Enigin Update - Japan May Review Emissions Reduction Target
JAPAN has mooted that it will review its carbon emission reduction goals after the nuclear disaster highlighted the radiation risk of nuclear energy as a low-carbon energy source.
Yukio Edano, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary, said the country’s carbon emission reduction targets were likely to be reviewed after the earthquake, the resulting tsunami and nuclear disasters.
Japan with one of the most ambitious reduction targets amongst industrialised nations, undertook to reduce its greenhouse emissions by 25 percent by 2020 from 1990 levels, provided other major polluters also make substantial reductions.
Hideki Minamikawa, Japan’s administrative vice minister at the environment ministry, has revelead at the UN climate talks in Bangkok that the Fukushima nuclear plant crisis has compromised his country’s climate change target.
Minamikawa admitted, "It is true that the reduction goal will be affected a great deal," Minamikawa told the Yomiuri Shimbun daily, stating that the carbon reduction target was based on plans to build new nuclear reactors along with improving the capabilities of old ones.
“The target year and the size of the reduction will be up for review," he added.
Edano appeared to back Minamikawa's comments, saying: "Needless to say, this great disaster will have a great impact in many areas in Japan.
"Not only the 25 percent reduction target but also many other challenges that Japan is facing now should be examined at one point because many areas have been impacted by the quake disaster."
But he added: "At the moment, we have not decided whether to review the target and we are not at a stage where we can make a decision."
Japan is resource poor, meeting about a third of its energy demand via nuclear energy, relying heavily on oil imports primarily from the Middle East.
As we reported last week Japan has lost generating capacity, not only from the Fukushima but also other damaged nuclear plants as well as from the quake damaged power grid, so has implemented rolling blackouts and urged commerce and industry to cut down on energy demand.
More than ever Japan needs to turn to Enigin Distributors to allow both their private and public sectors to reduce energy demand and gain control of energy use through installing cutting edge technology from Enigin within their facilities and buildings.
Picture of Asakusa Tokyo by Retinafunk
