Pledge to UN criticised by analysts as being less ambitious than it looks due to using 2013 levels as baseline, RTCC reports

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

Japan will cut greenhouse gas emissions 26% from 2013 levels by 2030, under a plan to be submitted to the UN on Friday.

That commits the source of 2.65% of global emissions to steeper reductions than the US (18-21%) and EU (24%) over the same period, Reuters reported.

But the target was criticised by analysts in May as being less ambitious than it appeared, due to the choice of baseline. The country’s emissions have soared since the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster prompted a shift to coal and gas for power generation.

Measuring from 2005, the target amounts to a 25.4% cut.

Analysts at Climate Action Tracker said the draft pledge, which appears unchanged, was inadequate. If all countries adopted a similar level of ambition, they said warming would exceed 3-4C this century.

National plans will form the foundations of a global pact in Paris this December attempting to prevent catastrophic climate change. The goal is to hold warming to 2C above pre-industrial levels, but it looks unlikely that pledges made this year will achieve that goal.

Japan’s submission brings the total number of national climate pledges to 46, covering 59% of global emissions.

Tokyo is planning to get 26% of its power from coal in 2030, 27% from gas and 22-24% from renewables. Nuclear will continue to supply 20-22% a reduction from the 30% share before Fukushima.

A report by the thinktank E3G in April argued Japan’s lack of climate ambition was diminishing its influence on the world stage and weakening its competitiveness in the low carbon economy.