Carbon capture and storage and carbon dioxide-free hydrogen figure prominently in roadmap to become carbon neutral soon after 2050
Japan's cabinet has adopted an ambitious emissions reduction strategy, which aims to harness innovative technologies to ensure the country becomes 'carbon neutral' soon after 2050.
The strategy outlines how the country will reach its Paris Agreement commitments to keep global temperature rises well below 2C. Steps include establishing commercial-scale carbon capture and utilization technology by 2023 and commercialising carbon capture and storage systems for coal-fired power generation by 2030.
The strategy also details plans to slash production costs for carbon dioxide-free hydrogen to less than one-tenth current levels by 2050.
The policy does not give a date for when Japan will become fully 'carbon neutral', nor does it include a target for phasing out low-efficiency coal-fired power plants. But it does mark a step up on the government's current decarbonisation plans, which have been criticised by green groups for faliing to move into line with the emissions reduction trajectory required by the Paris Agreement.
The new plan will be submitted to the UN before Japan hosts a Group of 20 summit on June 28-29, according to the Japanese government.
The strategy reflects an ongoing shift in the country's energy policy, which has been criticised for its continued reliance on coal power - in part a fallout from the 2011 disaster in Fukushima, which saw nuclear plans shelved.
However, three new coal-fired power plant projects have already been cancelled this year, following warnings from the country's Environment Minister that the country would struggle to meet its carbon emissions targets if local companies' continued to push ahead with such plans.
Simultaneously, observers of Asia's energy industry have reported major Japanese investors, banks and trading houses seeking to move away from coal and back renewable projects instead.
The new plans are part of a global trend, which has seen a number of governments strengthen their climate action plans ahead of the Paris Agreement coming into full effect next year.
Yesterday, the UK joined New Zealand, Sweden,and Finland in confirming it would introduce a legally-binding net zero emission target. France, the EU, and others are also currently considering net zero plans, while all of the frontrunners to be the Democrat candidate in next year's US presidential race have endorsed net zero strategies.