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.
We adjusted the terminology used to describe the queries running down the left-hand side of our scoring matrix and added additional explanatory text to the info-boxes. This has no impact on the scores and methodology. It has been done following user feedback to improve clarity.
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
JERA is a Class 2 Member of JCOAL. Considering Class 2 member as executive member and scored as 4 (Japan Specific).
not specified
--no extract--
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
JERA is a Class 2 Member of JCOAL. Considering Class 2 member as executive member and scored as 4 (Japan Specific).
not specified
--no extract--
In this section, we depict graphically the relationships the corporation has with trade associations, federations, advocacy groups and other third parties who may be acting on their behalf to influence climate change policy. Each of the columns above represents one relationship the corporation appears to have with such a third party. In these columns, the top, dark section represents the strength of the relationship the corporation has with the influencer. For example if a corporation's senior executive also held a key role in the trade association, we would deem this to be a strong relationship and it would be on the far left of the chart above, with the weaker ones to the right. Click on these grey shaded upper sections for details of these relationships. The middle section contains a link to the organization score details of the influencer concerned, so you can see the details of its climate change policy influence. Click on the middle sections for for details of the trade associations. The lower section contains the organization score of that influencer, the lower the more negatively it is influencing climate policy.
Open PDF file of Data Source
Climate Lobbying Overview: JERA appears to have limited engagement on specific climate-related regulation and energy policy. JERA’s positions on the energy transition are limited – whilst stating strong support for the transition from fossil fuels, they also appear to strongly support LNGs rather than a transition towards renewables. In addition, JERA retains membership to industry groups such as Keidanren which have lobbied negatively on climate policies.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: JERA’s top-line messaging on climate policy is mixed. In April 2020, JERA showed recognition that Japan must meet its commitment under the Paris Agreement, but its own position on the treaty is not clear. In the 2021 Corporate Communication book released in September, it also recognizes the urgency of responding to climate change but is unclear whether it supports IPCC demanded emissions reductions.
Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: JERA’s engagement with climate-related regulations appears to be limited and mixed. At a Ministry of Environment (MOE) committee in April 2020, JERA has emphasized its support for the energy conservation act, but also appears to have urged the government to develop a CO2 and emissions reduction plan in a way that would retain coal power in the mix.
Positioning on Energy Transition: JERA appears to have a mostly negative position on the energy transition. In a Nikkei article in July 2021, the company appeared to advocate for a longer transition timeline, arguing that “now is not the time to narrow down” the energy solution to one, and that ammonia could be used with coal or gas-fired power plants. It emphasized hydrogen and ammonia blending as an alternative fuel of fossil fuels in its press release in April 2022. In a Nikkei interview in November 2021, JERA President Onoda suggested that burning coal-fired power with ammonia and gas-fired power with hydrogen will reduce CO2 emissions, seemingly as an alternative to renewables in order to decarbonize the energy sector in Asia. In JERA’s December 2021 press release, it argued that Asian countries need to maintain the use of fossil fuel energy in order to meet the increasing electricity demand and stabilize the energy supply. JERA participates in two major ammonia-related study groups held by METI, however, the meeting minutes are not fully disclosed so InfluenceMap is unable to assess the company's engagement. In a Yahoo! Finance report from January 2022, JERA Managing Executive Officer Satoshi Yajima appeared to support an expanded role of floating offshore wind power generation in Japan.
Industry Association Governance: JERA did not disclose its board nor memberships to trade association to which it belongs, nor its climate-relevant policy positions and lobbying activities on its website. As of June 2022, JERA has not submitted the CDP Climate Change questionnaire. From the research conducted, it was found that JERA is a member of Japan Energy Association and Keidanren. Keidanren has lobbied negatively on many strands of climate change regulation in Japan.