JAPAN TO PUSH RENEWABLE ENERGY, ECO-FRIENDLY TECHNOLOGIES

Japan will boost investment in technologies to tackle climate change such as renewable energy, hydrogen fuel and carbon recycling as part of its growth strategy, a government panel said, Kyodo news agency reported.

Offshore wind farms are "key to turning renewables into a primary energy source" for the resource-poor country, an action plan finalized by the panel said. The plan calls for building the infrastructure for 30 gigawatts of capacity by 2040, equivalent to 30 large thermal power generators and up from the current 0.02 gigawatt that Japan produces on offshore wind farms on a trial basis. The country has been criticized for its reliance on coal and is rushing to find alternatives, especially as restarting nuclear power plants remains difficult under stricter safety rules following the 2011 Fukushima disaster.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has focused on tackling climate change since taking office in September, pledging to achieve carbon neutrality, or net zero carbon dioxide emissions, by 2050. The premier said the government will designate firms developing innovative technologies as participants in national projects, supporting them through fiscal measures and preferential tax treatment. "We will swiftly consider concrete steps," Suga said at a meeting of the panel, which consists of Cabinet ministers, private-sector leaders and academics tasked with formulating the country's growth strategy.

The plan listed next-generation batteries, hydrogen fuel and carbon recycling as particularly important technologies, with firms that receive funding expected to meet numerical targets set for 2030.