National Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report of Japan Submitted in April 2012

Under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol, Japan compiled its National Greenhouse Gas Inventory in fiscal 2010 and submitted it to the Secretariat of UNFCCC. The Inventory was announced by Japan's Ministry of the Environment on April 13, 2012. This is the third report for the first commitment period of the Protocol from 2008 to 2012, during which Japan is obliged to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 6 percent from the 1990 base year under the Kyoto Protocol.

The total GHG emissions in FY 2010 (the final figures) were 1,258 million tons, 0.3 percent lower than the Kyoto Protocol base year of 1990 (the 1,261 million tons) and 4.2 percent higher than a year earlier. The major causes of the increase from the previous year include the growth in emissions from the industrial sector as a result of growing manufacturing activities while recovering from the depression following the 2008 Lehman shock. Another cause is the increase in electricity consumption due to extreme weather conditions related to hot summers and cold winters.

Meanwhile, removals due to sink activities in FY 2010 based on the Kyoto Protocol were 49.9 million tons (48.9 million tons by forest sink enhancement and 1.1 million tons by urban revegetation, etc.). This data, which accounts for 4.0 percent of the total emissions of the base year, will be allocated at the end of the first commitment period.

Japan Submits National Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report in April of 2010 (Related JFS article)
Japan's FY2010 GHG Emissions Down 0.4% from 1990, Up 3.9% from 2009 (Related JFS article)

Posted: 2012/07/27 06:00:15 AM