Japan Press Weekly

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2014 July 30 - August 12 [SOCIAL ISSUES]

138 factories emit half of Japan’s greenhouse gases

In Japan, 138 factories emit more than half of Japan’s greenhouse gases (GHGs), Kiko Network, an environmental NGO, has revealed.

The Environment Ministry and the Ministry of Economy and Industry on May 23 released survey results regarding Japan’s GHG emissions at the end of FY2011, and the NGO analyzed the data.

According to the environmental group, of 1,307 million tons of CO2 emissions in FY2011, 50.1% were discharged from 138 factories in six industries, especially from power stations and steel plants.

Momoi Takako of Kiko Network pointed out that power stations and ironworks emit a vast amount of CO2 as they mainly use coal as fuel.

“While European nations have moved to limit the use of coal at power stations, Japan is becoming ever more dependent on fossil fuels. Without nuclear power, GHG emissions can be reduced by changing energy resources from coal to natural gas. Japan should set an ambitious reduction target and take measures to achieve such a target without delay,” Momoi said.