Climate Policy Engagement Analysis
Climate Policy Engagement Overview: The Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA) has had some engagement with climate and energy policies in Japan, including some support for energy efficiency and mixed positions on renewable energy legislation, GHG emissions targets, and the energy transition.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: JEITA appears to have overall positive positions in its top-line messaging on climate policy, although with some ambiguities. In May 2022, JEITA published a joint statement on its website calling on the G7 countries to take “urgent action” to limit global warming to 1.5°C. In another joint statement published on its website in April 2021, JEITA advocated for the G7 countries to strive for a “high level of ambition (and alignment) in Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC)” toward the UN Paris Agreement. On the other hand, in an opinion paper submitted in response to a call for public comments by the Japanese government in October 2021, there was some ambiguity around JEITA’s position on IPCC-demanded emissions reductions, as it stated that “the road to carbon neutrality in 2050 is a tough one,” but “all companies and citizens” must act as if a decarbonized society is “their own business.” In the same paper, JEITA supported the development of human resources to achieve the 2050 carbon neutral goal, but did not specify its position on a wider range of policy solutions.
Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: JEITA has had mixed engagement with renewable energy policies and GHG emissions targets, and has recently engaged positively on energy efficiency legislation. In opinion papers published on its website in October 2021 and submitted to the government, JEITA appeared to support renewable energy legislation with some exceptions, emphasizing the need for “the maximum introduction of renewable energy” at a “reasonable cost.” One of these opinion papers also supported the Japanese government’s 2030 and 2050 emissions targets, stating that “all measures and initiatives” should be mobilized toward their achievement. More recently, JEITA stated on its website in 2022 that it set targets for the industry in response to the government’s 2030 and 2050 GHG emissions reduction targets, but it did not specify whether it supported the legislative targets.
JEITA has supported energy efficiency incentives and investment policy, requesting policy incentives such as taxation in a METI hearing in April 2021.
Positioning on Energy Transition: JEITA appears to hold mixed positions on the energy transition. In a METI hearing in February 2021, JEITA appeared to support a transition to a low-carbon power sector, including the procurement of renewable energy. On the other hand, it appeared to support policies with unclear impacts on the energy mix in its policy paper submitted to the government in October 2021, such as the expansion of non-fossil certificates to include fuels.
At a press conference in December 2021, JEITA Chairman Tsunakawa appeared to support the electrification of transportation, as he announced the results of a study conducted by JEITA suggesting that fields including electric vehicles and automated driving can contribute significantly to decarbonization.
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.