Greenhouse gas emissions in FY2021 increased for the first time in eight years after economic recovery
On April 21st, the Ministry of the Environment(MOE) and the National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES) announced the final figures of domestic greenhouse gas emissions in FY2021. The total emissions excluded forest absorption increased by 2% to 1.122 billion ton from previous year (CO2 equivalent). It was first increase in eight years resulted from the recovery of economic activities following the COVID-19 pandemic. The government set the target to decrease greenhouse gas emissions by 46% compared to FY2013 in FY2030. Total emissions in FY2021 were decreased by 20.3% compared to FY2013.
Total emissions had been decreasing gradually since FY2013. Although there were emission reduction factors such as accelaration of introducing renewable energy and operation of nuclear power in FY2021, total emissions increased for the first time in eight years due to the significant impact of economic recovery.
The absorption of CO2 by forest in FY2021 was 47.6 million tons, an increase of 3.6% compared to the previous year and the first year-on-year increase in four years. The MOE attributed this to the steady implementation of forest maintenance.
As for the emissions by each sector, it increased by 5.4% to 373 million tons year on year for industrial sector, 0.8% to 185 million tons for transportion sector and 9.1% to 89.5 million tons for energy transition sector such as power plants and refineries. While emissions from utility generation decreased, the increase in emission associated with petroleum products manufacturing led to an overall rise.
The emissions decreased by 6.3% to 156 million tons for household sector. The decrease attributed to the improvement in electricity CO2 emissions intensity and advancements in energy conservation.