Climate Changed
Japan's Clean Energy Goals Lag World, Foreign Minister Says
- Transmission network needs investment for clean energy: Kono
- Cost of renewables in Japan twice as expensive as Europe: Meti
Workers walk between rows of solar panels at a solar power station operated n Kasai, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan.
Photographer: Buddhika Weerasinghe/Bloomberg
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Japan’s plans to develop its renewable energy industry are lagging much of the world, as the nation has “prioritized keeping the status quo for fear of change,” Foreign Minister Taro Kono said.
Japan wants renewable energy to account for 22 percent to 24 percent of its overall energy mix by 2030, while the global average today is already 24 percent, Kono said Sunday at an International Renewable Energy Agency meeting in Abu Dhabi. “As Japanese foreign minister, I consider these circumstances lamentable.”