Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant catastrophe has claimed another victim - the country's commitment to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Japan is replacing its nuclear energy with imported coal and natural gas. As a result Japanese delegates to the Warsaw climate change summit have announced the target of a 25% cut in emissions has now been reduced to a 3.8% goal.
China's climate negotiator Su Wei said: "I have no way of describing my dismay" about the revised target.
The European Union said it expected all nations to stick to promised cuts as part of efforts to halt global warming.
"This move by Japan could have a devastating impact," said Naoyuki Yamagishi of environmental campaign group WWF Japan. "It could further accelerate the race to the bottom among other developed countries."
Japan's now shuttered nuclear power plants had provided more than a quarter of the nation's electricity.
No word yet on when Stephen Harper will send his government's official commendation of Japan's decision.
Sickning!..Like Australia.
ReplyDeletePity Japan has such terrible policies. Meanwhile, in Germany, where they also shut down their nuclear power after Fukushima, they're actually shutting down coal plants. That would be because they have been building masses of solar and a good deal of wind power.
ReplyDeletehttp://energytransition.de/2013/11/germany-to-shut-down-12-power-plants/
And in Denmark, they now sometimes at low-demand times find themselves producing more than 100% of demand from wind alone.
http://energytransition.de/2013/11/denmark-surpasses-100-percent-wind-power/
Purple library guy...you are absolutely correct but do you think Canadians give a darn? For humanities sake, cities here in Alberta are installing smart metres knowing SM produce radiation. Try living in an apartment with ten SM's on the back of your bedroom and do the right thing by objecting to the instillation. One person presents this issue to the community and the city fathers and mothers shrug. For what reason? Aww yes! They might be looking for a place on a certain committee or a place on city council or a place in a provincial office or what ever trying to get their name on the wall before they die. They just don't care about you, me or anyone else except themselves.
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