Akio Toyoda criticized for questioning combustion car ban

[Tragic Bronson]

Toyota's Toyoda criticized for questioning combustion car ban

Toyota shareholders have criticized Akio Toyoda for questioning Japan's plans to ban conventional cars days after saying it was reviewing its climate lobbying and aimed for carbon neutrality by 2050.

www.autoblog.com

Some Toyota Motor shareholders have criticized its President Akio Toyoda for questioning Japan's plans to ban conventional cars only days after the firm said it was reviewing its climate lobbying and aimed for carbon neutrality by 2050.

The five investors, who collectively have around $500 billion in assets under management and spoke exclusively to Reuters, said the carmaker risks falling behind competitors that are rolling out electric vehicles, while giving cover for other companies seeking to avoid big changes to meet climate goals.

Should we all be weary of activist investors?

 

[ssun30]

Maybe those investors could use their money to lobby Japan to bring back nuclear power?

Always find it ironic Norway criticizes other countries' environment policy when their wealth comes from oil and have a negligible population consuming negligible amount of energy. Tokyo has a larger population than all Nordic countries combined.

 

[Sulu]

Oops, that seems to be 2 steps forward, 1 step back following an earlier promise to these investors to be "consistent with the long-term goals of the Paris Agreement”.

Toyota Will Review Its Climate Stance And Lobbying Activities Following Pushback From Investors | Carscoops

Toyota pledges to do better after supporting anti-environmental legislation and coming out against green movements

www.carscoops.com

Although Toyota was instrumental in making hybrid vehicles mainstream, its support of the Trump administration in 2019 put it uncomfortably in line with climate denialists. The company has now said that it will review its position.

In a statement, Toyota said that it would “review public policy engagement activities through our company and industry associations to confirm they are consistent with the long-term goals of the Paris Agreement.”

It also said it would provide more information so that “stakeholders can understand our effort to achieve carbon neutrality.” The company confirmed to Reuters that it reconsider its government lobbying activities.

The decision follows pressure from four major Toyota investors. Together, the funds own about $235 billion in assets and are pushing the company to recommit to efforts to reduce carbon emissions.

 

[Sulu]

Maybe those investors could use their money to lobby Japan to bring back nuclear power?

Always find it ironic Norway criticizes other countries' environment policy when their wealth comes from oil and have a negligible population consuming negligible amount of energy. Tokyo has a larger population than all Nordic countries combined.

Norway's oil has generated great wealth for the country but the government made the decision long ago to invest that wealth into more climate-friendly initiatives.

 

[ssun30]

^^Well then they should stop oil and gas production period, after all they are at the forefront of the battle against climate change.

 

[F1 Silver Arrows]

What's hilarious with radical leftists and activists is that they have no understanding of how the world works.

You CANNOT force change. Nobody is against supporting the Earth's environment. However supporting the Earth's environment doesn't mean you immediately kill off the fossil fuel industry. After all, every single country (and this is one of those superlatives where it is 100% true and valid to use, and I'm never someone who uses superlatives in an absolute manner) on the planet relies on fossil fuels in some way shape or form. Trying to shove down this zero emissions agenda down people's throats without having any solutions and alternatives (like their "green jobs") is a recipe for disaster, as we're seeing with a certain administration right now......

We will need fossil fuels for many years to come as it's a viable source of energy and propulsion. We CAN reduce how much we emit emissions with fossil fuels as is. This is an area of innovation that we can push for. We have shown in the past several years that with the correct usage and production of fossil fuels, we can still keep everything clean.

When we have certain countries that pollute more than a third of the world and don't contribute much to saving the environment themselves (and no, I'm not talking about the USA), more focus needs to be drawn to them instead.

All in all, Toyoda-san has shown that he is committed to a greener society, but he knows that being a radical wackjob won't do jack sh*t for you or for the planet, at that point while there may be a visible difference (I don't think anyone could deny this), is it really feasible to do in our lifetimes?. Hell no! Fossil fuels will always be necessary to us in some way in the future. This is why despite Toyota being the leader in alternative propulsion like hydrogen/battery electrification and hybridization, we still have a flurry of new ICE's coming in the future.

Take one look at the science and it's obvious that climate change has been exaggerated to the moon. The air that's in North America for example has been a lot cleaner than it was many decades ago, and it's not because of EV's as there still aren't many electric cars being sold yet to say that the difference that EV's are making on the environment is statistically significant.

Focus on managing waste and how we need to implement filtration systems to reduce greenhouse gases on our factories and we'll be fine.

Good on Toyoda-san on being realistic and has passion unlike the radical dumbf*cks that live on this planet. People like him who take a second to think for themselves have always done better in the long run instead of bowing down to the manufactured panic from radical leftists.