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On April 22, 2021, the Prime Minister held the 45th meeting of the Global Warming Prevention Headquarters at the Prime Minister’s Office.
 
At the meeting, the participants engaged in discussions on Japan’s climate change countermeasures toward 2030.
 
Following the discussion, the Prime Minister said,
 
 “The world has been experiencing extreme weather events such as torrential rains, forest fires and heavy snowfalls, and thus, decarbonization is an imminent challenge. At the same time, the response to climate change will be the driving force of the dynamic growth of Japan’s economy. With this vision in mind, I declared that we will aim for net-zero by 2050 as a pillar of our growth strategy, and we have been making efforts.
 
We will take a big step toward overcoming this global issue. We aim to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by 46 percent in fiscal year 2030 from the fiscal year 2013 levels, setting an ambitious target which is aligned with our 2050 goal. Furthermore, we will continue strenuous efforts in our challenge to aim at the goal of cutting our emissions by 50 percent. I will announce this decision to the international community at the upcoming Leaders Summit on Climate.
 
Such goal of 46 percent in reductions would mean that we will raise our current target by over 70 percent, and it will certainly not be an easy task. However, by defining a top-level ambitious target befitting to a next growth strategy of the nation which underpins monozukuri (manufacturing) in the world, we would like to lead global discussion.
 
Going forward, it will be important to achieve a powerful growth, by steadily implementing concrete measures to meet the target and creating a virtuous cycle of the economy and the environment. We will take every possible step in all fields, including the maximum utilization of decarbonized power sources such as renewable energy, incentive measures for inducing investments, support for decarbonization in local areas, establishment of an international green finance center, and what is more, assistance in shifting to decarbonization around the world including Asian countries, thereby bringing about an economic and social transformation.
 
I ask every minister to accelerate the relevant discussions.”