Japan Fossil-Fuel CO₂ Emissions

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Trends

The history of fossil-fuel CO₂ emissions from Japan is remarkable for the abrupt change that occurred in 1973. With postwar growth at 9.8% per year from 1950 to 1973, total emissions were virtually constant from 1974-1987. From 1987-97, emissions grew 31.8% reaching 353 million metric tons of carbon. Growth during this period was characterized by a return to late-1970s consumption levels for liquid petroleum products and increased contributions from coal and natural gas use. Since 1997, Japan's fossil-fuel CO₂ emissions have vacilated peaking at 358 million metric tons of carbon in 2004 and totalling 353 million metric tons of carbon in 2006. Japan is the world's largest importer of coal (179 million metric tons) and liquified petroleum gas (14.1 million metric tons), second largest importer of crude oil (207 million metric tons), and third largest importer of natural gas (3.45 billion terajoules), based on 2006 UN energy trade data. Japan's per capita fossil-fuel CO₂ emission rate for 2006 stands at 2.80 metric tons of carbon.