Climate Policy Engagement Analysis
Climate Policy Engagement Overview: The Australian Energy Producers (AEP), formerly the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association, is highly and negatively engaged with Australian climate change policy. The organization has taken positions against the need for stringent regulatory intervention to address climate change, and has particularly opposed measures to transition the economy away from fossil fuels.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: AEP’s top-line messaging on climate policy is mixed. While the association states support for Net Zero emissions by 2050 on its corporate website, it also appeared to emphasize the competitive disadvantage of responding to climate change in its May 2024 response to the Climate Change Authority's 2024 Issues paper. The association also does not appear to fully support policy to respond to climate change. For example, in its June 2025 comments to the Productivity Commission, AEP supported a market-based response over a policy response and supported a ‘technology-neutral’ approach.
Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: AEP does not appear to support climate-related regulations in Australia. The association has repeatedly called for fossil gas to be included in the Capacity Investment Scheme, a renewable energy subsidy, such as in its February 2025 comments on the National Electricity Wholesale Market Settings Review. It also opposed Victoria’s Renewable Gas Directions Paper in February 2025, stating that it does not support policies that mandate the use of fuels that “are not yet technically or commercially viable”.
On greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets, AEP appeared to support targets with major exceptions. In May 2024 comments to the Climate Change Authority, it appeared to not fully support an ambitious 2035 GHG target, stressing the need to avoid an unachievable target and stressing the impact of such a target on heavy emitters. Similarly, in a July 2023 submission to the Climate Change Authority, AEP stated that targets should be realistic and advocated for emission reductions from achieved through switching from coal to gas using Australian LNG exports to be considered, but while also advocating for resulting scope 3 emissions not be included in Australia’s Nationally Determined Contribution’s (NDC).
Positioning on Energy Transition AEP is strategically engaged with policy related to the Australian energy mix and continues to advocate for new investments in fossil gas supply and production. In its August 2025 submission to the Gas Market Review, AEP stated that any domestic gas reservation needs to support new supply in fossil fuels while emphasizing the impact of policy barriers and activist “lawfare” on limits to new fossil gas supply, all while calling on policymakers to address any “intentional and unintentional misrepresentations of the role of gas”. Similarly, in its June 2025 comments on the Gas Infrastructure Options Report, AEP called on the electricity market operator to take action when government policy attempts to limit future fossil fuel supply. In April 2025, AEP advocated to the proposed pillar of “switching from fossil fuels” to be removed from the Australian Energy Market Operator’s (AEMO) 2025 draft Inputs, Assumptions and Scenarios Report in comments on the policy. AEP has also advocated for reforms to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act to facilitate new fossil fuel infrastructure, such as in its June 2025 comments to the Productivity Commission. At the State level, AEP opposed the proposed phase out of gas connections in Buildings in Victoria in March 2025 comments to policymakers while in April 2025 comments, the association advocated for fossil fuels to be recognized in Victoria’s Climate Change Strategy.
InfluenceMap collects and assesses evidence of corporate climate policy engagement on a weekly basis, depending on the availability of information from each specific data source (for more information, see our methodology). While this analysis flows through to the association’s scores each week, the summary above is updated periodically. This summary was last updated in Q3 2025.