Strategic Implications of COP29: Key Principles for Japanese Companies Pursuing Nature-Positive Management

The COP (Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change), held annually, serves as a global platform where participating countries discuss a wide range of climate-related issues. These include setting targets for greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions, formulating countermeasure policies, and providing support to countries affected by climate change. In essence, COP functions as a compass that guides the direction of global environmental policy.

This article reflects on the discussions held at COP29, which took place in Baku, Azerbaijan, from November 11 to 24, 2024 (extended by two days), and considers the strategies Japanese companies should adopt in response.

Just prior to COP29, Donald Trump’s reelection as U.S. President was confirmed. As a result, attention during the conference was particularly focused on the behavior and statements of the U.S. delegation. This was due to expectations that Trump’s second administration—beginning in January 2025—would mark a significant departure from the climate policies pursued by the Biden administration (January 20, 2021 – January 20, 2025), especially given Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement during his first term.

In fact, immediately after his second inauguration on January 20, 2025, Trump signed an executive order formalizing the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, thereby making a decisive break from Biden’s climate agenda. This shift raises critical questions: How will climate-related business evolve in the U.S. under the Trump administration? And how should Japanese companies operating in the U.S. respond?

However, the discussions at COP29 were not limited to the U.S. policy shift. At various country and international organization booths, a broad range of themes were addressed, including decarbonization technologies, human mobility in the context of carbon neutrality, and sustainable urban development. Among these, one theme that drew particularly strong global attention was “nature positive”—a concept now being described as the next major agenda following decarbonization.

With decarbonization now seen as a baseline expectation, discussions are shifting toward how to achieve a nature-positive future over the medium to long term. Countries and corporations worldwide are already accelerating their efforts in this direction. Japanese companies, too, are now entering a phase in which a transition to nature-positive management is not only expected but essential.

This article, based on on-site observations at COP29, offers strategic recommendations for how Japanese companies should approach and implement nature-positive strategies moving forward.

According to the definition by Japan’s Ministry of the Environment, Nature Positive refers to...