The Government of Japan announced a new indicator of the “environmentally friendly” economy. It was invented to determine the pace of decarbonization, reports Nikkei Business Daily edition.
The indicator will reflect progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions in comparison with the gross domestic product (GDP). The authorities presented it as “green GDP”, calculated separately from the real one. The new index will demonstrate the country’s efforts on decarbonization from the point of view of economic growth.
Japan actively reduces harmful emissions to the atmosphere last years, and the authorities expect “green GDP” will quickly increase. The creators claim that GDP is a very representative indicator, which reflects the economic scale and trends in the country, but there are many factors that it does not take into account.
However, Reuters writes that the official from the secretariat of the Japanese Cabinet of Ministers, responsible for the calculation of GDP, challenged this information. He reported that the authorities had not yet accepted a solid address about the release of a new indicator and called the Nikkei report inaccurate. The official added that the Government is now considering various ways to assess carbon neutral statistics, but studies are still at the initial stage and can delay for several years.
In April, Japan put an ambitious goal in reducing harmful emissions. By 2030, the country plans to reduce carbon emissions up to 46 percent. Prior to this, Japan was going to reduce this figure by 26 percent compared with the 2013 level, and activists called this intention not seriously serious.