Publication date: March 9, 2024
Ministry of Environment Calls for “Transformative Change” in 6th Basic Environment Strategy Draft
On February 26, the Japanese Ministry of Environment (MOE) published a draft of the 6th Basic Environment Strategy. Based on the Basic Environment Act of 1993, the MOE must publish a comprehensive strategy outlining its overall and long-term approach to #environmental protection. More than in previous years, this year’s Basic Environment Strategy takes an unabashedly urgent tone.
Opening with the sentence “Humanity is facing a serious environmental crisis,” the draft is imbued with a sense of urgency on climate change, extreme #weather events, #biodiversity loss, water and plastic pollution, and many other social and environmental challenges. Chapter 1 of the draft explains that industrial activity is threatening to surpass planetary boundaries, and calls for a “transformative change”toward a circular society that strikes a balance between economic growth, environmental #sustainability, and human wellbeing.
In terms of the policies to achieve this vision, the MOE discusses several strategies:
- Sustainable production and consumption based on improved resource management and reuse through product value chains
- Proactive deployment of clean #energy sources, especially offshore wind and #solar energy, and the promotion of energy efficiency in the industrial and building sectors
- Investments in human resources by supporting environmental education in schools, companies, and community organizations. The MOE couples this with the need for workforce development in the environment by collaborating with universities and businesses.
- Frameworks for assessing the environmental impacts of goods and services through sustainability disclosure requirements
The proposal is now going through a public comment process. The cabinet is expected to make a decision on the draft in April.
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