Environment Green Power for the Future - Renewable Energy Promotion Act Initiative 1999

Environment Green Power for the Future - Renewable Energy Promotion Act Initiative 1999

At the end of the 1990s, Japan's energy policy was at a major turning point. While the stabilization of oil prices since the end of the Cold War had preserved Japan's dependence on fossil fuels, the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol in 1997 made the reduction of greenhouse gases a top international priority. Japan also pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 6% from the 1990 level between 2008 and 2012, and pressure on the electric power sector was increasing. However, at the time, the introduction of renewable energy was not progressing due to the regional monopoly system in the electricity market, and the share of wind and solar power was less than 1%.

In an attempt to break out of this blockage, citizens, NGOs, and environmentalists in the Diet joined forces to launch the "Green Energy Network. They aimed to enact a new law that would require electric power companies to purchase renewable energy at a fixed price. The source of the idea was Germany's "Feed-in Tariff (Renewable Energy Purchase Scheme)," a law enacted in 1991 that supported the rapid expansion of wind and solar power in Germany and was attracting attention for the way it was changing the power structure.

Discussions in Japan took the form of a Diet member's bill, involving not only environmental groups but also local governments and those involved in the new energy industry who wished to become energy independent, and its embodiment was considered. Although there were strong concerns from existing electric power companies and the business community that the increased costs would reduce international competitiveness, there was a certain amount of support from public opinion as a policy that would both combat global warming and promote regional development.

The Renewable Energy Promotion Law concept was a precursor to the renewable energy promotion policies of the 2000s and beyond, and was a milestone that would later lead to the RPS Law (enacted in 2003) and the Feed-in Tariff (FIT, enacted in 2012.) In 1999, renewable energy was still considered an "ideal energy source," but the public and the government were not yet ready to accept it. In 1999, when renewable energy was still considered an "ideal energy source," a grassroots movement by citizens and lawmakers was a major driving force behind its institutionalization.