Japan’s GHG emissions increased to 1.371 billion metric tons of CO2e in 2007/08
Japan’s greenhouse gas emissions increased by 2.3 percent last year reaching a record high in the year to March, making her Kyoto goals looking increasingly illusive.
Japan is now the fourth largest producer of GHG after China (more than 10 times the population of Japan), United States (about 2.5 times the population) and Russia.
Emissions increased to 1.371 billion metric tons of CO2 equivalent (CO2e) for 2007/08 fiscal year, the Ministry of the Environment reported.
About 93 percent of Japan’s GHG emissions is energy based (comes from fossil fuel consumption). Japan was expected to cut emissions by about 13.5 percent to achieve its Kyoto 2008-2012 target.
GHG Emissions in Japan. Undated Photograph: PA/Haydn West. Source. Image may be subject to copyright.
Emission Data for Japan in 2007/08:
- Greenhouse gas emissions total: 1.371 billion metric tons of CO2e in 2007/08 [UP from 1.340 billion tons in 2006/07 and 1.261 billion tons in the Kyoto Protocol’s benchmark year of 1990.
- Manufacturers (energy-based): 476 MMT, up 3.6% from 2006/07, but down 1.3 percent from 1990, due to an increase in industrial output and higher per-kilowatt emissions.
- Transportation-sector: 249 MMT of CO2e down 1.6 percent from the previous year due mainly to a decline in auto travel.
- Service-sector: 233 MMT of CO2e, a rise of 1.2 percent (blamed on a hotter summer and colder winter compared with the previous year).
- Household emissions: 180 MMT of CO2e, a rise of 8.4 percent (due to higher use air-conditioning).
- Power Generation and oil refining: 78 MMT of CO2e, a rise 3.6 percent.
The electric power industry has a voluntary target for reducing CO2 emissions to 0.34 kg per kilowatt hour. However, their emission averaged 0.45 kg/kWhr in 2007/08, which means to meet Kyoto goals they need to reduce emissions by about 100 million MMT a year for the next four years, based on the estimated power generation of 931 billion kWhr.
[Note: All figures provided above should be independently verified!]
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