Photo/Illutration Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi at a news conference in June, holding petitions for cancellation of a project to build a coal-fired power plant in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Japan stopped short of banning exports of coal-fired power plants on July 9 despite growing criticism from the global community over its continued reliance on one of the dirtiest energy sources.

The Japanese government instead decided to toughen its criteria for providing official assistance to new coal power projects in other countries in a review held at a meeting of a panel on the nation’s infrastructure strategy.

Under the tougher rules, Japan will refuse loan applications for coal-fired plants, in principle, unless the countries buying them have a game plan for eventually shifting away from fossil fuels.

The review was held at the initiative of Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, who has been lambasted for Japan’s energy policy, which relies on coal as a key source of electricity, at international meetings since he assumed the Cabinet post in September.

Koizumi pledged to review Japan’s policy to export coal-fired power plants after U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for Japan to move away from “coal addiction” at the U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP25) in Madrid in December.

In February, relevant government ministries and agencies agreed that the conditions for supporting exports of coal-fired power generation would be reassessed.

Under Koizumi’s leadership, the Environment Ministry formed a panel of experts for the review.

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry also set up a council of experts tasked to study the government’s policy of exporting infrastructure projects in April with an eye on continuing to export coal-fired power plant projects in one way or another.

The industry ministry’s stance is that banning exports of coal-burning power plants would be in conflict with the government's longtime policy to rely on coal-fired electricity as a baseload energy source, according to a senior ministry official.

The sweeping change in exports of coal power projects would spill over to policy measures concerning similar power stations in Japan, the official added.

But the relevant ministries and agencies managed to find common ground in their discussions, agreeing on placing emphasis on a “shift toward decarbonization.”

Still, it is clear their differences in dealing with coal-fired power projects have yet to be ironed out.

At a news conference on July 9, industry minister Hiroshi Kajiyama stressed the importance of Japan maintaining the option of supporting countries keen to import coal-burning plants by offering official assistance.

“We should not turn away from the fact that many developing countries are left with no choice but to depend on coal as an energy source,” he said.

But Koizumi was skeptical over demand for the projects.

“I wonder how many coal power projects will be exported by Japan now that the existing four conditions have been tightened,” he said.

The conditions Japan uses to decide whether to export coal-fired power plants to prospective countries are that they have no alternative energy sources; that they seek Japan’s highly efficient coal-fired power generation; that exports of Japan’s coal projects will be in line with their policy toward climate change; and that their coal-fired power satisfies the basic standards of Ultra Supercritical Coal power plants, which are highly efficient with lower heat waste, pollution and carbon emissions.

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