Recession drags Japanese emissions down 5.6 per cent

Japan's falling emissions output is likely to be reversed if the country steps up coal and gas use to replace nuclear stations taken offline by the devastating earthquake and tsunami.

The country's overall greenhouse gas emissions fell 5.6 per cent in the year ended March 2010 as energy demand from manufacturers declined as a result of the recession, Bloomberg reported today.

The wire quoted a faxed statement from the Environment Ministry stating that emissions dropped to 1.209 billion metric tonnes for the year from 1.286 billion metric tonnes in the previous year.

It is the lowest level of annual emissions recorded in the past 20 years and the first time emissions that have fallen below the 1.261 billion tonnes recorded in 1990, reflecting the sharp reduction in Japan's economic activity since the financial crisis in late 2008.

Japan has pledged to cut emissions by six per cent from 1990 levels by 2012 - a level that would allow it to emit about 1.186 billion tonnes a year.

The Environment Ministry said that, if overseas offsets are counted, the nation's 2009/2010's emissions were down 9.5 per cent from 1990 levels.

However, emissions are likely to rise in the year ahead as more than half of Japan's nuclear capacity is currently offline as a result of the earthquake and tsunami that sparked a desperate containment effort at the Fukushima plant.

Fossil fuel-based power stations are likely to have to step up their output to meet the demand for electricity.

"It is difficult to forecast the post-quake impact on emissions," an official at the Environment Ministry told news agency Reuters.

"One factor boosting emissions is the use of fossil fuels as an alternative. But we also have to think about the impact of energy saving and of the renewable energy sector, which is growing."

A study published by the Japanese Environment Ministry this week found that the nation had the potential for over 2,000GW of new renewable capacity, mostly in offshore wind.