The new target launched by Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga to reduce domestic greenhouse gas emissions to "net zero by 2050" is a significant increase from the previous target. There must be a bold review of climate change and energy policies in order to make this goal a reality, and the resolve of Suga's administration will be tested.
The aim to keep temperature increases to less than 2 C above pre-Industrial Revolution levels in the 18th century was established at the Paris Agreement, an international framework for climate change countermeasures. Each country is required to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. Suga, who has served as a parliamentary vice minister at Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry, has taken a keen interest in this topic.
Japan has indicated it will reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 80% as of 2050 in its global warming prevention plan. It submitted a target to the United Nations to reduce them by 26% as of fiscal 2030 compared with fiscal 2013 levels.
While the European Union has set a target of "by the year 2050" since last year, Japan has chosen "as soon as possible in the second half of the century" without specifying a year to achieve net zero emissions.
The government's decision to set a new goal was prompted by changes in the international situation. China announced in September that it aims to achieve net zero emissions by 2060, and the United States, which has decided to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, may change its policy depending on the outcome of the presidential election.
Japanese reliance on coal-fired power generation has also drawn international criticism. An official at the Environment Ministry has warned that the worst-case scenario is that the United States and China join forces and Japan is left behind.
Japan has a tough road to achieving its goal. This nation had greenhouse gas emissions in fiscal 2018 of about 1.24 billion tons (converted to carbon dioxide), a 12% decrease from fiscal 2013. However, Kentaro Tamura, a senior researcher at the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, said: "It will be difficult to achieve the goal if we continue with existing measures. We need to promote cost reductions and technological innovation in the field of renewable energy."
The government is currently in the process of revising its global warming prevention plan and its basic energy plan, as it wants to promote the use of renewable energy as a main source of power and the restarting of nuclear power plants. Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Hiroshi Kajiyama outlined a policy for future efforts, but in order to realize a decarbonized society, the government must exercise its ingenuity to the greatest extent possible.
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