Japan has released a long-term climate strategy for climate action. Prior to the United Kingdom’s announcement that it would legislate to net zero by 2050, the world’s third largest economy approved a plan stating, ‘a carbon-neutral society as the final goal, to be realized at the earliest possible time in the latter half of this century’.
The strategy builds on Japan’s 2016 pledge to reduce emissions by 80% by 2050 from 2010 levels, and lays out strategies to innovate in areas such as hydrogen and carbon dioxide capture and utilization. The plan commits Japan to commercializing carbon capture and utilization (CCU) technology by 2023, and carbon capture and storage (CCS) used in coal-fired power generation by 2030. It also aims to slash production costs of hydrogen to less than one-tenth by 2050.