Japan and the United States are each making big once-in-a-political-lifetime policy and fiscal bets in order to transform their fossil fuel economies to clean energy ones.
Both countries are racing the clock on the climate crisis and on beating global competitors on the clean energy playing field. But are the two governments doing it right?
Public spending numbers are staggering. Under Japan’s Green Transformation Strategy, its government will spend 20 trillion yen ($133 billion) over 10 years. Under the United States’ Inflation Reduction Act, its government will spend $369 billion over 10 years via tax credits and investment programs.
Both governments’ bold actions should be commended. At the same time, it is important to ask hard questions about what each country is trying to do — and how.
The above excerpt was originally published in Kyodo News.
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