The Cabinet Office will create a new index called "green GDP" that shows the economic growth rate in consideration of the burden on the environment, in addition to GDP = gross domestic product, which represents the economic scale of the country.
The aim is to support environmental measures such as decarbonization and lead to sustainable growth.
GDP is an important indicator of the size of a country's economy, but it does not capture the effects of environmental deterioration associated with economic activities, and the United Nations and others point out that statistics that can be grasped in an integrated manner are necessary.
In response to these discussions, the Cabinet Office has decided to create a new index called "green GDP," which indicates the economic growth rate in a form that takes into account the burden on the environment, in addition to GDP.
In this index, if greenhouse gas emissions decrease, it is considered that the economy is growing without burdening the environment, and the growth rate of green GDP is positive by that amount, while it grows if emissions increase. It is assumed that the rate will be negative.
The introduction of indicators will support environmental measures such as decarbonization, with the aim of leading to sustainable growth.
The Cabinet Office is aiming to announce it around the summer, referring to the estimates of the OECD = Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.