Japan's Gas Industry Allows Gas with Carbon Capture in 2050 Net Zero Plan

The Japan Gas Association announced on Tuesday that it will take a more flexible stance in its efforts to become carbon neutral in 2050. This includes allowing a greater use of gas, in conjunction with carbon capture and other decarbonisation methods.

The industry group stated that it aimed to supply 50-90% by 2050 of its gas from biogas or e-methane, with 10-50% coming from natural gas and carbon capture.

The group, including city gas suppliers had originally set an initial target of 90% e-methane produced from green hydrogen, CO2, and 5% biogas by 2050.

Takashi Uchida said at a press briefing that the shift is due to the growing uncertainty about global energy supply and consumption following Russia's invasion in Ukraine, and the rise of decarbonisation alternatives.

The updated plan includes a greater role for natural gases, paired with carbon-offsetting technologies, such as carbon storage and capture, carbon capture, and utilization, and forest absorption. This could cover 10-50% future supply.

Uchida said that the change was due to cost and technological advancements.

Uchida, when asked about the revised plan that lowers the hydrogen target from 5 to an unspecified number of "few" percent, said that even Europe, which has promoted hydrogen as a carbon neutral solution for heating, had become aware of the difficulties in large-scale adoption, and had switched to using natural gas combined with CCS.

Uchida reiterated, as the chairman of Tokyo Gas, that the Japanese government had not asked the association to buy more U.S. produced liquefied gas.

He said that there is still no clear direction for Alaska LNG in terms of how it will be developed and brought to the market.

He said that it was difficult to determine at this time what the association's involvement would be, or how this might relate to the tariff talks between Japan and the United States. The association also had no involvement with the Alaska energy conference this week. Mark Potter edited the report by Yuka Obayashi.

(source: Reuters)