The News
One of the world’s largest corporate renewable-energy groupings — whose members include Microsoft and Softbank — are pushing Japan to embrace renewables as Tokyo revises its national energy strategy.
Known as the RE100 initiative, the more than 430 companies on Tuesday called on Japan to triple clean energy capacity by 2035 from 2022 levels. Some of these companies’ current investment in Japan are likely to increase carbon emissions without a more aggressive energy transition platform.
SIGNALS
Fukushima disaster set back Japan’s decarbonization efforts
More than a decade after the Fukushima nuclear disaster, Japan is struggling to maintain energy independence. The country in 2022 imported nearly 88% of its energy — primarily oil, gas, and coal — official data showed, which although lower than after Fukushima is still much higher than other G7 countries. Renewable energy has largely replaced nuclear energy output since Fukushima, according to government figures, but Japan’s mountainous terrain and susceptibility to natural disasters have made it difficult for the country to install more renewable energy infrastructure. The nuclear energy slowdown since 2011 “solidifies Japan as a fossil fuel champion rather than a decarbonization leader,” The Diplomat wrote.
Japan’s low-carbon solutions are largely untested
Tokyo’s strategy for weaning itself off oil, gas, and coal has been to promote largely untested technologies that activists say will only extend the life of old, inefficient fossil fuel plants. These methods include ammonia and hydrogen co-firing, or burning these non-carbon compounds alongside coal, even though public health experts are concerned about the toxicity of these compounds, Reuters reported. Japan is also championing itself as a leader in carbon capture, though the technology is years away from being able to significantly offset current carbon output. Japan’s strong heavy industry sector has lobbied Tokyo to embrace these technologies over renewables, according to The Japan Times.
Companies urging Japan to decarbonize are also part of problem
Some of the companies urging the Japanese government to push for renewables are currently accelerating the country’s fossil fuel use: Microsoft has said it is working to power its numerous data centers with renewable energy, but is also investing $2.9 billion in Japanese facilities where fossil fuels will primarily power the centers. Nvidia and the Japanese telecoms giant Softbank — both also RE100 members — are also investing in new Japanese data centers.
