On 21 May 2023, Diplomatic Courier, a global affairs media network, published an article by UNU-IAS expert Joni Jupesta (Research Fellow and Academic Associate) focusing on the key role of negative emission technologies in Japan’s pathways towards carbon neutrality. It argues that the routes to achieving net zero are complex, and that Japan needs to carefully manage the interdependent links between energy supply and innovation to reduce demand for energy and support carbon dioxide removal.
Excerpt:
There are different pathways to achieve net zero carbon emissions (carbon neutrality), and each country faces its own set of challenges to achieving this goal. Let’s look at the case of Japan, where an important role will be played by negative emissions—removing CO2 from the atmosphere. Approaches for this include bioenergy carbon capture and storage, biochar and direct air carbon capture and storage. […] Since there are no silver bullet technologies to solve these energy issues, current energy systems in Japan will ineluctably take different pathways towards decarbonization. At a later stage policy may converge on the most promising or successful among these pathways. The world is waiting for Japan and other G7 countries to lead by example in taking ambitious action to achieve net zero emissions within the first half of this century.
The full article is available on the Diplomatic Courier website.