(Bloomberg) -- Japan’s energy strategy must be overhauled to curb future reliance on renewables and support economic growth, according to a candidate running in the race to become the next prime minister.
“Japan will need coal-fired power plants,” said Takayuki Kobayashi, a former economic security minister who is running in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party leadership election. The winner of the race will become the next premier of the country.
The nation’s current energy plan, announced in 2021, says that renewable energy should be prioritized — wording that Kobayashi thinks should be changed. Japan aims to boost renewables to as much as 38% of the power mix by 2030, compared with 22% in 2022, while cutting back coal and gas.
The comments are the strongest in favor of fossil fuels among Japan’s leadership candidates. They also run counter to pressure by environmentalists to accelerate emissions reductions in Japan, which lags behind other developed nations.
Kobayashi plans to rework Japan’s energy strategy if he becomes prime minister. He says the nation requires power sources like coal, as well as nuclear, to maintain energy security as intermittent renewables are added to the grid.
“The current energy plan is too biased toward renewable energy and needs to be overhauled,” Kobayashi said. “We can’t be a developed nation asking people to conserve electricity during summer and winter seasons.”
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