Japan's greenhouse gas emissions in fiscal 2021 rose for the first time in eight years, reflecting an increase in energy consumption due to a pickup in economic activities in the post-COVID era, government data showed.
National emissions in the year through March totaled 1.17 billion tons in carbon dioxide equivalent, up 2.0 percent from fiscal 2020. Other Group of Seven countries also saw their emissions rebound.
The increase came despite mounting pressure to keep a rise in the global temperature to no more than 1.5 C compared with pre-industrial levels, which is the target under the Paris Agreement.
When gases absorbed by forests are subtracted from the total emissions, the figure amounted to 1.12 billion tons, up 2.0 percent from fiscal 2020.
Although the figure represents a 20.3 percent drop from the fiscal 2013 level, which Japan uses as a base year, it is still far from its target of reducing the gases by 46 percent by fiscal 2030.
Despite the latest rebound in greenhouse gas emissions due to an economic recovery, Environment Minister Akihiro Nishimura said the volume was 3.4 percent less than that in fiscal 2019.
"A certain degree of progress has been made as we aim to achieve the target for fiscal 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2050," the minister said on April 21.
In fiscal 2021, the industry sector increased energy-related CO2 emissions by 5.4 percent from the previous year, while such emissions grew 0.8 percent in the transport sector. The commercial sector, including shops and offices, saw emissions expand by 3.3 percent.
In the household sector, emissions fell by 6.3 percent, apparently due to people spending less time at home amid easing coronavirus restrictions.
Other G-7 countries -- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and the United States -- also each saw single-digit growth in greenhouse gas emissions in 2021, according to calculations by Japan's Environment Ministry.
The United States emitted 5.59 billion tons of greenhouse gasses in CO2 equivalent, Germany 760 million tons, Canada 650 million tons, Britain 430 million tons, France 400 million tons and Italy 390 million tons in 2021.
The G-7 ministers on energy, climate and environment issues vowed following their two-day meeting in April in Japan to accelerate efforts toward phasing out fossil fuels and expanding the use of renewable energies as they seek to achieve carbon neutrality in 2050.
