We have strengthened the algorithm for discounting the impact older evidence on an organization's top-line metrics. Evidence from within the last two years is weighted the strongest and then gradually weighted out of the scoring calculations as it gets older. All evidence that is 5 years or older is completely removed from the scoring calculations. Users will still be able to view older evidence items that are archived the scoring matrix below, but these will not be impacting the organization's current scores.
We have expanded the list of climate policies we assess company engagement with to incorporate land-use related policy, referring to legislative or regulatory measures to enhance and protect ecosystems and land where carbon is being stored. Assessments under this category are currently underweighted in terms of their contribution to the overall company metrics. This weighting will be progressively increased over the next 6 months.
Climate Policy Engagement Overview: Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA) is actively engaged in climate policy with firmly negative positions, particularly on state-level policy in California, Washington, and Oregon. The association does not seem to support the transition of the energy mix, emphasizing the importance of oil and gas to the economy and opposing measures to limit fossil fuel development. CEO and President Catherine Reheis-Boyd is very active through blog posts and social media, often spearheading or reiterating the organization's staunchly pro-fossil fuel positions.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: WSPA is broadly unsupportive of climate policy in its top-line messaging. On its website, in a statement that is correct as of May 2024, WSPA states a strong preference for market-based approaches over command-and-control ones, and maintains that climate policy should be technology and fuel-neutral. A tweet from July 2023 indicates that WSPA does not support IPCC's need for drastic action, and appears to call for a less "hasty" transition. In May 2022, WSPA opposed California Air Resources Board (CARB)’s Climate Change Scoping Plan, suggesting that it would impose more bans and regulations, and arguing instead for a less stringent plan with flexible compliance options. WSPA has some, although limited, positive messaging on climate policy. WSPA President Catherine Reheis-Boyd, did appear to support the US rejoining the Paris Agreement, according to a January 2021 press release. The association also supports a carbon price, as stated on Twitter in March 2021.
Engagement with Climate-Related Policies: WSPA appears highly opposed to specific climate policies, particularly in California, Oregon, and Washington state. In a March 2023 press release Reheis-Boyd suggested that the Washington Cap-and-Trade Program is unnecessarily costly, and had minimal environmental benefit. WSPA released a fact sheet in December 2023 stating that the California Cap and Trade program will “dramatically” increase costs for customers, although it did not explicitly state its position on the program overall.
WSPA has generally opposed GHG emissions regulation in California and the US. In January 2023, WSPA President Catherine Reheis-Boyd released a statement on CARB's 2022 Scoping Plan Update, although the statement did not appear to clearly take a position on the GHG emissions regulations. Earlier in November 2022, WSPA intervened in Texas v EPA, submitting an amicus brief to oppose Revised 2023 and Later Model Year Light-Duty Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards. WSPA also submitted a joint Supreme Court amicus brief earlier in October 2022 for Ohio v EPA, opposing California’s ability to independently set emissions standards under the Clean Air Act. In July 2022, the association submitted comments to the Oregon Environmental Quality Commission expressing its opposition to the increased carbon intensity reduction targets in the state’s 2022 expansion of its Clean Fuels Program. In addition, while WSPA states support for market-based mechanisms such as carbon tax and cap and trade schemes on its website, it does so with the strong caveat that such policies take precedent over ‘command and control’ types of regulation. Despite top-line support for cap and trade, the group has engaged minimally with various emissions trading schemes in the states.
Positioning on Energy Transition: WSPA does not appear to support the transition of the energy mix, and a notable portion of WSPA’s policy-specific engagement on the energy mix is in opposition to bans or limits on new fossil fuel infrastructure and exploration, as well as opposing the electrification of transport in California. The group has continually supported the long-term role of fossil fuels in the energy mix, stating on its website in a statement that is still up as of May 2024, that fossil fuels will continue to play a significant role in the energy mix in the future. This position is misaligned with the IPCC guidance, which states that to limit warming to 1.5 °C, fossil fuels without CCS should make up no more than 3-7% of the energy mix by 2050.
Most recently in a February 2024 blog post, WSPA President and CEO Catherine Reheis-Boyd emphasized the high cost of zero and low-carbon technology. She suggested that efforts toward decarbonizing the energy mix should be moderated, arguing that expecting states to transition entirely to electric power is unrealistic. Reheis-Boyd also posited that current policies risk undermining job security in the oil and gas sector. In an earlier blog post from January 2024, Reheis-Boyd advocated for oil and gas in California, citing a Wall Street Journal article discussing Chevron's divestment from California, as detrimental to the state and a consequence of energy policies that were unfavorable to the oil and gas sector. In a joint floor alert in January 2024, WSPA opposed the hourly matching and additional requirements around hydrogen produced from renewables, as proposed in California Assembly Bill 1550. This would require hydrogen to be produced in the same hours when renewable energy is being generated and additionally would ensure hydrogen projects consume energy derived from new renewable projects only. In an April 2022 hearing with the California Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Water, WSPA opposed California’s proposal to terminate offshore oil and gas leasing. WSPA is equally unsupportive of efforts to decarbonize the transport sector.
WSPA has consistently advocated against the electrification of transport. In April 2023 comments, WSPA voiced strong opposition to CARB's proposed Advanced Clean Fleets regulation, specifically objecting to the inclusion of a 100% ZEV sales mandate for medium and heavy-duty vehicles by 2040. They emphasized several challenges and rejected a 100% ZEV mandate as early as 2036.
In an August 2023 blog post, WSPA supported the use of e-fuels or hydrogen for transport over the electrification of vehicles, suggesting that California’s EV mandate will be detrimental to consumers. Meanwhile, WSPA's opposition to the California Air Resources Board's (CARB) proposed ban on new diesel trucks was highlighted in a Press Enterprise article from April 2023. In a July 2022 press release, CEO Catherine Reheis-Boyd appeared to use the costs associated with electric vehicles (EVs) as an argument against transitioning the energy mix. The association reiterated this position in October 2022, tweeting that an EV mandate would be unaffordable for Californians.