Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pledged at the COP28 climate summit that Japan will end the construction of new coal-fired power plants without emission-reduction measures in place, as reported by Nikkei Asia on December 4. Kishida stressed that Japan will stop new construction of domestic unabated coal power plants while securing a stable energy supply, in line with its pathway to net zero. However, Kishida’s commitments did not involve a specific timeline or mention the decommissioning of existing plants. An official from the Japanese foreign ministry clarified that this commitment will not apply to coal power plants currently under construction, as they are being built in line with pre-existing plans. During the summit, 118 nations including Japan signed a global initiative to triple the world’s renewable energy capacity by 2030.

Japan relies on coal for nearly one-third of its electricity production. Among the G7 nations, only Japan and the US have yet to set out timelines for phasing out coal power, while Japan is the only G7 member that has coal-fired power plants under construction. At the COP28, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno outlined Japan’s commitment to reducing the share of coal-fired power in its energy mix, vowing to introduce renewable energy “to the maximum extent possible”. In addition, Matsuno stated that Japan will “steadily phase out inefficient coal-fired power generation by 2030” and phase in zero-carbon alternatives such as hydrogen, ammonia, and carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS).

Sources:

https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Environment/Climate-Change/COP28/Japan-PM-vows-to-phase-out-coal-fired-power-at-climate-summit

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/japan-stop-building-unabated-coal-power-plants-pm-kishida-tells-cop28-2023-12-01/

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/11/29/japan/society/cop-28-preview/

https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/over-110-countries-set-join-cop28-deal-triple-renewable-energy-2023-12-02/