Japan, the biggest international buyer of Australian coal and gas exports, is set to accelerate its efforts towards decarbonisation with new prime minister Yoshihide Suga to announce a commitment to a target of net zero emissions by 2050.

Japan purchases around 45 per cent of Australia’s coal exports, and around the same proportion of Australia’s LNG exports, but according to the influential Nikkei Asia, is about to unveil its 2050 net zero emissions target in a speech to be delivered to the National Diet, Japan’s parliament, next week.

Japan is also expected to implement a series of new policies to support the accelerated uptake of renewable energy technologies, as well as introducing new measures to reduce emissions across transport and industrial manufacturing.

Suga, who replaced the ailing Shinzō Abe in September, leads Japan’s more conservative Liberal Democratic Party, which had previously taken a softer approach to its climate targets and had attracted criticism as a laggard on climate action.

Read the full article on the Renew Economy website, featuring Assoc Prof Llewlyn Hughes