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.
Climate Lobbying Overview: The Japan Mining Industry Association (JMIA) has engaged negatively on climate change policy. It has mixed positions in its top-line messaging on climate policy as well as on the energy transition; for instance, supporting an increase in renewable and nuclear energy in the Japanese energy mix while also advocating for fossil fuels such as LNG and crude oil. JMIA has also engaged negatively with the feed-in tariff (FIT) system for renewables.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: JMIA appears to hold mixed positions in its top-line messaging on climate policy. In a statement on its website in June 2021, JMIA supported the Japanese government’s 2050 carbon neutrality goal and stated that it agreed with the policies of the Green Growth Strategy for Carbon Neutrality by 2050. In a Ministry of the Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) hearing in March 2021, the then-chairman of JMIA, Naohisa Miyakawa, stated that “we will work together with the government to take on the challenge of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.” In a statement on JMIA’s website in April 2022, Chairman Takeshi Nou appeared to support 2050 carbon neutrality, but did not clearly support near-term action to achieve this. In METI hearings in April 2022 and December 2021, JMIA requested support from the Japanese government to secure supplies of nonferrous metals “in order to achieve carbon neutrality,” but did not specify whether it supported climate change regulation. However, in policy requests submitted to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), Ministry of the Environment (MOE), and Ministry of Finance (MOF) in July 2022, JMIA appeared to support voluntary initiatives over government regulation, as it requested “respect for the voluntary efforts of industry.” As of September 2022, JMIA does not appear to disclose its positions on climate change science nor the UN Climate Treaty.
Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: JMIA has only disclosed its positions on a limited number of policy items on its website, accessed in September 2022, and it has engaged negatively with the feed-in tariff (FIT), a policy mechanism aimed to accelerate investment in renewable energy. In its policy requests to the MLIT, MOE, and MOF in July 2022, JMIA requested the maintenance and expansion of exemptions from the FIT. JMIA Chairman Takeshi Nou also supported FIT levy exemptions in a message on JMIA’s website in April 2022.
There is some ambiguity in JMIA’s positions on energy efficiency and GHG emissions targets. In a message on JMIA’s website in April 2022, Chairman Takeshi Nou supported energy conservation subsidies from the government. In its policy requests submitted to the MLIT, MOE, and MOF in July 2022, JMIA requested that the development of energy-saving technologies be promoted, but did not specify a position on energy efficiency legislation. In a METI hearing in December 2021, JMIA shared its GHG emission reduction target for the industry, but was unclear whether it supported national GHG emissions targets.
Positioning on Energy Transition: JMIA appears to hold mixed positions on the energy transition. In its policy requests to the MLIT, MOE, and MOF in July 2022, JMIA supported “electricity derived from non-fossil power sources to achieve carbon neutrality,” in addition to nuclear power and geothermal energy. Likewise, in a message on JMIA’s website in April 2022, JMIA Chairman Takeshi Nou supported nuclear power, geothermal power, and renewable energy. However, in a METI hearing in July 2022, JMIA Chairman Nou requested measures to secure fossil fuels, including LNG and crude oil, alongside nuclear power. On its website, accessed in September 2022, JMIA supported geothermal energy in the Japanese energy mix, but did not specify a position on the need for policy to support it.
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.