Strategic responses to climate change: A longitudinal analysis of energy company climate reporting

This paper explores how European energy companies, some of the world’s largest emitters of greenhouse gases, have understood and responded to climate change in recent years. Finding solutions to climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing governments, corporations, and society. In response to this challenge, many companies have declared their net zero carbon ambitions by 2050. However, recent studies suggest that we need drastic climate action by 2030, not 2050. Understanding a company’s framing of climate change and their responses to it can provide a good indicator for how effective a company will be in achieving positive climate change outcomes in the future. We explore how ten European energy companies have framed climate change from 2010-2019, the actions they’ve taken in response to climate change, and what this may signal for future climate change responses in the energy sector. Through analysing 111 energy company sustainability reports, we propose a new framework (The Climate Framing Framework) that identifies four inter-related frames that energy companies use to make sense of, and respond to, climate change. We illustrate the actions that align with these four dominant climate change frames and explore how energy company framing has either stagnated, evolved, or rewound over time. Finally, by exploring the triggers that stimulated changes in framing, we draw attention to how the actions of government, civil society, and energy companies themselves can influence future climate change responses.