Japan slashes greenhouse gas emissions target amid nuclear shutdown

Updated November 15, 2013 17:45:05

Japan has announced it is significantly reducing its greenhouse gas reduction target, based on "zero" nuclear power in the future.

It now aims to achieve a 3.8 per cent cut in carbon dioxide emissions by 2020 versus 2005 levels, government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said.

The new target amounts to a 3 per cent rise from 1990 levels, a sharp reversal from the 25 per cent reduction target.

The change in the carbon dioxide-emissions goal is a dramatic turnaround for a nation that had championed the earlier Kyoto treaty on climate change.

The nation's 50 nuclear plants were closed in the wake of the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, which wrecked the Fukushima facility northeast of Tokyo.

Hiroshi Minami, Japan's chief negotiator at UN climate change talks in Warsaw, says the nuclear shutdown has forced the country to lower its "ambition level."

"The new target is based on zero nuclear power in the future," he said.

Mr Minami says the 2020 target could be revised again if Japan reintroduces nuclear in its energy mix.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe advocates a return to nuclear power, although he says he wants to reduce Japan's reliance on nuclear over time.

The process of restarting reactors will be slow, starting early next year at the soonest, and some will never come back on line due to safety concerns after Fukushima.

The loss of nuclear, which had accounted for 26 per cent of Japan's electricity generation, has forced the country to import dirtier natural gas and coal, causing its greenhouse gas emissions to skyrocket.

The government aims to cut emissions by 2.8 per cent through planting trees, while the remainder will be done by reducing emissions from energy and industry or by using carbon credits bought from other countries.

Japan has also pledged $16 billion by 2015 to help poor nations reduce their emissions and adapt to the effects of climate change, such as higher sea levels and more droughts.

Mr Minami says the aid will be a mix of grants and loans, with $13 billion coming from the government and the rest from the private sector.

Japan's climate reduction u-turn slammed

In statement issued before Friday's announcement, conservation group WWF condemned a pullback on Japan's commitments, saying it could dent progress at the UN climate talks in Poland.

"This move by Japan could have a devastating impact on the tone of discussion... in Warsaw," it said.

"It could further accelerate the race to the bottom among other developed countries when the world needs decisive and immediate actions to 'raise' ambition, not to 'lower' ambition."

Poor nations want the developed world to commit to deeper emissions cuts while providing more climate finance, a key issue at the Warsaw talks.

Countries including the United States, Canada and Australia have been targeted by green groups for doing too little on climate change.

The Japanese delegation got a standing ovation when they arrived at UN talks in Bangkok in 2009, weeks after then-prime minister Yukio Hatoyama announced the 25 per cent target.

Asked about Japan's watered-down target, China's lead climate negotiator, Su Wei said, "I have no way of describing my dismay".

A Japanese Foreign Ministry official said the new target would likely be announced next week at the 12-day climate talks summit which began on November 11.


Topics: nuclear-issues, nuclear-energy, greenhouse-gas, climate-change, world-politics, japan, asia, poland, pacific

First posted November 15, 2013 16:28:21