1.08 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions in FY2022: Lowest since FY2013
Japan’s greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in FY2022, after duducting the amount absorbed by forests, were approx. 1.085 billion tons of CO2 equivalent, a decrease of approx. 25.1 million tons from the previous fiscal year. This is the lowest level since FY2013, which is the base year for reduction.
Minister of Environment, Shintaro Ito referred that this is a steady decrease trend towards Carbon Neutrality in 2050. The absorption amount of “Environmental friendly concrete” developed by major general contractor for CO2 emissions reduction was reflected on the caliculation for the first time.
According to the Ministry of the Environment(MOE), the CO2 emissions in industrial, transportation and household sector in FY 2022 was decreased 2.5% to 1.135 billion tons. In the industrial sector, emissions decreased by 19.7 million tons to 352 million tons, primarily due to reduced production in the steel industry, which is a significant emitter of CO2. In the “business and otr sectors” such as commerce, services, and business offices, emissions decreased by 7.9 million tons to 179 million tons. On the other hand, in the transportation sector, the volume of transport, which had decreased due to the spread of COVID-19, increased, leading to a rise in emissions by 7.2 million tons to 192 million tons. On the other hand, in the transportation sector, the transportation volume, which had decreased due to the spread of COVID-19, turned to increase, leading to a rise in emissions by 7.2 million tons to 192 million tons.
The amount of CO2 absorption decreased by 6.4% to 50.2 million tons. The CO2 absorption of artificial forests such as cedar and cypress is thought to have decreased due to the “aging” of the trees. The MOE calculated the amount of CO2 absorbed by environmentally friendly concrete, which fixes CO2 at the time of concrete production. The amount of CO2 fixed by concrete was reported to be 17 tons.
The share of renewable energy in the power configurations for FY2022 was 21.7%, increased by 1.3 points from the previous year. On the other hand, nuclear power, which does not emit CO2 during the operation, decreased by 1.3 points to 5.5%. Since the combined ratio of renewable energy and nuclear power remained almost unchanged from the previous year, the MOE explained that it did not have an impact on CO2 reduction.
Japan has set a goal of reducing GHG emissions by 46% in FY2030 from the base year of FY2013. CO2 emissions in FY2013 were 1.41 billion tons, which will be reduced to 760 million tons in FY2030 and to virtually zero by FY2050.