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2020-4-14

Japan’s National Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Fiscal Year 2018 (Final Figures)

The Ministry of the Environment and the National Institute for Environmental Studies have released Japan’s National Greenhouse Gas Emissions (final figures1) for fiscal year (FY) 2018.
Total emissions2 in FY2018 were 1,240 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents (Mt CO2 eq.), a 3.9% decrease compared to those of FY2017 (a 12.0% decrease compared to FY2013 and a 10.2% decrease compared to FY2005).
The main factor for the decrease in emissions as compared to FY2017 is the decrease in energy-related CO2 emissions due to the reduction in electricity-origin CO2 emissions as a result of low-carbon electricity and reduced energy consumption (energy conservation, warmer winter).
 

Under Articles 4 and 12 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (hereinafter, the Convention) and relevant decisions adopted by the Conference of the Parties, the Annex I parties including Japan (i.e., developed countries) are required to prepare national greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories and submit them to the Secretariat of the Convention. Moreover, Article 7 of the Act on Promotion of Global Warming Countermeasures, which provides for domestic measures under the Convention, requires the Government of Japan to annually estimate and make public Japan’s GHG emissions and removals.

In accordance with these Articles, Japan’s GHG emissions in FY2018 were estimated.

Japan’s total greenhouse gas emissions in FY2018 were 1,240 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents (Mt CO2 eq.).

This means a decrease of 3.9% (51 Mt CO2 eq.) compared to FY2017 emissions (1,291 Mt CO2 eq.) and a decrease of 12.0% (170 Mt CO2 eq.) compared to FY2013 emissions (1,410 Mt CO2 eq.). The main factor for the decrease in emissions in FY2018 as compared to FY2017 and FY2013 is the decrease in energy-related CO2 emissions due to the reduction in electricity-origin CO2 emissions as a result of low-carbon electricity and reduced energy consumption (energy conservation, warmer winter).

Furthermore, this means a decrease of 10.2% (142 Mt CO2 eq.) compared to the FY2005 emissions (1,382 Mt CO2 eq.). The main factor for the decrease in emissions in FY2018 as compared to FY2005 is the decrease in energy-related CO2 emissions due to reduced energy consumption (energy conservation).

In contrast, hydrofluorocarbon emissions from refrigerants that substitute for ozone-depleting substances are increasing every year.

Removals by forest and other carbon sinks from activities under the Kyoto Protocol3 in FY 2018 were 55.9 Mt CO2 eq., consisting of 47.0 Mt CO2 eq. by forest carbon sinks and 8.8 Mt CO2 eq. by cropland management, grazing land management, and urban revegetation.

Footnote:

1. “Final figures” means the figures officially submitted to the Secretariat of the Convention as Japan’s GHG emissions and removals in the national GHG inventory. The final figures compiled this time may be recalculated when annual values in statistical data are updated, and/or estimation methods are revised.

2. There are some differences between the final figures compiled this time and the preliminary figures released on November 29, 2019, because some recalculation was conducted based on annual values in statistics and other data which were made available after the estimation of the preliminary figures, and some estimation methods were further revised. The preliminary figures for GHG emissions in FY2018 were a 3.6% decrease compared to FY2017 (an 11.8% decrease and a 10.0% decrease when compared to FY2013 and FY2005, respectively).

3. The removals by forest and other carbon sinks reported this time were estimated by calculating emissions/removals from activities under the Kyoto Protocol, in accordance with the decision of the 8th session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol.

Attached File

April 14, 2020

Ministry of the Environment
Government of Japan

Greenhouse Gas Inventory Office of Japan
National Institute for Environmental Studies

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