TY - JOUR
T1 - Divestment trends in Japan’s international coal businesses
AU - Trencher, Gregory
AU - Downie, Christian
AU - Hasegawa, Koichi
AU - Asuka, Jusen
PY - 2020
Y1 - 2020
N2 - Continued investments in coal-fired power plants (CFPPs) and coal mining are incompatible with the Paris Agreement. As a major investor of both upstream coal mining and downstream CFPP construction, Japanese firms play a large role in sustaining the international coal market. Yet since mid-2018 numerous Japanese companies have announced a range of coal divestment policies. This situation, however, has not been unex-amined by scholarship. Additionally, divestment literature outside Japan has focused overwhelmingly on financial institutions rather than the roles of other industry players driving the coal market. To address this gap, this paper examines four industries comprising Japan’s international coal market (trading companies, electric utilities, plant equipment manufacturers and financial institutions) to empirically assess the extent of divestment behaviour and identify drivers and barriers. The empirical data reveal a slowdown, but not a cessation, of new and existing coal-related investments. Results also show that the extent of divestment trends can be largely explained by commercial factors, although institutional and structural factors are also at play. These findings have important policy implications.
AB - Continued investments in coal-fired power plants (CFPPs) and coal mining are incompatible with the Paris Agreement. As a major investor of both upstream coal mining and downstream CFPP construction, Japanese firms play a large role in sustaining the international coal market. Yet since mid-2018 numerous Japanese companies have announced a range of coal divestment policies. This situation, however, has not been unex-amined by scholarship. Additionally, divestment literature outside Japan has focused overwhelmingly on financial institutions rather than the roles of other industry players driving the coal market. To address this gap, this paper examines four industries comprising Japan’s international coal market (trading companies, electric utilities, plant equipment manufacturers and financial institutions) to empirically assess the extent of divestment behaviour and identify drivers and barriers. The empirical data reveal a slowdown, but not a cessation, of new and existing coal-related investments. Results also show that the extent of divestment trends can be largely explained by commercial factors, although institutional and structural factors are also at play. These findings have important policy implications.
U2 - 10.1016/j.rser.2020.109779
DO - 10.1016/j.rser.2020.109779
M3 - Article
VL - 124
SP - 14
JO - Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews
JF - Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews
SN - 1364-0321
IS - 109779
ER -