TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s government plans to get more than 30% of the energy it uses from renewable sources beginning in the next fiscal year from April, ministers said on Thursday, as it seeks to lead by example in its quest for carbon neutrality.

“The government itself must take an initiative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in order to achieve our 2050 target of becoming carbon neutral,” Taro Kono, minister in charge of regulatory reforms, told a conference. Press.

The government will require all departments to source more than 30% of electricity supply from renewable energy sources with careful consideration for competitiveness and cost reduction.

“The government itself needs to change to make renewables an important source of energy,” said Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi.

The environment ministry wants renewables to make up 35-40 percent of its electricity next year, up from 10-15 percent this year, he said, adding that the percentage used by other ministries doesn’t was not known.

Renewables accounted for 18% of Japan’s domestic electricity generation in the year ending March 2020.

Under Japan’s Basic Energy Policy established in 2018, Japan, the world’s fifth-largest carbon emitter, aims for renewable energy to contribute 22% to 24% of total electricity by 2030.

But the level of ambition may need to be increased, as Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said in October that Japan would seek to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050.