Investors and activists demand an end to funding for lobby groups that oppose climate legislation

Since the beginning of 2024, activist investors have filed at least 54 shareholder resolutions calling on companies to report their climate lobbying or political spending – including through trade associations — and how that lobbying aligns with the companies’ climate targets.

Since February, nearly 1,000 corporate and nonprofit sustainability professionals have signed a pledge, first presented at GreenBiz 24, to push their employers to lobby for pro-climate policies — and consider parting with trade groups that obstruct them.

These demands highlight a longstanding contradiction: Many companies have pledged to achieve net-zero carbon emissions, but they retain memberships in industrial lobby groups that block climate change policies.