Japan's greenhouse gases emissions dropped to a record low in FY2024
Government data released on Tuesday showed that Japan's greenhouse gases emissions decreased by 1.9% in fiscal 2024 (which ended March 2025). This is the third consecutive annual decline and the lowest since records began. The fall was attributed to lower manufacturing energy use and increased use of nuclear and renewable power.
Data from the Environment Ministry showed that Japan's GHG emission totaled 1.046 billion metric tonnes of carbon dioxide in fiscal 2024. This is down from 1.067 million tons a year ago.
This is the lowest figure since 1990/91, and it's also the third consecutive year of decline.
Carbon dioxide (CO2) emission from industry decreased by 2.5%. The commercial and services sector experienced a 0.2% rise. The transportation sector saw a 1.6% decrease in emissions, while household emissions decreased by 0.7%.
Japan?aims to reduce GHG emissions from 2013 levels by 46% by 2030. The fiscal 2024 figure represents a reduction of 24.9% from 2013.
The Ministry of Environment said that the absorption of GHG by forests and sinks like forests fell by 2.9%, to 52.3 millions tons. Japan's total GHG emission, after accounting for sinks like forests, was 994 million tonnes, a 1.9% decrease from one year ago.
After the Fukushima disaster in 2011, emissions increased, leading to widespread reactor shutdowns and a greater reliance on fossil-fuels. The peak was 1.394 billion tons in fiscal 2013, before the trend of decreasing emissions began. This was due to increased use of renewable energies and gradual re-starting of nuclear reactors.
Renewable energy generated 23.1% (up 0.2 percentage points) of the 991.1 billion Kilowatt-hours in fiscal 2024. Nuclear energy accounted for 9.4% of the electricity generated, up 0.9 percentage points.
Thermal power?accounted for 67.5%, a decrease of 1.1 percentage points from the previous year. It is composed of 28.1% coal and 32.2% gas. Oil made up 7.2%. (Reporting and editing by Cynthia Osterman; Yuka Obayashi)
(source: Reuters)
