Japan mulls dropping zero-emission vehicles from G7 summit

Japan is trying to remove a target for zero emission vehicles from a G 7 communique that is expected this week, according to a proposed draft seen by Reuters, a move that would water down language on climate change from the leaders' summit in Germany.

Tokyo, an influential member of the Group of Seven rich nations, is under pressure from Tokyo, who say it has been slow to embrace zero emission vehicles and lobbied against regulations that would encourage a quicker transition to the technology.

Toyota Motor Corp's head lobbied the Japanese government to make sure it supports hybrid vehicles as much as zero emission battery electrics, according to a report last week. G 7 leaders are meeting in the Bavarian Alps for a summit where climate change figures are on the agenda.

Japan has proposed removing the reference to a collective goal of at least 50% zero-emission vehicles by 2030, according to a draft of the communique reviewed by Reuters.

It has proposed a less concrete target of a reduction in the sale, share and uptake of zero-emission light duty vehicles, in place of the range of pathways that members are adopting to approach these goals, according to the draft.

A person familiar with the matter confirmed that Japan had proposed the changes, but declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue. It wasn't clear if the proposed changes would be included in the final version of the communique, which is due to be released at the end of the summit on Tuesday.

Japan's foreign ministry said it was not immediately able to make a statement.

In the G 7 climate ministers' communique in late May, Japan had pushed to remove a goal for all new car and van sales in G 7 countries to be zero emission vehicles by the year 2035, according to sources familiar with the discussions and a draft communique seen by Reuters.

The final statement stated that the goal of 2035 was not included in the final statement, but it pledged to achieve a highly decarbonised road sector by 2030 by significantly increasing zero-emission vehicle sales.

In a news release last week, Toyota Motor Corp's head lobbied the Japanese government to make clear it supported hybrid vehicles that burn fossil fuels, as well as zero-emission battery electrics.

Japan's auto industry lobby and Toyota say automakers should not be limited to specific technologies and need to keep a wide range of options in order to reach a goal of carbon neutrality by 2050.

Toyota, the world's biggest automaker by sales, has said fossil fuels are the problem, not internal combustion engines. As well as the hybrids it popularized with the Prius more than two decades ago, it champions hydrogen technology, although that has not caught on the way battery-electric cars have.

Energy and Climate think-tank InfluenceMap rated Toyota as the worst among major automakers because of its lobbying record on climate policy, which includes public statements and interaction with governments.