The Japanese government plans to use more energy from renewable sources from the next fiscal year, ministers said on Thursday. According to Taro Kono, the minister in charge of administrative and regulatory reforms, all ministries will be required to use more than 30% of electricity supplies from renewable power sources starting from April. This policy is part of Japan’s quest for carbon neutrality. Kono said that the initiative would help the country lower greenhouse gas emissions.
Japan’s Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said the ministry wants renewable energy to contribute to 35%-40% of its power in 2021, up from 10%-15% in 2020. Japan is the fifth-biggest carbon emitter in the world, and renewable energy made up 18% of its electric power generation in the last fiscal year,
Under its energy policy set in 2018, the country aims at expanding renewable energy share to 22%-24% of its total power by 2030. However, Japan will likely set a more ambitious target after Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga pledged in October to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
