Why business leaders should advocate for science-aligned climate policy

Around the world, climate change is disrupting business, compelling companies to rethink how they operate. As leading businesses pivot to new models, they are reaping climate and financial rewards.

In Brazil, for instance, global food company Danone expanded its regenerative dairy farming practices from 22 hectares in 2021 to 1,400 hectares by 2023, leading to a 50% boost in farm productivity and a 13% increase in farmers' net income.

As climate-related risks such as stranded assets increasingly threaten bottom lines, business leaders are taking further steps to decarbonize through their transition plans. Recent polling suggests that 97% of business leaders support the transition away from fossil fuels to renewable energy.

Businesses understand that policy incentives like subsidies drive down costs of new technologies, as the world has seen with renewables, EVs, batteries and more to come. Governments who build policies around this understanding will drive national competitiveness; those that do not will cede market share.

Government policy incentives, such as subsidies and green procurement, can ensure everyone is stepping up to the urgency of the climate challenge. But while global climate laws are on the rise, geopolitical shifts are spreading misinformation and creating policy inconsistency. In this turbulent context, the world needs business leaders to advocate for science-aligned climate policy.

Despite the need for clear and consistent policy, lobbying by vested interests and the spread of misleading information are grabbing the attention of citizens, corporates and politicians. For example, climate misinformation and disinformation on Facebook receives an estimated 1.36 million daily views. These false narratives cast doubt on the science, favour vested interests and hinder informed policy-making.

Bad-faith actors are disrupting business lobbying. InfluenceMap found 2,400 instances in one year of oil and gas companies and their industry associations making anti-transition arguments to their shareholders, policy-makers and the public, resulting in the weakening and delay of key climate policies.

Disingenuous advocacy on this scale is a huge barrier to policy-making; it requires a robust rebuttal from future-oriented businesses, alongside civil society and policy experts. In Australia, for example, recent research found that cross-sector corporate support outweighed fossil fuel opposition to the key climate and energy initiatives under the Future Made in Australia Plan.

Businesses require easy access to clear, reliable information on which to base their advocacy; a science-based approach is essential to countering false narratives. Reports by the UN’s climate science body, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), provide clear recommendations for public and private interventions in the transition to low-emission, resilient economies.

The International Climate Councils Network is a forum of 25 national advisory councils consisting of policy experts, scientists and economists. From South Africa to South Korea, and Guatemala to the UK, climate councils provide evidence-based policy advice to their national governments. Operating for longer than the usual four- to five-year cycles of government, they offer business certainty for long-term policy direction.

For example, in Australia, the Climate Change Authority’s sectoral pathways have helped investors to plan for climate-aligned transitions in relevant sectors – to avoid risk and boost investment opportunities. The Chilean Scientific Climate Committee’s work on NDCs has aligned ministers and the wider community around common recommendations and objectives. By following science-based advice from the IPCC and policy experts like climate councils, corporate leaders can reduce the business risks of a delayed energy transition.

Corporates need to speak up and make the case publicly that climate policies not only reduce climate risk, but also lead us towards a cleaner, more prosperous world. The more people hear this from brands they trust, the more we can counter the climate misinformation all around us. Advocating for science-based climate policies ensures businesses can plan properly and move further and faster towards a climate-safe future.

There are plenty of tools available to support businesses in their advocacy. InfluenceMap provides science-based benchmarks for climate policy engagement, and forums like We Mean Business Coalition, WBCSD, Climate Action for Associations and the Corporate Leaders Network share best practice.

As the most trusted institutions in 2025, businesses have a “licence to act”, but it’s difficult to do so in isolation. Government, scientists and industry working together to chart a path forward is key. At COP29, the UK government announced its new national climate target of an 81% emissions cut by 2035, based on advice from the UK’s independent Climate Change Committee. This move was supported by a chorus of business voices both in the UK and internationally. Positive alliances, combining evidence-based policy advice with business advocacy, can support governments in key decisions related to climate.

We are entering a new era of geopolitics where climate denial and polarization are on the rise. The only real path forward is the urgent implementation of science-aligned policy, with business, the scientific community and civil society collaborating to this end.