Climate Policy Engagement Analysis
Climate Lobbying Overview: The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) has advocated negatively on multiple forms of US climate policy, while strongly advocating for the ongoing role of fossil fuels in the energy mix. Notably, NAM opposed both the federal Build Back Better and Inflation Reduction Act and has consistently pushed for permitting reform to facilitate increased investment in fossil fuels. In addition to legislative and regulatory lobbying, the association has an active legal program for influencing court cases in its members' interests.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: The NAM demonstrates limited top-line messaging. As of June 2023, its website takes an unclear position on government regulation to respond to climate change, calling for bipartisan legislative solutions rather than regulatory intervention. Previously, the organization offered support for limiting warming to 2 degrees Celsius, as evident in a piece titled “The Promise Ahead” published in January 2021. The same paper offers some support for the Paris Agreement.
Engagement with Climate-Related Policy: The NAM has opposed various forms of climate policy. In a December 2024 letter to the incoming Trump administration, the group opposed more stringent energy efficiency standards from the Department of Energy and advocated against the US taking an ambitious position on the UN Global Plastics Treaty, emphasizing the economic benefits of plastics and the need to promote "demand-side policies" to prevent plastic pollution. In addition, in a February 2022 coalition letter, the NAM urged urged ratification of the Kigali Amendment to phase down the production and use of HFCs. However, in February 2023, the NAM submitted comments to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) calling for a weaker supplementary regulation on methane emissions. In October 2023 US federal regulatory comments, NAM advocated to delay the agency’s proposed Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards and advocated for changes that would reduce the stringency of the regulation. The NAM also criticized the EPA’s initial proposal methane regulation in January 2022. In February 2023, the NAM submitted comments suggesting that the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council (FAR)’s was acting beyond its legal boundary in proposing a rule that would direct federal contractors to set science-based targets to reduce their GHG emissions. In an August 2022 press release, NAM CEO Jay Timmons expressed “staunch” opposition to the Inflation Reduction Act due to its tax provisions, without commenting on its climate measures.
Positioning on Energy Transition: The NAM has maintained a negative position on the energy transition, with a strong focus on permitting reform that facilitates increased investment in fossil fuels. In a December 2024 letter to the incoming Trump administration, the group advocated for a repeal of the Biden administration's LNG export ban, accelerated permitting for energy projects, and replacement of the EPA's power plant rules. In the same letter, the NAM opposed a complete rollback of the Inflation Reduction Act's tax credits and advocated for "long term regulatory certainty" in the EPA's standards for light-, medium-, and heavy-duty vehicles. In a May 2023 press release, the NAM opposed the EPA’s proposed power plant regulations, stating they would be detrimental to the economy. That same month, the NAM’s VP of Energy and Resources Policy, Brandon Farris, testified to the House subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment in support of reforms to improve the process for approving all energy projects, including fossil gas. In March 2023, the association tweeted in support of H.R.1, referring directly to a separate tweet that explicitly outlined the bill's intent to increase oil and gas production.
In June 2022, the NAM signed a joint letter to President Biden urging the government to adopt the next Five-Year program for offshore oil and gas production. The letter highlighted the Ukraine crisis as an example of the necessity of energy leadership and cited the crisis as justification for the expansion of fossil fuel production. The NAM submitted another letter in June 2022 to President Biden advocating for the expedition of the permitting process for onshore and offshore oil and gas production, suggesting that such would strengthen domestic fuel supplies and support the production of electricity – a position that does not align with IPCC recommendations to urgently phase out fossil fuels.
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 company’s scores each week, the summary above is updated periodically. This summary was last updated in Q4 2024.