Japan's greenhouse gas emissions in fiscal 2018 totaled 1.24 billion tons (carbon dioxide equivalent), down 3.9% from the previous year, the lowest level since statistics began in fiscal 1990, the Environment Ministry said Tuesday. The figure fell for the fifth straight year.
The previous record low was 1.251 billion tons in fiscal 2009, when economic activity declined following the financial crisis triggered by the 2008 collapse of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers. In fiscal 2018, carbon dioxide emissions, which account for about 90% of greenhouse gas emissions, decreased 4.4% from the previous year due to the expansion of renewable energy sources such as solar power generation and the restart of nuclear power plants.
The Japanese government has set a greenhouse gas reduction target of 26% from the fiscal 2013 level by fiscal 2030. Emissions in fiscal 2018 were 12% lower than in fiscal 2013.
"There is no room for optimism," the ministry said. "We will continue to work on this."
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