Climate Lobbying Overview: ENEOS actively engages on various climate policies in Japan, and despite positive top-line messaging on 2050 carbon neutrality, takes highly negative positions on the energy mix, carbon pricing, and the electrification of vehicles. ENEOS holds key climate positions within the influential cross-sector industry association Keidanren and a number of petroleum-related lobbying associations in Japan, which negatively engage on various strands of climate policy.

Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: ENEOS’s top-line statements on climate policy are broadly positive. On its website as of July 2022, ENEOS recognized some elements of climate change science and acknowledged certain climate regulatory trends driven by the Paris Agreement. At a round table on 2050 carbon neutrality organized by Keidanren in June 2021, the former Chairman of ENEOS (resigned in August 2022) Tsutomu Sugimori offered strong top line support for Japan’s 2030 GHG targets and 2050 carbon neutrality targets, and asked the government for broad regulatory and financial support towards technology solutions. In a pamphlet for the November 2021 Energy Symposium organized by ENEOS and attended by Japanese government officials, the company supported the limiting of global average warming to 1.5 degrees and appeared to generally support the UNFCCC process, including the Paris Agreement.

However, a policy proposal signed by the Chairman Sugimori which was presented to a group of Diet members in November 2021 on behalf of three petroleum industry groups, stated that Prime Minister Suga’s announcement on 2050 carbon neutrality caused “great concern” to the industry.

Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: ENEOS has engaged negatively with climate policy in Japan, with frequently opposition to carbon pricing policies, including carbon tax and the emissions trading scheme (ETS). Speaking as the Chair of the Petroleum Association of Japan (PAJ) in June 2022, ENEOS former Chairman Sugimori strongly opposed a carbon tax on the grounds that it undermines the “3E+S principles” (energy security, economic efficiency, environment and safety). He similarly opposed carbon taxes in a PAJ press conference in January 2022. Likewise in a PAJ statement in December 2021, Chairman Sugimori reiterated that the oil sector opposed carbon taxes, as the effectiveness of existing “energy-related taxes such as the global warming tax, petroleum and coal tax, and gasoline tax” has “not been sufficiently verified”. In November 2021, Chairman Sugimori signed a policy proposal on behalf of PAJ, which was presented to a group of Diet members, strongly opposing the introduction of a carbon tax and calling for the “elimination” of taxes on petroleum. According to the most recent Integrated Report published in September 2022, ENEOS appears to support the continuous role of petroleum products during the full and stable transition period to using clean CO2-free energy.

In the Ministry of Economy Trade and Industry (METI) committee on resources and fuels in December 2021, Chairman Sugimori appeared to support energy efficiency legislation with minor exceptions by requesting the government to consider the difficulty of implementing new decarbonization technologies in the next 5 years. On its website, accessed on July 2022, ENEOS disclosed broad support for a list of energy and resource efficiency legislations.

In the METI committee on resources and fuels in April 2021, Chairman Sugimori had an unclear position on the 2030 46% GHG reduction target, stating that its review must be carried out in alignment with the energy mix.

Positioning on Energy Transition: ENEOS demonstrates active and negative engagement on the Japanese energy transition policies. In the METI committee on resources and fuels in July 2022, ENEOS Chairman called for an extension of subsidies for blended biogasoline and tax rebates on petroleum and coal. In the same committee in April 2022, the Chairman sited the war in Ukraine to advocate for the expansion and investment into the upstream development in the “mid-to-long term.” In a METI committee in December 2021, ENEOS chairman requested upstream investment “into hydrogen and CCS, in addition to oil and fossil fuels”. In its presentation on hydrogen infrastructure to the Ministry of Land Industry and Transport (MLIT) in May 2022, ENEOS appeared to promote the production of hydrogen from brown coal and CCS.

In a pamphlet for the November 2021 Energy Symposium organized by ENEOS and attended by Japanese government officials, the company promoted renewable energy and decarbonization of the non-power sector, while also supporting hydrogen production from brown coal, and the combustion of ammonia with coal in power generation with unclear decarbonization timelines. In its October 2021 press release, ENEOS stated that natural gas-fired thermal power stabilizes electricity supply by complementing renewables and “will play an important role in the gradual decarbonization process.” At a round table on 2050 carbon neutrality organized by Keidanren in June 2021, ENEOS Chairman supported the introduction of a feed-in-premium (FIP) and capacity mechanisms in order to promote renewable energy.

Strong concern about Japan’s 2035 vehicle electrification target was expressed in a policy proposal signed by ENEOS Chairman Sugimori which was presented to a group of Diet members in November 2021 on behalf of PAJ and two other petroleum industry groups.

Industry Association Governance: As of August 2022, ENEOS disclosed a list of affiliated industry associations on its website, including details of the type of membership held, but with limited details of how the company influences the associations’ climate change policy positions. ENEOS has not published a review of its industry association memberships’ alignment on climate change. In its CDP 2021 response, ENEOS disclosed its membership to two organizations, the Petroleum Association of Japan (PAJ) and the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren), both of which have active and negative climate policy engagement. ENEOS Chairman Sugimori was the PAJ and the Vice Chair of Keidanren until his resignation from the company in July 2022.

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 Q4 2022.