Japan ‘to pledge net zero emissions by 2050’ in major policy shift

Japan, the world’s fifth biggest emitter of CO2, is to bring in legally binding targets to reach net-zero emissions by the year 2050.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is set to announce the target during his first address to parliament on Monday after taking office last week, according to a report in Nikkei Asia.

The target will bring Japan in line with the aims of the European Union, which set the same goal last year.

The decision will make Japan, the world's third-largest economy, the second Asian country after South Korea to aim for the 2050 target.