The Japanese government plans to get more than 30% of the energy it uses from renewable sources from the next fiscal year starting in April, ministers said on Thursday, as it seeks to set an example in its quest for carbon neutrality.
"The government itself needs to take an initiative in reducing greenhouse gas emissions to help achieve our 2050 goal of becoming carbon neutral," Taro Kono, minister in charge of regulatory reforms, told a news conference.
The government will ask all ministries to procure more than 30% of electricity supplies from renewable power sources with careful consideration of competitiveness and lower costs.
"The government itself needs to change to make renewable energy into a significant power source," Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said.
The environment ministry wants renewable energy to make up 35%-40% of its power in the next year, up from 10%-15% this year, he said, adding that the percentage used by other ministries was not known.
Renewable energy accounted for 18% of Japan's nationwide electric power generation in the year ended March 2020.
Under Japan's basic energy policy set in 2018, Japan, the world's fifth-biggest carbon emitter, aims for renewable energy to contribute 22% to 24% of total power by 2030.
But the ambition level may need to be increased as Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said in October Japan would seek to cut greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050.
(Reporting by Ritsuko Shimizu, Writing by Yuka Obayashi; editing by Barbara Lewis)
