Japan greenhouse emissions fell 1.3pct last yr-paper

Emissions of greenhouse gases, widely blamed for global warming, were 1.341 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent in fiscal year 2006/07, the newspaper reported, citing preliminary Environment Ministry data it had obtained.

That put 2006/07 emissions 6.3 percent above the benchmark fiscal year 1990/91 set in the Kyoto Protocol, which is already under strain from Canada’s admission that it won’t meet its target and by lagging reductions in European countries.

Japan, the only Asian country with a Kyoto reduction target, must cut emissions by 6 percent from 1990 levels by the 2008-2012 period.

It is the world’s fifth-largest greenhouse gas emitter behind the United States, China, India and Russia, and is the only one that needs to cut emissions to reach its Kytoto goal.

The Yomiuri paper also reported that energy-oriented carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions rose 4.8 percent in the three months to June from a year earlier, while a government spokesman said the indefinite closure of its biggest nuclear power plant was driving up fossil fuel use, increasing carbon output.

‘We need to start operating nuclear reactors as soon as possible while ensuring safety,’ Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura told a news conference.

He said he had not seen the report, while a Ministry of Environment official said he could not comment as the government was still in the process of compiling the figures.

The ministry’s report is due to be released shortly.

News of rising emissions will come as little surprise to Tokyo, which has made a renewed effort in recent months to convince its biggest industries to take on board voluntary cuts, hoping to avoid sterner measures.

Its task grew tougher in July after a powerful earthquake forced Tokyo Electric Power Co’s 9501.T (TEPCO) to shut its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant, the world’s largest, forcing it to burn more oil, coal and natural gas.

No date has been set for its restart.

The government has been promoting the use of nuclear energy, despite renewed safety concerns, as one of the means of achieving Japan’s target, as it is reluctant to impose any form of carbon tax or cap-and-trade system to penalise polluters.