Toshiyuki Shiga
Chief Operating Officer

The environment was a main discussion theme at the July 2008 G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit. In the months that followed, though, the onset of the worldwide financial crisis pushed the environment off the stage as the issue of greatest concern to global society. Even though financial and economic topics are important priorities, that does not mean we are no longer working to deal with climate change or to realize a low-carbon society. For Nissan, 2009 is a pivotal year in which we have to balance overcoming the short-term crisis with the long-term target of charting a course through the environmental challenges we face.
While we are maintaining and strengthening our competitiveness, emphasizing the recovery of Nissan's performance, we know we cannot simply wait for the storm to pass: We must display a clear vision for the future and a willingness to make progress even in the midst of crisis. This approach will lead to fresh opportunities for Nissan.
Addressing our environmental challenges, we spelled out our vision for the future through Nissan Green Program 2010, our medium-term environmental action plan. We are making investments in production capacity for innovative environmental technologies, and we plan to roll out eco-friendly technologies in line with each market's needs.
In the near term, one of the pressing issues is to reduce CO2 emissions through improvements to our engines, transmissions and other components. For example, we are introducing clean-diesel vehicles in Japan and Europe, and we are putting a million cars with efficient continuously variable transmissions (CVTs) on the road globally. We are working on a number of fronts, but there are limits to what we can achieve through gasoline-engine innovations alone. In the longer term, Nissan is championing the development and widespread use of zero-emission vehicles, such as electric vehicles (EVs). In 2010 we will begin adding EVs to our lineup, and in 2012 we will mass-market them on a global scale. Our target is to be a global leader in zero-emission vehicles. Nissan is not pursuing this objective merely by selling EVs. Our approach involves broad cooperation, including associations with governments and other sectors. Around the world, we have begun forging the ties that will help us realize the end goal of creating a new mobility society.
Over the hundred years since the mass production of automobiles began, our industry has created tremendous value for the people who use our products, even though gasoline-fueled cars have had an impact on the global environment. The automobile industry is creating solutions to lessen environmental impacts, and new technologies are a driving factor. Nissan is bringing inspired technology and innovative solutions, as our zero-emission vehicles will demonstrate when they appear on the global stage. We are working diligently to realize our vision for a cleaner planet.