Japan aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 26 per cent by 2030

Japan said yesterday it would slash its greenhouse gas emissions by 26 per cent by 2030 from 2013 levels and would submit the plan to the United Nations as its contribution to a global summit on climate change in Paris in November.

The target is based on the power generation plan for 2030 that the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry finalised on Thursday. The plan calls for relying slightly less on nuclear power than on renewable energy following the 2011 Fukushima disaster. Using 2013 as a baseline, Japan's 26 per cent cut would be higher than an 18 to 21 per cent cut by the United States by 2025 and a 24 per cent cut by the European Union by 2030.

Japan - the world's fifth-largest emitter of greenhouse gases - saw its emissions rise to 1.41 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, the second-highest on record, in the year through March 2014. That was up 10.8 per cent from 1990, reflecting a rise in coal-fired power after the indefinite closure of nuclear power plants.

Green activists and some other countries that are calling for even bigger cuts say Japan will be blamed by global communities not only for a low target, but also for plans to build more coal-fired plants at home.

The trade ministry on Thursday said the government would plan to make nuclear energy account for 20 to 22 per cent of Japan's electricity mix in 2030, versus 30 per cent before Fukushima. It set the target for renewable energy at 22 to 24 per cent of the mix, liquefied natural gas at 27 per cent and coal at 26 per cent.

Japan's Federation of Electric Power Companies, whose members include the 10 main power monopolies, and 25 other firms said yesterday they had voluntarily set a goal to curb CO {-2} emissions per one kilowatt of power by 35 per cent from 2013 levels to around 0.37 kg in 2030.