Japan reiterates plan to cut reliance on coal

Japan reiterated on Friday its policy to reduce reliance on coal-fired electricity generation as much as possible, with plans to phase out inefficient coal power plants towards 2030.
Economy, Trade and Industry Miner Koichi Hagiuda made the comments when asked about an expected communique to be issued energy, climate and environment miners from the Group of Seven (G7) countries.
A draft communique, seen Reuters ahead of May 25 to 27 talks between the miners, showed the group would consider committing to a phase-out of coal 2030, though sources suggested that opposition from the United States and Japan could derail such a pledge.
“We will steadily fade out inefficient coal-fired power plants towards 2030 and advance our efforts to replace them with decarbonized thermal power utilizing hydrogen, ammonia and carbon capture utilization and storage toward 2050,” Hagiuda told a news conference.Best of Express PremiumPremiumPremiumPremiumPremium
“I think what Japan has been advocating through every opportunity so far is percolating” through partner countries, he said.
Japan’s policy allows for continued operation of efficient coal-fired power stations. Last year the government said it aimed at cutting coal’s share of electricity generation to 19% 2030 from 32% in 2019.
As for natural gas, the miner said: “In order to secure a stable energy supply and reduce reliance on Russian gas, we will diversify our supply sources investing in liquefied natural gas and promoting investment of upstream development outside of Russia.”