The trade ministry released Friday a roadmap to shepherd Japan’s economy away from fossil fuels, and foster growth in green energy industries to bring within reach Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s pledge to eliminate net carbon dioxide emissions by 2050.
The report — which calls for strong government spending to subsidize and incentivize emissions reduction, and innovation in more than a dozen industries — details the potential economic growth that can be expected if the country reaches net zero carbon emissions.
Not only does the plan provide a tentative framework to support Suga’s vow in October to achieve decarbonization within three decades, it represents a major shift in the central government’s attitude in treating renewable energy not as a barrier to economic growth but as a catalyst.
“To divest from fossil fuels, shift to renewable energy and eliminate carbon emissions should not be seen as a restriction of economic activity, but as an opportunity to take advantage of inevitable change,” a trade ministry official told reporters Thursday. “The central government will stand behind the private sector in leading the shift to a carbon free society.”
The report designates 14 industries in which significant growth and investment are key to achieve decarbonization. These include offshore wind, ammonia fuel, hydrogen, nuclear energy, cars, shipping, airlines, semiconductors, logistics, agriculture, carbon recycling, housing, energy recycling and the lifestyles of individual people.
According to the trade ministry’s outline, the government aims to raise offshore wind energy output to 45 million kilowatt-hours by 2040, hydrogen power consumption to 20 million tons by 2050, promote nuclear energy abroad but halt domestic projects, decarbonize the agriculture industry and reduce coal-fired power consumption to the point where carbon recycling technology can be developed to nullify the remaining harmful emissions.
By targeting these industries, the trade ministry aims to mobilize more than ¥240 trillion in private sector savings through investment, regulation, subsidies and tax incentives. In doing so, it expects the cumulative economic impact to reach ¥90 trillion in 2030, and ¥190 trillion by 2050.
While the plan is tentative, officials said the government would begin to take steps where it could as soon as possible. They added that the plan was only a projection and that its implementation will depend on the country’s energy portfolio, which is decided by a Strategic Energy Plan set to be revised some time before June 2021, pending government discussions that began in October this year.
Still, questions remain concerning the country’s willingness to overhaul the world’s third largest economy and slash harmful greenhouse gas emissions to curtail climate change. Japan is also the world’s fifth largest emitter of carbon dioxide.
The government aims to reduce the more than 1 billion tons of greenhouse gases the country emitted in 2018, according to the trade ministry, to 930 million in 2030 and net zero by 2050.
At the same time, the ministry projects that domestic demand for electricity will grow by between 30% and 50% by 2050. Electricity accounted for 37% of the country’s carbon emissions in 2018, while 25% came from manufacturing, 17% from transportation and 10% from households and businesses.
The government also aims to ban the sale of new gasoline automobiles in the first half of the 2030s. Trade ministry officials said the country aims to announce some time during the summer of 2021 its plan to make all new commercial and passenger vehicles completely electric.
The plan, however, will not ban the sale of hybrid vehicles. The omission has drawn criticism from opponents who say the government is easing into the transition away from gas-powered cars in a bid to appease automobile manufacturers.
Earlier this month, Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike announced a nearly identical plan for the city, different only in that the capital will aim to ban sales of new gasoline cars by 2030.
“Tokyo has and will continue to lead the country’s efforts to reduce harmful emissions,” Koike said during an exclusive interview Wednesday. “By setting ambitious goals, the capital can push the country forward.”
Suga’s announcement in October — that Japan would strive to achieve net zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050, as was demanded of all countries in the 2015 Paris Agreement — was met with skepticism and doubt from supporters and critics alike.
Climate advocates criticized his commitment to nuclear energy and carbon capture technology, while many private sector corporations in the energy industry were resistant to back a plan that would almost certainly upend their business models.
“With the economy and the environment situated as two pillars of the country’s growth, my administration will make the utmost effort to achieve a green society,” Suga said in October. “It needs to be understood that global warming countermeasures could transform the economy and foster growth, not hinder it.”
The Paris Agreement calls on nations to keep global warming from exceeding 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, a critical benchmark that scientists say would trigger the beginning of a collapse in many of Earth’s ecosystems and spell disaster for humankind.
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OTTAWA – Canada’s unemployment rate held steady at 6.5 per cent last month as hiring remained weak across the economy.
Statistics Canada’s labour force survey on Friday said employment rose by a modest 15,000 jobs in October.
Business, building and support services saw the largest gain in employment.
Meanwhile, finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing experienced the largest decline.
