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FOCUS: Japan building more coal-fired power plants, threatening CO2 target+(Japan Economic Newswire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)TOKYO, Feb. 21_(Kyodo) _ A warning light is flashing over Japan's efforts to cut carbon dioxide emissions as more coal-fired thermal power stations, which emit large amounts of the greenhouse gas, are being built in the country, prompting the Environment Ministry to reconsider the introduction of an environment tax. Such power stations are attractive because coal is cheaper than oil and natural gas and the liberalization of the electric power industry makes it easier for newcomer companies and others to build them. But they are a large negative factor for achieving the target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. The protocol, obliging Japan to reduce such emissions by 6 percent by 2008-2012 from the 1990 levels, became effective in February 2005. A ministry official said, "The achievement of the target in the protocol, which is severe itself, will become even more difficult" because of the growing number of coal-fired power plants. In a news conference in late January, Environment Minister Yuriko Koike opposed the construction of a coal-fired thermal power plant planned in Ube, Yamaguchi Prefecture, by Sigma Power Yamaguchi Corp., a new power company jointly owned by Toshiba Corp. and Orix Corp. "Isn't it a considerably different direction from the pledge in the Kyoto Protocol, and the government's plans to achieve the target," Koike said. The planned power plant would emit 5.82 million tons of carbon dioxide annually, more than twice what a liquefied natural gas fired station of the same size would emit. In a written note presented last Wednesday, the ministry asked the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, which supervises power plants, to halve the emissions at the plant, virtually calling on METI to change it to an LNG-fired station. The ministry's stance is opposed by the electric power industry including Sigma Power. "In line with the state's guidance, we have worked out power supply plans by balancing stable supplies and prices, and the environment preservation. We are in trouble by being asked to suddenly stop using coal," a power company executive, who wants to be anonymous, said. But Shigemoto Kajiwara, chief of the antiglobal warming section at the Environment Ministry, said, "We will continue to express opinions in our environment assessment for those largely emitting carbon dioxide." With the remarkable increases in coal-fired power generation in recent years, Japan's coal use in fiscal 2004 was 2.8 times what it was in fiscal 1990. While the construction of 10 coal-fired power stations, including three with a generating capacity of 1,000 megawatts each, is planned, there is no plan to close old coal-fired plants or to lower the rate of their operations. The Environment Ministry is making a stand because emission controls are not progressing well. In fiscal 2004, Japan emitted 1,319 million tons of carbon dioxide, 7.4 percent higher than the fiscal 1990 level. It said increases in coal-fired power generation, coupled with the effects of long-lasting halts in atomic power generation due to accidents and safety defects, are pushing up the volume of carbon dioxide emitted per kilowatt of electric power generated, called energy intensity. A think tank researcher said, "A worsened energy intensity impacts the volume of emissions stemming from industrial and household consumption of electricity. Japan's situation is serious because the ratio of alternative energy sources, such as wind power, is lower than in Europe, for example." METI will map out a "new state energy strategy" in June, but in METI-sponsored meetings of experts, the tone of discussion has been about how to secure a stable energy supply, such as the preservation of resources and promotion of their stockpiling, with hardly any mention of steps to prevent global warming and promote energy-saving. The introduction of an environment tax sought by the Environment Ministry was discussed in 2004 and 2005, but its implementation was postponed, showing how little clout the ministry has in the government. Environment Ministry executives cannot conceal their irritation. "It is no good to increase such power stations...We would like the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry to firmly shift from coal to alternative energy sources," an official said. "If that cannot be done, we will have to propose the introduction of an environment tax to back up clean power generation," he said. |