Japan's Cabinet approved a new basic energy plan Tuesday, emphasizing nuclear power and renewables as its primary carbon-free sources to ensure energy security in the future and achieve net-zero emissions.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's Cabinet also approved the country's targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 60 percent in fiscal 2035 and by 73 percent in fiscal 2040, compared with levels in fiscal 2013 ended March 2014, which fall short of the international standards set by the Paris Agreement.
The government submitted the targets to the U.N. climate panel as its Nationally Determined Contributions on the same day as parties to the Paris Agreement are obliged to do so every five years.
The new energy plan, a medium- to long-term policy guideline, marks a departure from the government's earlier resolve to minimize reliance on nuclear energy following the 2011 Fukushima crisis.
"In many nations, including the United States, large-scale investments in decarbonized power sources are underway," Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yoji Muto said at a press conference, stressing the need for decarbonization efforts.
Provided by Kyodo News
Nuclear power will account for about 20 percent of the country's total energy output in fiscal 2040, around the same level as the fiscal 2030 target of 20 to 22 percent and up from 8.5 percent in fiscal 2023.
Since electricity demand is expected to rise to 1.2 trillion kilowatt-hours at most due to the prevalence of artificial intelligence and data centers, among other reasons, the government aims to meet high demand by easing requirements for replacing old reactors with new ones.
When rebuilding at a plant is not possible, power companies will be allowed to establish replacement reactors on the premises of other power stations they operate.
Renewable energy sources are expected to account for around 40 to 50 percent of Japan's energy mix in fiscal 2040, almost double the 22.9 percent recorded in fiscal 2023. Thermal power is projected to decline sharply to about 30 to 40 percent from around 68.6 percent.
One of the reasons that Japan failed to set more ambitious emission reduction targets was its heavy reliance on thermal power, critics pointed out.
To limit the temperature increase to 1.5 C compared with pre-industrial levels, the world needs to cut emissions by 60 percent in 2035 from 2019 levels.
While Japan needs to cut emissions by 66 percent from 2013 levels to achieve the 1.5 C target, a senior Environment Ministry official said even a 60-percent reduction will not be easy to attain, considering the pace of implementation of renewable energies in the country.
In 2024, the global temperature rose a record 1.6 C from pre-industrial levels on average, according to the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service.