Japan’s CO2 emissions drop to 5-year low in FY2015

• 7 years ago (2016-12-07)
• David Flin

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Japan’s greenhouse gas emissions fell 3 per cent to a five-year low in the financial year through March due to lower power demand, growing renewable energy, and the restart of nuclear power plants, according to figures from the Japanese Government. Preliminary data from the Ministry of Environment indicate that emissions fell for a second straight year to 1,321 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent, the lowest since fiscal 2010.

Japan’s emissions rose after the March 2011 Fukushima disaster that led to the closure of Japan’s nuclear power plants and an increased reliance on coal.

Japan set a goal to cut its emissions by 26 per cent from 2013 levels by 2030, and last month ratified the 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement to prevent climate change. The 2015 figure was down 6 per cent from 2013, due to power saving and a cooler summer and warmer 2015/2016 winter.

Madoka Konishi, chief official at the low carbon society promotion office with the Ministry of the Environment, said wider use of renewable energy in the wake of Fukushima, and the restart of Kyushu Electric Power’s two reactors at Sendai nuclear power station also lent support.