Japanese Updates: Japan’s National Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Fiscal Year 2011 (Final Figures) (12 Apr 2013)

Japan’s National Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Fiscal Year 2011
(Final Figures)

The Ministry of the Environment collated Japan’s National Greenhouse Gas Emissions (final figures) for fiscal year (FY) 2011 in accordance with the Act on Promotion of Global Warming Countermeasures. Total emissions in FY2011 (final figures) were 1,308 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents (Mt CO₂ eq.), a 3.7% increase compared to those of the base year. Compared to those of FY2010, the emissions increased by 4.0% due to an expansion of thermal power generation, etc.

Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) are required to prepare national greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories and submit them to the UNFCCC secretariat under Article 4 of the UNFCCC and Article 7 of the Kyoto Protocol to the UNFCCC. Moreover, Article 7 of the Act on Promotion of Global Warming Countermeasures, which provides for domestic measures for the UNFCCC, requires the government of Japan to annually estimate and make public Japan’s GHG emissions and removals.

The results of the estimations of GHG emissions and removals for FY 2011 in accordance with the above articles are shown in the attached documents¹.

Japan’s total greenhouse gas emissions in FY 2011 (the final figures¹) were 1,308 Mt CO₂ eq. They increased by 3.7 % (46.4 Mt CO₂ eq.) compared to those of the base year² under the Kyoto Protocol (FY 1990 for CO₂, CH₄, N₂O and calendar year (CY) 1995 for HFCs, PFCs, SF₆).

Compared to those of FY2010, the emissions in FY2011 increased by 4.0% (50.3 Mt CO₂ eq.) mainly due to an increase in CO₂ emissions from power generation. The key driver for the rise in emissions in FY2011 as compared to FY2010 was the increased fossil fuel consumption in response to the expansion of thermal power generation, although the amount of production in manufacturing industries decreased due to the influence of the Great East Japan Earthquake, etc.

Meanwhile, removals by forest carbon sink measures and others under the Kyoto Protocol in FY 2011 were 52.1 Mt CO₂ eq. (consisting of 51.0 Mt CO₂ eq. by forest carbon sink measures and 1.1 Mt CO₂ eq. by urban revegetation). The removals corresponded to 4.1% of the total emissions in the base year (of which 4.0% is from removals by forest carbon sink measures).

¹ In this document, “final figures” means the figures officially submitted to the UNFCCC secretariat as Japan’s GHG emissions and removals in a national GHG inventory. The final figures compiled at this time will be revised when annual values in statistical data are updated, and/or estimation methods are revised. Note: On the basis of the results of investigation conducted to identify the impact of the Great East Japan Earthquake on statistics to be used for emission estimates including missing data, the Committee for the Greenhouse Gas Emission Estimation Methods in FY2012 confirmed that it was not necessary to perform any adjustments or corrections to the emission estimates to obtain these final figures. Meanwhile, investigation will be continued for some statistics on which the influence of the earthquake is uncertain at the current moment.

² Concerning the relationships with the Kyoto Protocol target: The value “3.7% increase” does not take into account either the promotion of forest carbon sink measures or the Kyoto mechanisms. Therefore, this value, and Japan’s Kyoto Protocol target “- 6%” can not be directly compared.

Attached File: 
・Japan’s National Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Fiscal Year 2011 (Final Figures) <Executive Summary> [PDF:273KB]

April 12, 2013

Ministry of the Environment 
Government of Japan

Greenhouse Gas Inventory Office of Japan
National Institute for Environmental Studies 
Website: http://www-gio.nies.go.jp/index.html

For more information: http://www.nies.go.jp/whatsnew/2013/20130412/20130412-e.html