TOKYO: The Japanese government adopted on Tuesday a bill to establish a decarbonization fund to provide financial support to private companies working on introducing renewable energy and other steps for a carbon-free society.

The bill, adopted at a cabinet meeting, is designed to revise the law on promoting global warming countermeasures.

The fund will be in place until the end of fiscal 2050 in line with Japan’s goal of reducing its greenhouse gas emissions effectively to zero by 2050.

The government hopes that assistance by the fund will make it easier for regional banks to finance companies’ decarbonization efforts.

In fiscal 2022, which starts in April, the government will allocate 20 billion yen to the new fund through the fiscal investment and loan program, which mainly uses income from dividends on Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. shares held by the government to acquire equity stakes in private companies.

In addition to renewable energy introduction, the government will support various other decarbonization projects, such as forest conservation and recycling plastic.

The revised law would stipulate that the central government “tries to take necessary financial measures” regarding the costs of prefectural and municipal governments for mapping out and implementing measures to realize net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

The provision is intended to clarify the government’s stance of continuing such financial support, keeping in mind grants to encourage local governments to promote decarbonization, which is scheduled to be launched in fiscal 2022.

JIJI Press