Japan Ramps Up Support for Decarbonisation of Public Facilities

In line with the central government's ambitions to reach net zero by 2050, Japan’s internal affairs ministry has started providing financial assistance to help local governments reduce or eliminate carbon dioxide emissions at public facilities.

The financial backing is intended to help local authorities ramp up the installation of solar power generation systems and provide funding for energy conservation projects, according to a Japan Times report.

In October 2021, the Japanese government adopted a new plan for tackling global warming and listed four priority initiatives it wanted local governments to take: the introduction of photovoltaic power generation, the realization of net zero energy buildings, renovations for saving energy and the use of light-emitting diode lighting.

In order to help local governments implement these measures in a systematic way, the ministry launched a financial assistance mechanism as a four-year measure from the current fiscal year to next March.

To fund the assistance, the government set aside ¥580 billion in the current fiscal year.

According to the internal affairs ministry, 467 decarbonization projects had been approved for its financial aid by the end of September. Among them, the Kiyose Municipal Government in Tokyo plans to install solar panels on the roof of a health center in the city and use LED lighting in line with a large-scale renovation.

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