TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan aims to eliminate gasoline-powered vehicles in the next 15 years, the government said Friday in a plan to reach zero zero carbon emissions and generate nearly $ 2 trillion a year in green growth by 2050.
The “green growth strategy,” aimed at the hydrogen and automotive industries, is seen as an action plan to deliver Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s October pledge to eliminate carbon emissions on a bare basis by the middle of the century.
Suga has made green investment a top priority to help revitalize the COVID-19 pandemic-hit economy and to bring Japan into the European Union, China and other emerging economies. sets ambitious emissions targets.
The government offers tax incentives and other financial support to companies, targeting 90 trillion yen ($ 870 billion) per year in additional economic growth through green investment and sales by 2030 and 190 trillion yen ($ 1.8 trillion) ro 2050.
2 trillion yen green assets will support corporate investment in green technology.
The plan seeks to replace the sale of gasoline-powered vehicles, including hybrid and fuel cell vehicles, by mid-2030s.
To accelerate the distribution of electric vehicles, the government aims to reduce the cost of vehicle batteries by more than half to 10,000 yen or less per kilowatt hour by 2030. It aims to increase hydrogen consumption to 3 million tonnes by 2030 and to around 20 million tonnes by 2050 from 200 tonnes now, in areas such as power generation and transport.
The strategy identifies 14 industries, such as offshore wind and ammonia fuel, aiming to install up to 45 gigawatts (GW) of wind power out of 2040.
($ 1 = 103.5500 yen)
Reciting with Kaori Kaneko; Additional commentary by Ritsuko Shimizu, Yuka Obayashi and Aaron Sheldrick; Edited by William Mallard