TOKYO: Japan Climate Initiative (JCI), supported by the Renewable Energy Institute together with World Wildlife Fund Japan and Carbon Disclosure Project Japan, released a statement on Friday stating that now is the time “to accelerate renewable energy deployment” and calling for stronger action on climate change.

The statement said events such as the Ukraine-Russia war should provide impetus for change: “With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine destabilizing the world’s energy supply, more than ever Japan’s priorities should be to reduce the total amount of energy used through the promotion of energy conservation and efficiency, and to accelerate the deployment of domestically produced renewable energy that is unaffected by the geopolitical climate.”

The JCI urged the Japanese government to focus its new Clean Energy Strategy on promoting the development of renewable energies such as wind and solar power to provide 40-50 percent of Japan’s power needs by 2030.

The JCI said it has widespread support: “This message has been endorsed by leading Japanese corporations in a wide range of fields, including 86 Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime listed companies, the IT, materials, machinery, steel, automotive, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, transportation, food, retail, housing & construction, civil engineering, urban development, and insurance & finance sectors. The Central Federation of Societies of Commerce and Industry, which include associations of commerce and industry from all over Japan, has also joined the message.”

JCI said the endorsement of so many organizations clearly demonstrated “the strong will of non-state actors in Japan that even during periods of global upheaval and fossil energy crises, climate action must not be allowed to take a back seat.”

At the G7 Climate, Energy, and Environment Ministers’ meeting on 27 May, the countries committed to a goal of achieving predominantly decarbonized electricity sectors by 2035. With the global temperature rise likely to exceed 1.5 C within the next five years, Japan Climate Initiative urged the Japanese government to accelerate the expansion of renewable energy and strengthen climate action.

JIJI Press