Japan’s green growth strategy urges utilities to bolster renewables and hydrogen while calling for auto industries to go carbon free by the mid-2030s.
In a plan to achieve Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s ambitious promise to go carbon free by 2050 and produce nearly $2 trillion growth in green business and investment, it aims to eliminate gasoline-powered vehicles in about 15 years.
The “green growth strategy” calls for utilities to encourage renewables and hydrogen while pushing for carbon-free automotive industries by the mid-2030s.
Suga vowed to reach net zero carbon emissions in 30 years, in a policy speech made in October.
As the world is facing an environmental challenge, green investment is not a burden, but an opportunity for development, he said.
The plan, which offers a roadmap for achieving goals in various sectors, projected a rise in electricity demand of 30-50 percent and called for pushing the country’s energy mix to triple renewables to approximately 50-60 percent from the current stage, while also maximizing the use of nuclear power as a safe, clean energy source.
But it was uncertain if Suga had the political power to overcome the vested weaning interests of resource-poor Japan’s reliance on imported oil and gas.
The strategy identfied 14 industries for each market, such as offshore wind, hydrogen and ammonia fuel, as well as cars and rechargeable batteries and roadmaps. The plan demonstrates an installation target of up to 45 gigawatts for offshore wind power by 2040.
Under the strategy, the government is also offering tax incentives and other resources to promote green technology investment, and has estimated annual growth of $870 billion (yen 90 trillion) and $1.8 trillion (yen 190 trillion) by 2030 and $1.8 trillion (yen 190 trillion) by 2030.
The government will give businesses tax benefits and other financial assistance, such as a green fund of $19 billion (2 trillion yen).
