Environment Ministry unveils new plan to step up energy saving measures and cut emissions 26 per cent by 2030 Japan has become the latest country to provide further details on how it plans to deliver on the emission reduction commitments it made as part of last year's Paris Agreement climate change deal, unveiling plans to cut emissions 26 per cent against 2013 levels by 2030. Environment Minister Tamayo Marukawa yesterday told reporters the government would release the plan for public comment with view to it being approved by the government by early May. "The plan will map out the path to achieve the mid-term goal of a 26 percent reduction by 2030," Marukawa said at a news conference. "It also includes an 80 percent cut by 2050 as a long-term target." The proposals build on the Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) climate action plan Japan submitted ahead of last December's Paris Summit. It includes proposals to step up investment in clean tech R&D, accelerate the roll out of hydrogen fuel cell and renewable energy technologies, and expand energy efficiency programmes. "It is very significant that we can show our determination to make contributions after the Paris Agreement," Marukawa added, in comments reported by news agency Bloomberg. The plan follows comments last week from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe indicating the government was prepared to re-open some of the nuclear reactors shuttered in the wake of the Fukushima disaster in order to curb the need for coal-fired power. The new plan also came on the same day as the UK government announced it was similarly working to maintain the "momentum" following the Paris Agreement and would legislate to set a legal target requiring future governments to deliver on the internationally agreed goal of building a net zero emission economy this century. This article is part of BusinessGreen's Road to Paris hub, hosted in association with PwC.
Japan has become the latest country to provide further details on how it plans to deliver on the emission reduction commitments it made as part of last year's COP21 Paris Agreement. The plan follows comments last week from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, indicating the government was prepared to re-open some of the nuclear reactors closed in the wake of the Fukushima disaster, to help to curb the need for coal-fired power. Environment Minister Tamayo Marukawa told reporters on 15 March that the proposal sets an objective to cut emissions 26% against 2013 levels by 2030 and an 80% cut by 2050, by expanding on a number of efficiency and investment programmes and expediting the manufacture of hydrogen fuel cells and renewable energy projects.