CleanBeta

Japan’s Carbon Emissions Hit Record Highs Despite Kyoto Pledges

Japan, the birthplace of the Kyoto Protocol, has actually seen carbon emissions increases rose by nearly 9% above 1990 emissions levels, according to new data released yesterday.

Under the Kyoto Protocol, Japan is committed to reducing its emissions by six percent from the benchmark year in the period between 2008 and 2012. The Agence-France Presse attributed the rise in CO2 emissions to a major disruption at one of the nation’s largest nuclear plants.

Japan’s carbon dioxide emissions hit a record high of 1.37 billion tons in the year to March 2008, well above the target set by the Kyoto Protocol, the environment ministry said Wednesday.

The figure, which marked a 2.3 percent rise from the previous fiscal year, was mainly the result of more polluting energy production following the closure of the world’s biggest nuclear power plant after it was damaged in an earthquake that struck northern Japan.