Japan commits to fossil fuel vehicle ban within next 15 years

Japan has announced that as part of its commitment to net zero by 2050, the nation will ban fossil fuel vehicles within the next 15 years. 

The announcement that Japan will ban the sale of new fossil fuel vehicles within the next 15 years will have a huge impact on the global car market. That’s because Japanese car manufacturers are some of the largest in the world, with the likes of Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Mitsubishi likely to accelerate their plans for alternatively fuelled vehicles. 

Thus far Japan’s largest car manufacturer, Toyota, has resisted calls to go fully electric. The company has invested heavily in hydrogen fuel cell cars, and has been milking its hybrid technology for all its worth, but has not yet put much effort into releasing a fully electric vehicle. In fact, Toyota’s CEO has hit out at the Japanese Government’s plan to ban fossil fuel vehicles, although he’s powerless to stop it. 

Whatever Japan’s largest car manufacturer thinks, Japan is clearly keen to go green. The country is one of the biggest contributors to global greenhouse gases and while it’s only tip-toeing towards decarbonisation, it’s clearly a key policy of the country’s new Prime Minister, Yoshihide Suga. 

In addition to a fossil fuel vehicle ban, the Japanese Government is also targeting the installation of up to 45 GW of offshore wind power by 2040.