World Coal Association (WCA)
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. . |
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Communication of Climate Science
Is the organization transparent and clear about its position on climate change science? |
NS | NS | NA | NS |
-1
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NS | NS |
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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) |
0
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0
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NA |
-2
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-1
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-1
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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 |
-1
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NA | NS | NS | NS | NA |
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Support of UN Climate Process
Is the organization supporting the UN FCCC process on climate change? |
1
|
0
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NA |
-1
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0
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0
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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? |
-1
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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 |
-1
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NA | NS | NS | NS | NA |
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Emissions Trading
Is the organisation supporting policy and legislative measures to address climate change: emissions trading. |
NS |
-1
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NA | NS | NS | NS | 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 |
NS | NS | NA | NS | NS | NS | 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 |
NS |
-1
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NA | NS |
-1
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-2
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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? |
-2
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-1
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NA |
-2
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-2
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-2
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NA |
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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 |
NS |
-1
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NA | NS |
-1
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-1
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NA |
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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? |
2
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NS | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
Climate Lobbying Overview: The World Coal Association (WCA) appears generally oppositional to ambitious global climate change policy, although there is limited evidence of engagement with specific climate-related regulations in recent years. WCA also continues to support a significant role for coal in the future energy mix, alongside the deployment of CCS technologies.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: WCA published a Climate Change Position Statement in 2020, which appeared to support the objectives of the Paris Agreement to reduce global GHG emissions in line with 2°C scenarios. However, the Position Statement qualified this support by emphasizing the need to integrate emissions reductions alongside economic development and energy security, and also supporting climate solutions that rely heavily on CCUS technology to reduce emissions from GHG-intensive energy sources in the long-term. WCA has not explicitly supported the need for government regulation to respond to climate change, although has consistently advocated for government policy that ensures a level playing field where coal is not disadvantaged relative to other fuel types.
Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: WCA appears to be generally oppositional to climate-related policy, although there is limited evidence of engagement with specific items of regulation. Communications from 2014-2018 suggest unsupportive positions towards carbon tax legislation in Australia and South Africa, as well as EU ETS reforms to increase the carbon price and effectiveness of the scheme. The World Coal Association also appears unsupportive of renewable energy legislation, advocating in 2017 against renewable energy subsidies and Australia’s federal Clean Energy Target. WCA has also not supported ambitious GHG emissions targets under the US Clean Power Plan and the EU 2030 Energy Strategy.
Positioning on Energy Transition: WCA actively promotes a sustained role for coal in the energy mix, which appears greater than the predicted role for coal under the IPCC Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C. In its 2020 Climate Change Position Statement, WCA stated that “coal will continue to play a significant role in the energy mix for decades to come” alongside CCS technology. WCA has actively supported the need for CCS and other “clean coal” technologies, including support for the US FUTURE Act legislation which extends tax credits for carbon capture operations in a 2019 media statement. However, WCA does not appear to transparently communicate on the uncertainties and risks associated with this approach, or timelines concerning CCS deployment.
WCA also does not appear to support a reduction in the role of coal in the energy mix in line with IPCC science. On its corporate website, accessed in 2021, WCA supported coal as a significant share of electricity generation up until 2040. In June 2020, WCA CEO Michelle Manook supported the Indian government's coal auctions as a "historic moment for the country", emphasizing the importance of coal to energy security, economic development and other policy objectives in India including the economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. From 2017-2020, WCA also appeared to execute an advertising strategy across social media to influence public opinion in favor of coal and its long-term role in the energy mix.