Climate Policy Engagement Analysis
Climate Policy Engagement Overview: Nippon Steel Corporation (Nippon Steel) is strategically engaged with climate change policy. Despite having some positive top-line messaging on climate policy recently, Nippon Steel advocates for fossil fuel thermal power alongside nuclear energy while appearing to not support renewable energy, and also appears to have conflicting positions on decarbonizing steel production. Nippon Steel retains memberships and executive positions in several industry associations opposing climate policy, including the Japan Iron and Steel Federation.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: While Nippon Steel has historically taken negative positions in its top-line communications on climate, it recently displays more positive or ambiguous positions. Nippon Steel supported Japan’s 2050 carbon neutrality target in its April 2025 policy positions disclosure on its website. It also supported policy packages to achieve both carbon neutrality and industrial competitiveness in its 2024 integrated report published in September 2024, and supported government regulation for a circular economy in a September 2023 Ministry of Environment (MOE) hearing. Nippon Steel has historically opposed carbon pricing, for instance in 2019 and 2021, however in its April 2025 policy positions disclosure, it appeared to promote support measures for industry under Japan’s Growth-Oriented Carbon Pricing, while unclear on timelines, price levels, or regulatory mechanisms in line with IPCC guidance.
Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: Between 2018-2022, Nippon Steel consistently opposed policies such as the carbon tax, emissions trading system (ETS), and feed-in tariff for renewable energy. However, InfluenceMap found limited evidence of Nippon Steel’s engagement on these policies, with mostly ambiguous positions in 2024-2025. Nippon Steel took an unclear position on the ETS under Japan’s Green Transformation (GX) 2040 Vision in its April 2025 policy positions disclosure. On the other hand, in a March 2025 opinion article in the Nikkan Kogyo newspaper, an advisor to Nippon Steel appeared to support the ETS.
Nippon Steel appears to advocate for domestic and global standards for green steel, seemingly based on less ambitious timelines for decarbonization than recommended by the IPCC, for instance at a May 2025 MOE hearing. At an April 2025 hearing with the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI), Nippon Steel’s president advocated for the global standardization of “GX Steel” based on mass balance methodology, but was unclear whether this is aligned with the IPCC’s guidance.
On circular economy, Nippon Steel’s advisor supported product recycling policies in a January 2025 opinion article. In a June 2025 MOE hearing on the same policy plan, Nippon Steel’s executive vice president appeared to support solar power equipment recycling with minor exceptions, emphasizing the need to consider various perspectives.
Positioning on Energy Transition: Nippon Steel appears to not support a full transition to renewable energy, and advocates for a continued role for fossil fuel thermal power alongside nuclear energy. At a June 2025 METI hearing after the adoption of Japan’s 7th Strategic Energy Plan (SEP), Nippon Steel supported nuclear power and CCS technology, but was unclear on a full energy transition and the specific applications for CCS. At July 2024 METI hearings on the SEP, Nippon Steel advocated for the construction of fossil gas-fired thermal power plants alongside nuclear and renewable energy but while emphasizing “extremely unfavorable” conditions for renewables, and advocated for long-term fossil gas contracts.
Nippon Steel appears to have conflicting positions on decarbonizing steel production, supporting some decarbonization technologies while promoting hydrogen, ammonia, thermal power, and coking coal use, with ambiguity around their decarbonization. At a May 2025 MOE hearing, Nippon Steel supported the increased use of steel scrap in electric arc furnaces (EAFs), CO2 emissions reductions from blast furnaces, and direct reduced iron (DRI) steelmaking with green hydrogen, but emphasized limitations and appeared to support a continued role for coking coal alongside CCUS, without specifying CCUS uses aligned with IPCC guidance. At the same hearing, Nippon Steel appeared to advocate for support measures based on less ambitious decarbonization timelines than recommended by the IPCC. At an April 2025 METI hearing, Nippon Steel also promoted an expanded role for hydrogen and ammonia in steelmaking, without specifying a position on their decarbonization. At the same hearing, Nippon Steel advocated for support measures for "green steel for GX promotion" based on the mass balance method, but was unclear whether this was in line with IPCC guidance. Nippon Steel also appeared to promote thermal power alongside nuclear energy to power EAFs at a May 2024 METI hearing.
Industry Association Governance: Nippon Steel has published a partial account of its indirect engagement in its disclosure published in June 2025, including the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren), Japan Iron and Steel Federation (JISF), and World Steel Association. However, Nippon Steel does not appear to provide an account for over three industry associations actively engaged on climate policy, including the Japan Carbon Frontier Organization (JCOAL) and Japan Chemical Industry Association. Nippon Steel holds executive positions in Keidanren, JISF, and JCOAL, all of which have engaged negatively with climate policy. A detailed assessment of the Nippon Steel's review of its climate policy engagement can be found on InfluenceMap's CA100+ Investor Hub here.
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 Q3 (Jul-Sep) 2025.