Japan’s greenhouse gas emissions increased by 2% in FY21/22 as the economy recovered

TOKYO, April 21 (Reuters) – Japan’s greenhouse gas emissions rose 2.0% in the year to March 2022, the first increase in eight years, government data showed on Friday as industrial activity slowed after the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic burglary recovered.

Emissions for fiscal 2021/22 rose to the equivalent of 1.17 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide from 1.15 billion tonnes the previous year, data from the Environment Department showed.

The increase came after 2020/21 emissions fell to their lowest level since data collection began in 1990/91.

Japan, the world’s fifth largest emitter of carbon, has set a target of reducing emissions by 46% by 2030 compared to 2013 levels. If this is achieved, emissions in 2030 will be 0.76 billion tons.

The value for 2021/22 corresponds to a reduction of 16.9% compared to 2013.

“The increase in 2021/22 was due to an increase in energy consumption to reflect the economic recovery from the slump caused by the pandemic,” Fumio Ito, a director at the ministry, told reporters.

Still, the number was 3% lower than the year before the 2019/20 pandemic, indicating progress towards the 2030 target, he said.

“We are neither optimistic nor pessimistic about the achievement of the 2030 target. We must steadily advance our actions to achieve the target.”

The amount of greenhouse gases absorbed by forests and other sources in 2021/22 was 47.6 million tonnes, the first increase in four years, the ministry said.

Emissions skyrocketed after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear power plant meltdown led to reactor shutdowns and increased reliance on fossil fuels. They peaked at 1.4 billion tonnes in 2013/14 before declining due to increased use of renewable energy and the restarting of some nuclear power plants.

Of the 1.03 trillion kilowatt hours of electricity generated in 2021/22, 20.3% came from renewable energy sources, 0.5 percentage points more than in the previous year.

Nuclear power rose 3.0 percentage points to 6.9%, while thermal power accounted for 72.8%, down 3.5 percentage points, government data showed.

Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Christopher Cushing

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