JAPAN RAISES 2030 EMISSIONS REDUCTION GOAL TO 46%

Japan aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 46 percent by 2030 compared with fiscal 2013 levels, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said Thursday, a significant increase from its previous commitment for a 26 percent cut, Kyodo News reported.

By setting the "ambitious" target, Japan is "ready to demonstrate its leadership for worldwide decarbonization," Suga said at a virtual summit on climate change hosted by US President Joe Biden.

Japan had been reviewing its emissions reduction goal to be more in line with Suga's pledge to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, looking to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels and shift to renewable energy such as wind and solar.

Vowing to create a "virtuous cycle" of economic growth and protecting the environment, Suga said that in the longer term the country will work toward slashing emissions by 50 percent.

Suga and Biden agreed at a meeting last Friday in Washington to cooperate on climate change by implementing the 2015 Paris Agreement, which seeks to keep the rise in global average temperature to 1.5 C above pre-industrial levels, promoting clean energy and supporting decarbonization in the Indo-Pacific region.

Japan has been under pressure not to fall behind other advanced countries in addressing the issue, particularly ahead of key international gatherings to be hosted this year by Britain -- a Group of Seven summit in June in Cornwall and a U.N. climate change conference, also known as COP26, in November in Glasgow.

The United States said Thursday it will reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 50 to 52 percent from 2005 levels by 2030, nearly double its previous target.

WEEKLY FEATURE : TRUEMONEY PHILIPPINES BUCKS THE COVID-19 CHALLENGE