Climate Policy Engagement Analysis
Climate Policy Engagement Overview: JERA has high engagement on various climate policies in Japan with negative positions. JERA actively advocates for continued role of LNG and ammonia co-firing with coal without placing a clear timeline on the phase out of fossil fuels.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: JERA demonstrates mixed top-line messaging on climate change. On their Corporate Website accessed in December 2024, it acknowledged the relationship between human activity, climate change and climate induced weather phenomena, and supported the goals of the Paris Agreement. However in an article in Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun published in December 2024, the CEO Okuda voiced their concern stating “rapid decarbonisation in this situation could lead to the offshore transfer of production bases, leading to industrial hollowing out” and thus appeared to support a less urgent approach to GHG emissions reduction.
Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: JERA appears to have both positive and negative positions on, or engagement with, climate-related regulations in Japan. In an article in Jiji Press in November 2024, CEO of JERA, Okuda broadly supported the government’s Green House Gas (GHG) reduction target for 2035. In a comment submitted by JERA for the Working Group on Offshore Wind Power Promotion held in September 2024, JERA communicated the need for government intervention to support a transition towards renewables. However in an interview in September 2024, CEO Okuda appeared to not support a carbon border adjustment mechanism, expressing the concern of “lead(ing) to a loss of price competitiveness in markets such as the expanding emerging economies”.
Positioning on Energy Transition: JERA demonstrates active and largely negative engagement with Japanese energy transition policies, supporting the continued development of fossil fuels including gas, while also supporting the expansion of blending ammonia with coal and hydrogen with LNG.
In the Ministry of Energy, Trade and Industry (METI) of Japan Subcommittee on Electricity and Gas Basic Policy in June 2024, JERA appeared to advocate for government support on the stable procurement of LNG. In the February meeting and September 2024 meeting of METI Energy Structure Transformation Working Group, JERA appeared to promote ammonia on the basis of co-firing with coal and for use in electricity generation with ambiguity on the need to decarbonise its production.
In a 1676949 press conference held in November 2024, JERA CEO Okuda appeared to raise concern on the risk of “rapid decarbonisation”, and appeared to stress the importance of thermal power (including LNG and coal) to be included in the next Strategic Energy Plan. In the 2024 Integrated Report published in September 2024, Okuda appeared to advocate for new constructions of thermal power plants with ambiguity around the timeline for the phaseout of fossil fuels and on the basis of co-firing with ammonia or hydrogen. In a press conference held in May 2024, the Okuda stated, “In Asia, it is first important to firmly support the expansion of LNG adoption” while emphasizing stable supply of energy has not been achieved in Asia. However, the statement was mentioned without placing clear conditions on the need for CCS or methane emission abatement.
In the Greetings message on their Corporate website accessed in December 2024, Chairman Kani appeared to call for stakeholders to “resonate in its mission and vision” to establish LNG, hydrogen and ammonia value chain in Japan without specifying the need to decarbonise. In an interview with PwC in July 2024 and in interview with Nikkei Business in August 2024 an, Kani emphasized concerns over the economic and technical feasibility of a transition towards renewables while emphasizing on geographical issue, and appeared to advocate for the continued use of fossil fuel infrastructure on the basis of ammonia co-firing and utilization of CCS.
Industry Association Governance: JERA did not disclose a full list of industry association membership in its corporate reporting, neither did it publish a review of its alignment with industry associations on climate policy. In its 2023 CDP submission, JERA disclosed membership to only two industry association: Japan Business Federation (Keidanren) and Electric Power Council for a Low Carbon Society (ELCS).
JERA retains memberships in industry associations negatively engaged on climate policy, including Australian Energy Producers in Australia. JERA is also a founding member and board member of Asia Natural Gas and Energy Association (ANGEA), which displays negative positions on the transition of the energy mix in Asia Pacific.
InfluenceMap collects and assesses evidence of corporate climate policy engagement on a weekly basis, depending on the availability of information from each specific data source (for more information see our methodology). While this analysis flows through to the company’s scores each week, the summary above is updated periodically. This summary was last updated in Q1 2025.