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: Japan Natural Gas Association (JNGA) appears to have limited engagement with climate and energy policy in Japan. It appears to show some support for the national Carbon Neutral 2050 goal, but it is unclear whether it supports near term actions to achieve this. The association has also continuously supported continuous use of natural gas while also showing support towards implementation of CCS with some ambiguities around its use and timings.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: JNGA appears to have broadly positive top-line messaging on climate policy. In a statement published on its website in January 2021, JNGA’s chairman Kajita appeared to show some support for the national 2050 climate neutrality targets, stating the sector will do its best to support the goal. However, his statement does not state the dates, and is unclear whether he is supporting near term action to achieve these goals.
Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: InfluenceMap has found no recent evidence on JNGA’s positions towards, or engagement with, specific climate related regulation. At the Ministry of Energy, Trade and Industry's (METI) Resources, Fuel, Oil and Natural Gas Subcommittee held in October 2019, JNGA appeared to support government initiative on decarbonization activities, but it is unclear if they are supportingregulation to decarbonize the economy.
Positioning on Energy Transition: JNGA appears to have misaligned position towards energy transition, appearing to promote the role of fossil gas in the energy mix. InJune 2020, JNGA’s chairman Kajita supported an increased role for natural gas in the energy supply in his statement published on the website. As a member of METI’s Resources, Fuel, Oil and Natural Gas Subcommittee, JNGA have made statements in February 2021 in support of a transition away from coal in a way that appears to promote gas, blue hydrogen and CCS use over other zero carbon options. In another METI committee meeting in April 2022, it has also suggested support towards implementation of CCS, but with some ambiguities around conditions and timelines for ensuring deployment. In 2022, the new JNGA chairman Fujii stated in the inauguration greeting that it support for increased role of natural gas in the energy supply, especially in the perspective of energy stability.