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Japan Picks 21 Technologies to Halve CO2 Emissions By 2050

Posted on: Wednesday, 5 March 2008, 06:00 CST

Japan has identified 21 innovative technologies that could help to achieve the country's initiative of halving global greenhouse gas emissions from current levels by 2050, industry ministry officials said Wednesday.

The key energy-saving technologies that need to be commercialized or upgraded in the near future include near-zero emissions coal- fired power plants, advanced nuclear power, fuel cell vehicles, biofuels, steelmaking with hydrogen and next-generation lighting systems.

Japan estimates that about 60 per cent of the reduction target could be achieved if the 21 technologies are widely adopted around the world, the officials said.

To meet the target of halving carbon dioxide emissions by 2050, the world needs to curb a total of more than 40 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions.

Without the implementation of the innovative technologies, global CO2 emissions are expected to reach between 50-60 billion tons in 2050, compared with about 27 billion tons in 2005, according to the ministry.

The selection of the technologies was finalized by a government- private sector panel including Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Akira Amari, Nippon Steel Corp. President Akio Mimura and Sharp Corp. Chairman Katsuhiko Machida.

The government will explain the importance of the 21 technologies in a series of international meetings related to this year's Group of Eight summit, which Japan will host in Hokkaido in July.

Japan will initially promote better understanding of the technologies at an environmental meeting of the Group of 20 countries in Chiba Prefecture on March 14-16, officially known as the Fourth Ministerial Meeting of G-8 Gleneagles Dialogue on Climate Change, Clean Energy and Sustainable Development, they said.

Source: BBC Monitoring Asia Pacific

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