Japan Emissions Hit Record High in 2007/08

Japanese greenhouse gas emissions hit a record high in the year that ended in March, the government said on Wednesday, pushing Japan further away from its commitments under the Kyoto Protocol climate pact.

Wednesday's data may raise fresh questions about the effectiveness of Japan's reliance on voluntary industry steps to curb emissions. Unlike the European Union, Japan has been reluctant to impose a mandatory cap on companies' emissions because of past efforts by industry to conserve energy.

Under the Kyoto pact, Japan must cut its emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases to 6 percent below 1990 levels between 2008-12. That means Japan is targeting emissions of 1.186 billion tons a year over the five years that started in April.

Preliminary government data showed greenhouse gas emissions climbed 2.3 percent in the year to March, however, totaling a record 1.371 billion tons in CO2 equivalent.

To meet its Kyoto goal, Japan must cut emissions by 9.3 percent to 1.254 billion tons a year until 2012, with the remaining reductions to be made up by the government through other means such as carbon credits.

The data suggests Japan may accelerate its buying of U.N. carbon offsets by the world's fifth-largest emitter to meets its global pledge.

A 2 to 3 percent rise in emissions last fiscal year after a 1.3 percent fall the previous year was widely expected as the world's biggest nuclear plant, run by Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO), had to suspend operations after a July 2007 earthquake.

The outlook for Japanese emissions remains unclear as the TEPCO plant remains shut indefinitely, while the global economic slowdown may contain energy use by the world's No.5 emitter.

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The closure of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant has increased TEPCO's use of fossil fuels such as coal, gas and oil, to make up for the shortfall in nuclear power.

Restarting the plant could reduce Japan's CO2 emissions by 30 million tons a year, according to the company's calculations.

Nevertheless, Environment Ministry calculations showed that had the nuclear plants' run rate not been affected by the extended shutdowns, Japan's total greenhouse gas emissions would still have risen 0.5 percent in 2007/08 from a year earlier, and 3.7 percent above 1990 levels.

Hiroyasu Tokuda, director of the ministry's climate change policy division, told reporters it was not clear whether Japan's emissions in 2008/09 would rise or fall as industrial production is likely to fall from October to next March due to the impact of the economic slowdown.

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