Photo/Illutration A wind turbine seen at the back of a steel plant’s chimney (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

The nation’s greenhouse gas emissions in fiscal 2021 rose for the first time in eight years on the back of an uptick in economic activity, the Environment Ministry said.

Carbon dioxide emissions for the fiscal year that ended in March 2022 were up 2 percent to 1.17 billion metric tons from 1.147 billion tons a year ago, the ministry explained.

Total emissions declined in fiscal 2020 due to stagnant economic conditions triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, emissions showed a significant rise in fiscal 2021 with renewed economic activity, the ministry said.

It noted that the energy sector, which includes electric power, made up the largest group as it accounted for 40.4 percent of emissions. The industrial sector accounted for 25.3 percent of the emissions and the transport sector at 16.7 percent.

In addition, emissions of alternatives for chlorofluorocarbon, a common refrigerant and a greenhouse gas, increased by about 1.1 million tons from a year earlier.

Japan set a goal to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 46 percent from its 2013 level by fiscal 2030.

The figure for fiscal 2021 represents a reduction of 16.9 percent from fiscal 2013.

But Japan is still in excess of about 19 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions from its expected pace after subtracting those absorbed by forests and other means.

Still, a ministry official said: “The rebound was within our expectations. We see progress (toward the target) to some degree.”

The official added that each member of the Group of Seven major economies chalked up the first year-on-year increase in recent years in 2021.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said in a report released in March that the world must reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 60 percent compared with 2019 levels by 2035 to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees above pre-Industrial Revolution levels.

This will require Japan to significantly accelerate its current efforts to reduce emissions.

While the effects of economic recovery will likely also be conspicuous in fiscal 2022, Japan will need, along with other steps, to decarbonize electric power generation, seeing as it accounts for nearly 40 percent of greenhouse gas emissions.

A joint statement adopted at a meeting of G-7 energy and environment ministers on April 16 also underscored the importance of phasing out fossil fuels.

However, recently released data on the percentage of power generation for fiscal 2021 shows that coal power generation increased by 3.3 percent year on year, while oil-burning power generation grew by 20.7 percent from the year earlier.

Renewable energy also increased by 5.6 percent, accounting for 20.3 percent of all power generation.

The fact is that Japan still relies on fossil fuels for two-thirds of its energy.

According to a report released in April by Ember, a British-based environmental think tank, fossil power generation is expected to decline from 2023 as wind, solar and other renewable energy sources continue to expand across the world.

The report noted out that Japan has the highest level of dependency on fossil fuels among G-7 members, highlighting how Japan lags behind the rest of the world in its efforts to reduce emissions.

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