This briefing contains analysis of fossil fuel industry advocacy on climate policy from the first quarter of 2025.
Europe: Fossil fuel industry advocacy to weaken the EU Low-Carbon Hydrogen Delegated Act by pushing for exemptions and looser certification rules.
North America: Oil and gas industry responds to President Trump’s tariff announcements, advocating for fossil fuel expansion and policy rollbacks.
In February, President Trump announced an initial round of tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, which went into effect in March. Leading up to and since the announcement, the North American oil and gas industry has revived a set of pro-fossil fuel narratives on energy security, demand, and affordability, emphasizing an economic case for fossil fuel expansion. InfluenceMap’s Fossil Fuel Misinformation Tracker highlights how the fossil fuel industry uses these arguments to oppose and delay the energy transition.
Alluding to the tariffs, in February 2025 TotalEnergies’ CEO Patrick Pouyanné advocated for investments in fossil gas pipelines in the US, advocating for “pragmatic policies that will support U.S. energy production” from the Trump administration. In January 2025, the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) emphasized the need for crude oil imports to prevent refinery shutdowns and maintain energy security. These claims have also been noted in January 2025 communications from the American Gas Association. In February, American Petroleum Institute (API) president Mike Sommers argued for the economic benefits of the fossil fuel trade from Canada and Mexico, stating that API would engage with the Trump administration for energy sector exclusions from the tariffs.
The Canadian oil and gas industry has used the tariff announcements to call for the expansion of the country’s fossil fuel output. In the last few months, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) has cited the threat of tariffs to promote new fossil fuel investments. CAPP President Lisa Baiton criticized the Canadian federal government’s energy policies and advocated for new fossil gas export facilities in a December 2024 opinion piece in the National Post. In the article, CAPP argues that new gas export infrastructure is required “to build a tariff-proof economy” and to export Canadian gas to markets in Asia and Europe. In a February 2025 press release, CAPP advocated for the US and Canada to increase oil and production, adding that the two countries “could be the most dominant energy superpower on the planet.” Enbridge has made similar arguments: in February 2025, the company raised concerns with the tariff and highlighted the role of crude oil, claiming the need for “more affordable and reliable energy.”
InfluenceMap analysis finds that the fossil fuel, heavy industry, and utilities sectors have actively pushed to weaken the EU’s Delegated Act on low-carbon hydrogen. Efforts have focused on securing exemptions for existing hydrogen facilities and loosening certification standards. Currently, the majority of hydrogen is produced using fossil fuels—a weak Delegated Act increases the risk that hydrogen production will continue to produce significant greenhouse gas emissions. This advocacy aligns with broader industry strategies to maintain fossil fuel infrastructure, as seen in InfluenceMap’s recent analysis of the global campaign to prolong gas use in buildings.
Push for Exemptions: Companies including BASF, Equinor, ExxonMobil, and Snam, alongside industry groups FuelsEurope, Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE), and Hydrogen Europe, have advocated for a “grandfathering clause” to exempt existing hydrogen facilities from the 70% GHG emissions reduction threshold and strict life-cycle accounting requirements.
Loosening Certification Rules: Companies such as Air Liquide, Bosch, Engie, Fortum, and Shell, as well as industry groups like the American Petroleum Institute, have pushed for more flexible certification of hydrogen produced with electricity from the grid, including from renewable sources. The inclusion of renewables conflicts with renewable hydrogen rules set in 2023, which set stricter requirements to ensure renewable hydrogen contributes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Support for Stronger Rules: Renewable energy firms like EDF, Enel, and Iberdrola have backed rigorous emissions standards, advocating for hydrogen production that avoids new fossil gas expansion.
Many of the actors negatively influencing the Hydrogen Delegated Act have also opposed policies promoting the full electrification of buildings, instead favoring fossil gas—including Fortum, Snam, Eurogas, FuelsEurope, and Gas Infrastructure Europe. These findings highlight how fossil fuel interests are working to shape EU climate policy in ways that could delay meaningful emissions reductions. The EU Council is currently discussing the proposal, with adoption expected later in 2025. For a deeper dive into industry lobbying on this issue, visit our policy page.
InfluenceMap's new report finds that the oil & gas and utilities sectors are leveraging a common fossil fuel playbook to prolong the use of fossil gas in buildings globally. Such advocacy is counter to Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and International Energy Agency guidance and to the growing body of research documenting the direct links between negative public health outcomes and the use of gas-based appliances indoors.
A new report by InfluenceMap shows how the oil & gas and utilities industries are leveraging a common fossil fuel playbook to prolong the use of fossil gas in buildings globally.
The report describes obstructive corporate engagement on recent and ongoing buildings policies in three regions—the Victoria Gas Substitution Roadmap in Australia, the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive in the European Union, and subnational gas bans in the United States. As illustrated in the graphic below, InfluenceMap’s analysis suggests that fossil fuel industries are strategically employing geographically nuanced, misleading narratives to prevent policy action and generate public support for the prolonged role of gas in the buildings sector.
The below general policy update highlights several executive and legislative actions since President Trump’s inauguration in January 2025 to overturn, delay, or weaken existing US federal climate regulations, including those established during the Biden administration.
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)’s climate programs and tax credits are at risk. Following President Trump’s funding freeze, which slowed or stopped climate grant funding from the IRA, Congress is in budget reconciliation talks that are broadly targeting the law’s tax-related provisions. The reconciliation process allows the majority party to pass federal budget legislation with a simple majority; both chambers, the House and the Senate, need to reconcile, or agree upon, their respective proposals before legislation can be passed. The seriousness of this attack on the IRA is underscored by rising corporate advocacy on the issue, with a wide range of companies and industry groups advocating for policymakers to defend the clean energy, hydrogen, and carbon capture and storage tax credits.
The IRA’s methane fee is specifically at risk of repeal. On February 28th, Congress passed a Congressional Review Act resolution to repeal the methane fee. However, additional steps are required to roll back the fee, including by targeting the relevant parts of the IRA via reconciliation. InfluenceMap is continuing to track engagement on the methane fee on its policy page here.
The US Department of Energy (DOE) reversed the Biden administration’s pause on pending liquefied natural gas (LNG) export applications. In addition, the DOE extended the comment period on its 2024 LNG Export Study, released in December 2024 under the Biden administration. The study evaluates the contribution of LNG exports to the public interest, concluding that LNG projects are associated with widespread cost increases and dangers to public health. Comments on the study can be submitted until March 20, 2025.
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) implementation regulations are under fire: The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) has proposed an interim rule that rolls back NEPA implementation regulations for federal agencies, effectively allowing each agency to rely on its own guidance for conducting reviews of projects, including energy infrastructure. The proposed rule heeds a request from President Trump’s “Unleashing American Energy” Executive Order and is accompanied by an agency memo that directs federal agencies to “prioritize efficiency and certainty over any other policy objectives that could add delays and ambiguity to the permitting process.” Removing these established regulations may be a direct door to allowing fossil fuel infrastructure expansion without the required, detailed environmental review process. The public comment period is open until March 27, 2025—the CEQ states that while it will take comments into consideration, this interim rule is scheduled to take effect on April 11, 2025. Given that the Biden administration’s NEPA revisions and the authority of CEQ are in litigation, the legal standing of these changes is unclear. InfluenceMap continues to track engagement on NEPA and broader permitting reform on its policy page here.
