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 Electrical Manufacturers' Association (JEMA) appears to be engaging on several strands of climate change and energy policy. JEMA appears to be somewhat consistent with IPCC, supporting the Paris Agreement and ambitious GHG emissions reduction targets towards carbon neutrality in 2050. It also appears to support energy saving policies and renewable energy legislation. However, the organization has communicated a negative position on the energy transition, pushing for continued use of thermal energy.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: JEMA appears to have relatively positive top-line messaging on climate policy. In its position paper published in March 2022, JEMA appears to be partially consistent with IPCC need for drastic action, advocating for emission reduction through innovative technologies, products and services, as well as through creation of policies that lead to investment, and reduce emissions in the value chain. In the same document, JEMA mentions about Paris Agreement, but remains unclear whether if it supports the treaty. In June 2022, the chairman of JEMA spoke in Nikkei article, that they support effort towards more ambitious GHG emissions reduction to become carbon neutral by 2050.
Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: JEMA appears to be active on engagement with climate-related regulations. In 2020, in its Position Paper, JEMA appears to support energy-saving policies in each country, and energy-saving measurement proposed by Japan. On its position statement submitted to METI in March 2022, JEMA has stated support for renewable energy legislation including the Feed-in Tariff (FIT) scheme and PPA. In a public comment submitted to METI in 2020, JEMA also appears to support renewable energy legislation, as well as in a comment submitted to METI in July 2021 and May 2022. In a February 2021 position paper published on its website, JEMA appears to have mixed position on renewable energy, while supporting renewable energy legislations, it also shows support towards reform that involves CO2 free hydrogen and ammonia.
Positioning on Energy Transition: JEMA appears to have negative position on the energy transition. In 2020, JEMA supported nuclear energy in its 2020 Business Plan but with no clear position on the energy mix in general. In the position paper submitted to the Agency of Natural Resources and Energy (ANRE) in May 2021, it emphasizes the sustained role on use of thermal energy in perspective of energy security and economic efficiency. In July 2021 public comment submitted to ANRE, it opposed the government’s intention of reducing fossil fuel, arguing that co-firing ammonia and hydrogen with coal will reduce the amount of GHG emission. In the position paper submitted to ANRE in January 2022, it also emphasized the importance of considering each countries’ situation and that in order to achieve both carbon neutrality and energy stability, sustaining the use of fossil fuel is necessary. It has also argued that the origin of ammonia production should not be limited for the time being as ‘fuel procurement will become difficult and investment in power sources may not proceed.
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.