Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., Sumitomo Corporation and Sumitomo Mitsui Auto Service Company, Limited today concluded the Decarbonization Support Partnership for Local Governments, a partnership aimed to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
Today 492 local governments in Japan, with a combined population of approximately 110 million people, have declared they will join the 2050 Zero Carbon Cities initiative. The introduction and utilization of renewable energy by local governments not only contributes to decarbonization in those regions but also to strengthening resilience. Therefore, relevant ministries and agencies, led by the Ministry of the Environment, are supporting the initiative.
One obstacle to achieving the 2050 Zero Carbon Cities initiative is a shortage in local governments of knowledge and personnel for formulating plans and introducing and utilizing renewable energy.
The purpose of the Decarbonization Support Partnership is to help local governments establish local production and consumption decarbonization community. This will be accomplished by linking the local governments with the functions and knowledge of the three companies and focusing on mobility and energy.
Mobility: The three companies will support the decarbonization and optimization of local transportation methods by introducing EVs and constructing a car-sharing environment for residents, local businesses and facilities operated by local governments.
Energy: The three companies will promote the decarbonization of electric power by introducing electricity generated by renewable energy.
Furthermore, effective regional energy management will be achieved by combining mobilities and energy. And a regional energy cycle will be established by strengthening resilience and introducing a platform for the future trading of renewable power.
The three companies will also cooperate with local goverments to decarbonize of communities by developing solutions that match the characteristics of the region.
Makoto Uchida, Representative Executive Officer, President and CEO, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
“Nissan has been collaborating with more than 150 local governments and companies nationwide under its Blue Switch project, which uses EVs to solve regional issues. We are confident the conclusion of this partnership with Sumitomo Corp. and Sumitomo Mitsui Auto Service will provide strong support for evolving and deepening the Blue Switch project. We will combine the know-how of the three companies and work with local governments nationwide to achieve a carbon-neutral society.”
Masayuki Hyodo, Representative Director, President and CEO, Sumitomo Corporation
“Sumitomo Corporation established the Energy Innovation Initiative (EII) last April to contribute to a carbon-neutral society by establishing sustainable energy cycle and archieving decarbonization. A focus of the EII is to realize a global, local oriented, local consumption decarbonization models. We will continue to support local governments in their efforts to decarbonize, while broadly collaborating and cooperating with internal and external partners.”
Akira Tsuyuguchi, Representative Director, President and CEO, Sumitomo Mitsui Auto Service Company, Limited
“Sumitomo Mitsui Auto Service Company has been providing mobility services, mainly through our corporate car leasing business, to make transportation seamless for our customers. We have listened to calls from local governments to carry out digital transformation and improve the efficiency of our fleet management. Having joined forces, the three companies will now work together with local communities to achieve a decarbonized society.”
SOURCE: Nissan
