The greenhouse gas emission in FY2019 the lowest ー Decreased by 14% from FY2013
On December 8th, the Ministry of Environment (MOE) announced that greenhouse gas emissions in FY2019 (preliminary report) decreased by 2.7% from previous year to 1,213 million tons of CO2 equivalent. This is six consecutive year of decline and the lowest since the statistics began in 1990. It decreased by 14% from FY2013 as base year of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) submitted to the United Nations. Japan aims for 26% reduction from FY2013 in 2030.
MOE pointed that the decline in manufacturing industry on the back of US and China’s economic friction is a factor for the decrease in FY2019. The expansion of the introduction of renewable energy and the warm winter also helped reduce emissions. The statistics are for until the end of March. The impact of the stagnation of economic activity due to the spread of the new coronavirus infection was negligible.