Japan's curbing of greenhouse gas emissions slows in FY 2024

TOKYO, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 14th Apr, 2026) Japan's pace of reducing greenhouse gas emissions slowed in fiscal 2024 as it effectively emitted the equivalent of 994 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, 15 million tonnes more than its annual plan, the government said Tuesday.

According to Kyodo news, the national emission figure through March 2025 was down 28.7 percent compared to the fiscal 2013 base year, marking the lowest level since then and dropping below 1 billion tonnes for the first time.

To achieve its goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, Japan aims to reduce its effective emissions by 60 percent in fiscal 2035 and 73 percent in fiscal 2040, compared with fiscal 2013.

The pace at which terrestrial forest ecosystems absorbed carbon emissions slowed to 52.30 million tonnes in fiscal 2024, compared with the previous year, due to the ageing of trees. Meanwhile, the amount of carbon captured by coastal and marine ecosystems remained almost unchanged at 320,000 tonnes.