Consumer Energy Alliance
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.
Updated terminology, February 2021
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.
- 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.
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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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Communication of Climate Science
Is the organization transparent and clear about its position on climate change science? |
NS |
-1
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NA | NS |
-1
|
NS | NA | NA |
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Alignment with IPCC on Climate Action
Is the organization supporting the science-based response to climate change as set out by the IPCC? (the IPCC) |
NS |
-1
|
NA | NS | NS |
0
|
NA | NA |
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Supporting the Need for Regulations
To what extent does the organization express the need for regulatory intervention to resolve the climate crisis? |
NS | NS | NA | NS | NS |
-1
|
NA | NA |
|
Support of UN Climate Process
Is the organization supporting the UN FCCC process on climate change? |
NS | NS | NA | NS | NS | NS | NA | NA |
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Transparency on Legislation
Is the organisation transparent about its positions on climate change legislation/policy and its activities to influence it? |
-2
|
NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
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Carbon Tax
Is the organisation supporting policy and legislative measures to address climate change: carbon tax. |
NS |
-2
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NA | NS | NS | NS | NA | NA |
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Emissions Trading
Is the organisation supporting policy and legislative measures to address climate change: emissions trading. |
-2
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-1
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NA | NS |
-1
|
NS | NA | NA |
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Energy and Resource Efficiency
Is the organization supporting policy and legislative measures to address climate change: energy efficiency policy, standards, and targets |
0
|
1
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NA | NS |
-2
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NS | NA | NA |
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Renewable Energy
Is the organization supporting policy and legislative measures to address climate change: Renewable energy legislation, targets, subsidies, and other policy |
-1
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0
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NA | NS |
-1
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0
|
NA | NA |
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Energy Transition & Zero Carbon Technologies
Is the organization supporting an IPCC-aligned transition of the economy away from carbon-emitting technologies, including supporting relevant policy and legislative measures to enable this transition? |
0
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-1
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NA |
-1
|
-1
|
-1
|
NA | NA |
|
GHG Emission Regulation
Is the organization supporting policy and legislative measures to address climate change: GHG emission standards and targets. Is the organization supporting policy and legislative measures to address climate change: Standards, targets, and other regulatory measures directly targeting Greenhouse Gas emissions |
-1
|
-1
|
NA |
-2
|
-2
|
-2
|
NA | NA |
|
Disclosure on Relationships
Is the organization transparent about its involvement with industry associations that are influencing climate policy, including the extent to which it is aligned with these groups on climate? |
1
|
NS | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
The Consumer Energy Alliance is actively and negatively lobbying on US Climate and Energy Policy. It does not appear to support drastic action to cut carbon emissions & stresses the threat of energy poverty to justify less urgent action on climate change. It has also used potentially misleading messaging strategies about the current level of emissions associated with fossil fuels in the US, and appears to be funding institutions involved in producing information designed to undermine the understanding of the science of climate change.
The Consumer Energy Alliance appears to have opposed multiple policies that attempt to reduce carbon emissions, such as carbon pricing initiatives. In February 2020, the Consumer Energy Alliance strongly criticised the Transportation & Climate Initiative, a cap-and-invest scheme intended to reduce transport-related emissions. It has also actively opposed legislation that would create GHG reduction targets, urging New York State legislators in June 2019 to oppose the Climate and Community Protection Act (CCPA) in which legislates statewide greenhouse gas emissions reductions of eighty-five percent and net zero emissions in all sectors of the economy by 2050. Consumer Energy Alliance was reported to be connected to a Facebook ad campaign supporting the Trump administration’s rollback of Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) Standards in 2018. It also has opposed state-level GHG emission standards related to US methane regulations and the Clean Power Plan.
President David Holt is an out-spoken critic of campaigns to transition the energy mix, stating in January 2017 that "misguided activist groups" are "increasing the burden on households and small businesses". In January 2020, the Consumer Energy Alliance appeared to oppose the New Jersey Energy Master Plan, a roadmap intended to transition the state to 100 percent clean energy by 2050; in February 2020, the Consumer Energy Alliance launched the Affordable Energy for New Jersey Coaltion to oppose the EMP. Consumer Energy Alliance actively lobbies US policy makers for measures that will sustain a high GHG energy mix; for example, in August 2020, supporting continued efforts to advance oil and gas production in the Arctic. The Consumer Energy Alliance has strongly supported unconventional gas production, as well as supporting fossil fuel subsidies such as Local Resource Manufacturing Tax Credit in Pennsylvania.