Abstract
Japan’s INDC toward post-2020 greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions is at the level of a reduction of 26% by fiscal year (FY) 2030 compared to FY2013 (18% reduction compared to FY1990). After the accident of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station in 2011, the GHG emission in Japan soared due to the increase of the power generation by the fossil fuel-powered station. However, in 2014, GHG emission declined due to the decrease of electricity consumption and improvement of the CO2 intensity and power generation. Current governmental energy/climate policy, which becomes the basis of the INDC, requires the industry sector to implement less energy conservation and GHG emission reduction measures compared to other sectors such as commercial, transport and household, which may result in the introduction of the specific policy such as carbon pricing to those sectors. Prioritization of nuclear power and coal-fired power as base-load power-generation technologies is also the characteristics of the current governmental policy. Since the framework to control the coal-fired power plants is voluntary in nature and the future of the nuclear power is uncertain, there is a possibility that Japan cannot achieve the INDC targets. In that case, Japan will rely on the international credits such as from the Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM).
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Notes
- 1.
Reference cases may include those without measures or with insufficient measures.
- 2.
Benchmark is set to be the efficiency level of around top 30% of each industry and facility. The problem is that attaining the benchmark level is not compulsory under current regulation.
- 3.
Assumed 60-year operation. The operation rate of each reactor is derived from the average equipment use ratio of each power utility company for the past 30 years prior to the Great Eastern Japan Quake and Tsunami.
- 4.
AIM is a dynamic recursive and technology selection model for the mid- to long-term mitigation policy assessment.
- 5.
The excellence level is the level exceeding the average by standard deviation value, i.e., deviation level of 60 in the case of normal distribution. Although the assessment under the energy conservation law is done for each business entity as a unit, energy intensity levels differ greatly within each business entity, having a mixture of more efficient plants and less efficient plants. If all the best available technologies are introduced, it is possible to attain the top level of efficiency, i.e., deviation level of 75 or greater in normal distribution (the top-level plant of today is not necessarily have all the best available technologies being introduced), far exceeding the benchmark level set under the energy conservation law.
- 6.
Please refer to its web page: http://japan-clp.jp/.
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Asuka, J. (2017). INDC Costs and Experiences in Removing Low-Carbon Technology Barriers: Japan. In: Anbumozhi, V., Kalirajan, K. (eds) Globalization of Low-Carbon Technologies. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-4901-9_11
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