Japan's greenhouse gas emissions fall 5.1% in 2020/21 to record low

Sakshi Education

Japan’s greenhouse gas emissions fell to a record low in the financial year that ended in March 2021. According to media reports, the 5.1 percent decline marks seven consecutive years of falls. Government figures showed on Friday, as a result of slower industry activities amid the pandemic and wider use of renewable energy, emissions for 2020-21 fell to the equivalent of 1.15 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) from 1.21 billion tonnes the previous year.
The 2020-21 level was the lowest since 1990-91 when Japan began compiling data on greenhouse gas emissions, revised data from the environment ministry shows.
Japan, the world’s fifth-biggest carbon emitter, raised its climate goal in April 2021, pledging to trim emissions by 46 percent from 2013 levels by 2030 instead of its previous target of 26 percent. If this is achieved, 2030 emissions will be 0.76 billion tonnes.
The 2020-21 figures represent a reduction of 18.4 percent from 2013 levels.