Japan is pushing through a new target to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 60% by 2035, even as the plan faces criticism as lacking in ambition.
Making the reductions from 2013 levels will put the nation, among the world’s top carbon polluters, on track to hit net zero by 2050, according to officials from a joint panel of the trade and environment ministries, which announced the strategy on Tuesday. The plan will now go through a public comment period before final approval from Japan’s Cabinet.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s government follows countries including the U.K. and U.S. in setting out upgraded emissions-cutting commitments ahead of a February deadline for nations to submit new climate targets under the Paris Agreement. Japan previously had vowed to reduce emissions by 46% by 2030 from 2013 levels.