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 Paper Association (JPA) appears to have limited and negative engagement with climate policies in Japan, while supporting broader climate commitments including the 2050 net zero target.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: JPA appears to have positive top-line messaging on climate change policy. JPA has supported a 2050 net-zero target within Paper Industry, as outlined in its strategy proposal published in January 2021 on its website, however, it is unclear whether they support economy-wide carbon neutrality in 2050. The chair of JPA also communicated broad support for efforts towards increased GHG emissions reductions. Moreover, during the METI committee held in March 2022, JPA has advocated for financial support by the government to achieve the energy transition, with unclarity on their position towards regulation regarding climate change.
Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: JPA appears to have limited engagement with climate-related regulations. In 2020, JPA opposed a carbon tax as well as supporting the abolishment of climate change mitigation tax, suggesting it will pose additional burden to businesses, in its demand paper on the tax reform plan published on its website. In the climate change long-term vision 2050, JPA appears to support government intervention on renewable energy policy in order to realize carbon neutrality in 2050 within paper industry.
Positioning on Energy Transition: In 2021 in its strategy proposal, JPA appear to be clearly supporting renewable energy generation, although it is unclear if supporting legislative measures. However, as stated in the same document, the entity seems to be supporting a transition to a low-carbon energy sector. JPA has attended METI’s thermal coal power working group meetings as a member in 2020. In these meetings, JPA appeared to suggest the transition of energy mix is too expensive, as well as supporting an increase in the use of bioenergy but not being clear on the deployment of alternative renewables alongside.
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.