A pipe for transporting carbon dioxide to removal equipment is shown at the Tomakomai carbon, capture and storage (CCS) test site in Tomakomai, Hokkaido prefecture, Japan March 22, 2018.
Japan aims to cut total carbon emissions by 46% by 2030 from 2013 levels, and has pledged to become carbon neutral by 2050.
In Japan, those difficulties are made worse by the already-strained state of the national power system due to the sharp drop in nuclear power generation since the 2011 Fukushima disaster.
Over the longer term, Japan is also targeting increases in wind power generation, especially from offshore sites.
Electric vehicle sales are accelerating in Japan, but remain a tiny proportion of Japan's total car fleetHowever, EVs represented just 3% of total car sales last year, and account for less than 1% of Japan's total car stock.
Persons:
Aaron Sheldrick, EVs, Gavin Maguire, Diane Craft
Organizations:
REUTERS, Energy Institute, Japan, International Energy Agency, IEA, Reuters, Thomson
Locations:
Tomakomai, Hokkaido prefecture, Japan, LITTLETON , Colorado, India, China, United States, Europe