Many economists see weakness in the job market continuing in the short term, before the Bank of Canada’s interest rate cuts spark a rebound in economic growth next year.
Despite ongoing softness in the labour market, however, strong wage growth has raged on in Canada. Average hourly wages in October grew 4.9 per cent from a year ago, reaching $35.76.
Friday’s report also shed some light on the financial health of households.
According to the agency, 28.8 per cent of Canadians aged 15 or older were living in a household that had difficulty meeting financial needs – like food and housing – in the previous four weeks.
That was down from 33.1 per cent in October 2023 and 35.5 per cent in October 2022, but still above the 20.4 per cent figure recorded in October 2020.
People living in a rented home were more likely to report difficulty meeting financial needs, with nearly four in 10 reporting that was the case.
That compares with just under a quarter of those living in an owned home by a household member.
Immigrants were also more likely to report facing financial strain last month, with about four out of 10 immigrants who landed in the last year doing so.
That compares with about three in 10 more established immigrants and one in four of people born in Canada.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
The Canadian Institute for Health Information says health-care spending in Canada is projected to reach a new high in 2024.
The annual report released Thursday says total health spending is expected to hit $372 billion, or $9,054 per Canadian.
CIHI’s national analysis predicts expenditures will rise by 5.7 per cent in 2024, compared to 4.5 per cent in 2023 and 1.7 per cent in 2022.
This year’s health spending is estimated to represent 12.4 per cent of Canada’s gross domestic product. Excluding two years of the pandemic, it would be the highest ratio in the country’s history.
While it’s not unusual for health expenditures to outpace economic growth, the report says this could be the case for the next several years due to Canada’s growing population and its aging demographic.
Canada’s per capita spending on health care in 2022 was among the highest in the world, but still less than countries such as the United States and Sweden.
The report notes that the Canadian dental and pharmacare plans could push health-care spending even further as more people who previously couldn’t afford these services start using them.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
As Canadians wake up to news that Donald Trump will return to the White House, the president-elect’s protectionist stance is casting a spotlight on what effect his second term will have on Canada-U.S. economic ties.
Some Canadian business leaders have expressed worry over Trump’s promise to introduce a universal 10 per cent tariff on all American imports.
A Canadian Chamber of Commerce report released last month suggested those tariffs would shrink the Canadian economy, resulting in around $30 billion per year in economic costs.
More than 77 per cent of Canadian exports go to the U.S.
Canada’s manufacturing sector faces the biggest risk should Trump push forward on imposing broad tariffs, said Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters president and CEO Dennis Darby. He said the sector is the “most trade-exposed” within Canada.
“It’s in the U.S.’s best interest, it’s in our best interest, but most importantly for consumers across North America, that we’re able to trade goods, materials, ingredients, as we have under the trade agreements,” Darby said in an interview.
“It’s a more complex or complicated outcome than it would have been with the Democrats, but we’ve had to deal with this before and we’re going to do our best to deal with it again.”
American economists have also warned Trump’s plan could cause inflation and possibly a recession, which could have ripple effects in Canada.
It’s consumers who will ultimately feel the burden of any inflationary effect caused by broad tariffs, said Darby.
“A tariff tends to raise costs, and it ultimately raises prices, so that’s something that we have to be prepared for,” he said.
“It could tilt production mandates. A tariff makes goods more expensive, but on the same token, it also will make inputs for the U.S. more expensive.”
A report last month by TD economist Marc Ercolao said research shows a full-scale implementation of Trump’s tariff plan could lead to a near-five per cent reduction in Canadian export volumes to the U.S. by early-2027, relative to current baseline forecasts.
Retaliation by Canada would also increase costs for domestic producers, and push import volumes lower in the process.
“Slowing import activity mitigates some of the negative net trade impact on total GDP enough to avoid a technical recession, but still produces a period of extended stagnation through 2025 and 2026,” Ercolao said.
Since the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement came into effect in 2020, trade between Canada and the U.S. has surged by 46 per cent, according to the Toronto Region Board of Trade.
With that deal is up for review in 2026, Canadian Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Candace Laing said the Canadian government “must collaborate effectively with the Trump administration to preserve and strengthen our bilateral economic partnership.”
“With an impressive $3.6 billion in daily trade, Canada and the United States are each other’s closest international partners. The secure and efficient flow of goods and people across our border … remains essential for the economies of both countries,” she said in a statement.
“By resisting tariffs and trade barriers that will only raise prices and hurt consumers in both countries, Canada and the United States can strengthen resilient cross-border supply chains that enhance our shared economic security.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
