@EcoInteractive: Japan Faces Low-Carbon Power Struggle

EcoInteractive

Japan Faces Low-Carbon Power Struggle ~ http://bit.ly/hltRTg

http://www.scientificamerican.com/

By Jeff Tollefson of Nature magazine

The disaster at Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant is putting the nation's ambitious plans to reduce carbon emissions under serious pressure. With few natural resources, Japan has long been forced to rely on imports of oil, coal and natural gas to provide about 80 percent of the energy needed to sustain its economy. Nuclear energy was supposed to help Japan limit these energy imports and cut its carbon emissions at the same time--but that was before Fukushima.

The government has committed to reduce carbon emissions by 25 percent from 1990 levels by 2020, and by roughly 80 percent from 1990 levels by 2050. The short-term target is particularly ambitious, because Japan's streamlined economy is already among the most energy-efficient in the world. To achieve its goals, Japan had planned to build nine nuclear power plants over the coming decade and a total of 14 plants by 2030, all while squeezing as much power as possible out of the current 54 plants. By 2030, nuclear power was to have provided half of Japan's electricity, doubling its current contribution (see "Nuclear power in Japan").