JAPAN – Japan wants renewables to be its top power source by 2040 in its push to become carbon neutral by mid-century, under government plans unveiled on Tuesday. Thirteen years after the 2011 Fukushima disaster, Tokyo also reaffirmed that it sees a major role for nuclear power in helping Japan meet growing energy demand from artificial intelligence and microchip factories. The world’s fourth-largest economy has the dirtiest energy mix in the G7, campaigners say, with fossil fuels accounting for nearly 70 per cent of its power generation last year. The government has already set a target of becoming carbon-neutral by 2050 and to cut emissions by 46 per cent by 2030 from 2013 levels.

Under the new plans, renewables such as solar and wind were expected to account for 40 to 50 per cent of electricity generation by 2040. That marks a jump from last year’s level of 23 per cent and a previous target for 2030 of 38 per cent.

Resource-poor Japan “will aim to maximise the use of renewable energy as our main source of power”, according to the draft Strategic Energy Plan. Government experts were reviewing the proposals released by the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy and it was due to be presented to the cabinet for approval. Japan is aiming to avoid relying heavily on one energy source to ensure “both a stable supply of energy and decarbonisation”, the draft said.

Geopolitical concerns affecting energy lines, from the Ukraine war to Middle East unrest, were also behind the shift to renewables and nuclear, it said. Nearly 70 per cent of Japan’s power needs in 2023 were met by power plants burning coal, gas and oil. Almost all must be imported, last year costing Japan about US$500 million per day. The government wants that figure to fall to 30 to 40 per cent by 2040. (Jamaicaobserver)

Photo: Solar panels are pictured in Yufu, Oita prefecture. Japan wants renewables to be its top power source by 2040, as it pushes to become carbon neutral by mid-century, according to draft government plans unveiled. (AFP)