Sharjah24 – AFP: Japanese giant Sony brought forward its deadline for reaching carbon neutrality by a decade on Wednesday, saying it is now targeting net-zero emissions across its business by 2040.

The electronics and entertainment firm said the decision was taken "as climate change risks become more apparent and serious worldwide, and the transition to a decarbonised society has become an urgent issue".

Climate campaigners praised the move, but raised doubts over an element of how Sony aims to reach the goal -- investing in new technology that removes carbon from the atmosphere or converts it into a less harmful compound.

Sony said it wants its own factories to be carbon neutral by 2030, also a decade earlier than its previous goal, and plans to reach that by increasing use of renewable power and energy-saving.

Eliminating emissions from areas "such as products, supply chains, and logistics", however, is to be achieved in part by investing in start-ups focused on carbon removal and projects that encourage carbon absorption with so-called augmented ecosystems.