Japan Green Growth Plan For 2050
Japan unveiled plans to boost renewable energy, phase out gasoline-powered cars and reduce battery costs as part of a bid to reach an ambitious 2050 carbon-neutral goal. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced the new 2050 goal in November, significantly moving up Japan’s timeline for carbon-neutrality. His government laid out for the first time what meeting that target will involve, including setting a provisional goal of generating more than half of the country’s electricity from renewable sources by 2050. The government’s actions on the environment reflect our belief that a significant change of mindset is required and that these are not constraints for growth, rather they are drivers of growth, Katsunobu Kato stated. Japan, which is a signatory to the Paris climate deal, has been seen as reluctant to reduce its reliance on fossil fuel, despite its self-professed pride as a nation of energy-saving technologies. The country was the sixth-biggest contributor to global greenhouse emissions in 2017. The world’s third largest economy still relies heavily on coal and liquefied natural gas, with most of its nuclear reactors offline since the 2011 Fukushima disaster. Japan expects demand for electricity to surge 30-50 percent by 2050, but the nation’s conservative ruling party has so far stayed lukewarm about renewable energy, though Suga has shifted the tone in recent weeks. Under the plans to boost renewables, officials are placing a new focus on offshore wind generation, with the goal of producing up to 45 gigawatts within the coming decades.
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