Toyota Motor Corporation
Chairman of the Board of Directors
Mr. Akio Toyoda
President and Global CEO
Mr. Koji Sato
We would like to once again express our appreciation for your earnest response to our open letter last November, as well as for facilitating our earlier discussions this year.
As an international environmental NGO, Greenpeace East Asia is committed to promoting the decarbonisation of the automotive and transport sectors to effectively address the climate crisis both in Japan and globally. In March, we published a report on the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of Japanese car companies, including Toyota. Based on the data you disclosed, we highlighted that your total GHG emissions in 2023 were equivalent to over half of Japan’s total emissions for that year, representing 1.5% of the world’s total emissions.
As the world’s largest automaker which produces about 10 million vehicles annually, we believe that the choices Toyota makes can significantly influence the future of the global environment and impact the entire automotive supply chain and industry. We sincerely respect your company’s efforts, including the commitment to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 and your various technological advancements aimed at reducing emissions. However, we are concerned that your company’s total emissions have continued to increase over the past several years.
To align with the international goal of the Paris Agreement—limit the global average temperature rise below 1.5°C within this century— is crucial to reduce GHG emissions as effectively and quickly as possible. Slowing global warming and halting the climate crisis is the responsibility of our generation. To achieve this, the most urgent step is the immediate and permanent cessation of GHG emissions into the atmosphere caused by human use of fossil fuels.
The upcoming United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP30) in Brazil this November marks an important milestone as the 10th anniversary of the adoption of the Paris Agreement. Furthermore, this year also marks the 10th anniversary of the ‘Toyota Environmental Challenge 2050’ announced by your company in October 2015, and the final year of the Seventh Toyota Environmental Action Plan (2025 Targets).
In light of these events, we are once again sending this open letter, seeking clarity on how Toyota plans to ensure that its business activities align with the global goals set out in the Paris Agreement.
We kindly request your written response by Friday, October 31. Please note that we intend to share the receipt and content of your response with media organisations and publish it on our organisation’s website in both Japanese and English.
Yours sincerely,
Sam Annesley
Japan Country Director
Greenpeace East Asia
