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April 25, 2025
The Japanese government adopted the 7th Strategic Energy Plan (“SEP”), GX 2040 Vision, and Global Warming Countermeasures Plan (“Climate Plan”) all at once by Cabinet decision in February 2025. They set greenhouse gas emission targets and energy policy directions up to Fiscal Year (FY) 2035 and FY2040. Considering the impacts of climate and energy policies on present and future socio-economic activities, it is very important that they be developed through fair and transparent deliberation processes. Here we examine the decision-making processes, with a focus on the 7th SEP as a case study. […]
March 28, 2025
≫ 2025 Japan Climate Calendar Top Ten Highlights
The year 2024 was one of record-breaking heat waves and extreme weather events hitting many parts of the world, forcing us to realize that climate change is progressing at an accelerated pace. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) reported that 2024 marked an increase of 1.55°C above pre-industrial levels. As in the previous year, Japan was hit by extremely hot weather in various parts of the country, with many negative impacts on human health, agricultural crops, and fisheries. […]
March 13, 2025
≫ Japan Policy Briefing: 7th Strategic Energy Plan, Climate Plan/NDC, and GX 2040 Vision
On February 18, 2025, the government of Japan approved three crucial climate and energy policies by Cabinet decision: the 7th Strategic Energy Plan, the Global Warming Countermeasures Plan (also referred to as the Climate Plan, which includes Japan’s Nationally Determined Contribution under the Paris Agreement), and the GX 2040 Vision. […]
December 10, 2024
≫ Mainstreaming Renewable Energy in Japan
The government has declared a policy of making renewable energy a major power source. What would be the impacts and significance of a major push for the use of renewable energy? This report provides a summary of the merits of expanding renewable energy and the benefits of mainstreaming renewable energy. […]
September 9, 2024
≫ Fact sheet on Japan’s climate and energy policies
The Japanese government is currently holding internal discussions with plans to update its Strategic Energy Plan and Plan for Global Warming Countermeasures and to create a GX2040 Vision by the end of March 2025. Below we have compiled key facts and issues for these discussions about climate and energy policies, covering current status, issues, and policy directions for each topic. We intend to add more content as needed. (This version July 25, 2024) […]
July 24, 2024
≫ Italy G7 Summit 2024 – Analysis of the Communiqué
The Group of Seven (G7) Summit was held from June 13 to 15, 2024, in Apula, with Italy serving as the presidency. In the context of ongoing wars and conflicts such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Israel’s invasion of Gaza, leaders at the Summit adopted a Communiqué on issues that included Ukraine, Gaza, the Indo-Pacific, energy, climate, the environment, AI, disarmament and non-proliferation. […]
April 1, 2024
≫ 2024 Japan Climate Calendar Top Ten Highlights
2023 was the hottest year ever recorded, with record-breaking heatwaves and rising sea temperatures around the world. Japan also experienced extreme heat during summer, which affected agriculture, fisheries, and health. The words “global boiling” used by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres to describe the situation attracted much attention in Japan as well. According to the […]
October 20, 2023
≫ Tackling climate change in residential and building sectors
Our homes and buildings protect us from the rain, wind, sun, and outdoor hazards, and provide us space for living, working, studying and entertaining. But their use causes the consumption of a vast amount of energy. Here we look at how we can address climate change while improving comfort in the residential and building sectors. […]
July 20, 2023
≫ Hiroshima G7 Summit 2023 – Analysis of the Communiqué
The Group of Seven (G7) Summit was held from May 19 to 21, 2023, in Hiroshima, with Japan as the presidency. Amid the backdrop of an ongoing war that has continued for more than a year since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Communiqué included declarations on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, the global economy, […]
April 13, 2023
≫ 2023 Japan Climate Calendar Top Ten Highlights
Over a year has passed since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. The war has shaken the world, leading to increased military defense spending, energy and food crises, and more. Expanded fossil fuel development, exports and imports in countries other than Russia, and huge subsidies for fossil fuels in response to rising energy prices are having exactly the opposite […]
December 1, 2022
≫ The Nitrogen Cycle: Negative Impacts of Japan’s Ammonia Power Dreams
Group of Seven (G7) leaders, during the G7 Summit in June in Elmau, Germany, agreed to find solutions to issues such as climate change, a just transition, COVID-19 and gender equality. The leaders also confirmed their determination not to compromise on climate change and biodiversity targets, and to reduce dependence on Russian energy, despite heightened energy and food risks resulting from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, […]
August 18, 2022
≫ Road to Hiroshima 2023 ー Key Takeaways from G7 Summit ー
In Japan, plans are under way to promote the use of fuel ammonia to generate electricity from thermal power generation. This article will focus on nitrogen, an essential component in ammonia production, and look at the impacts of the massive use of ammonia on the natural nitrogen cycle. […]
July 28, 2022
≫ Ammonia use in thermal power generation in Japan
purportedly in an effort to achieve carbon neutrality. There are great expectations for its use as an alternative fuel to coal, particularly in the thermal power sector. Could the use of fuel ammonia really be a key to decarbonization? Ammonia as an alternative fuel to coal? The government is giving its all-out support to expand the use of fuel ammonia with every tool available, from strategic plans, legislation, subsidies, and debt guarantees, to memorandums of understanding with […]
March 31, 2022
≫ 2022 Japan Climate Calendar Top Ten Highlights
What will happen in 2022? The COP26 Glasgow Conference in 2021 (26th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change) agreed on the goal of effectively limiting the global average temperature rise to 1.5°C. As current national targets, policies and measures fall far short of what is needed to achieve the 1.5°C goal, however, COP26 called on countries to revisit and strengthen their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)[…]
