper sections for details of these relationships. The middle section contains a link to the organization score details of the influencer concerned, so you can see the details of its climate change policy influence. Click on the middle sections for for details of the trade associations. The lower section contains the organization score of that influencer, the lower the more negatively it is influencing climate policy.
TC Energy (formerly TransCanada) appears to have a negative stance toward policy action on climate change, though its positions have modestly improved since 2015. In its inaugural 2019 Sustainability and Climate change report, TC Energy stated support for national and industry commitments leading to global emissions reductions in line with the Paris Agreement.
TC Energy appears to support several key strands of climate policies while noting some exceptions to each. In 2015, it appeared to support both a carbon tax and emissions trading schemes in Canada. In 2019, it emphasized the need for “sensible and cohesive" carbon pricing policies, though its specific stance on carbon tax and cap-and-trade legislation is unclear. In 2018, TC Energy stressed the need for methane emissions regulation to consider the cost and burden to industry.
TC Energy appears to support an energy transition with an increasing role for natural gas over coal. It sees natural gas as a complement to renewable power well into the future. In 2018, a spokesperson said the company believes oil and gas will maintain a key role in the energy mix long term. In 2020, TC Energy submitted comments on proposed changes to the National Environmental Policy Act. Two of its three requests would omit GHG emissions from consideration as consequences of a project. The third cites Keystone XL delays as justification for limiting NEPA overreach. Similarly, in 2019, TC Energy opposed Canada’s Bill C-69, which would have made the development of oil and gas infrastructure more difficult by requiring impact assessments to consider the “cumulative effects” of existing or future activities.
Evidence also suggests support for the criminalization of protest against fossil fuel infrastructure: TC Energy reportedly advised the South Dakota governor on legislation mirroring ALEC's Critical Infrastructure Act and actively supported a similar bill in Ohio. a ruling against the Keystone XL pipeline, in June 2020 TC Energy requested that the US supreme court halt the implementation of the ruling, citing concern that it could be extended to a nationwide injunction on new pipelines.
TC Energy remains a member of several trade associations with negative views on climate policy. It does not provide a full list of groups to which it belongs. TC Energy describes its climate positions as consistent with those of the American Petroleum Institute, which has lobbied against a number of climate policy measures including the regulation of methane.