Japan Dishonored with Fossil Award from Int’l NGO

Tokyo, Nov. 14 (Jiji Press)–An international nongovernmental organization tackling environment issues has picked Japan for its Fossil of the Day award, suggesting that the country’s efforts to combat climate change are inadequate. The Climate Action Network, or CAN, named Japan for the award on Thursday during the ongoing 30th Conference of the Parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, or COP30, in Belem, Brazil. In a statement, CAN criticized technologies promoted by Japan as solutions to global warming as “techno-fixes to extend fossil fuel life,” citing carbon capture and storage, or CCS, and ammonia co-firing with fossil fuels. The organization also said that Japan’s significant investments in gas projects in Australia would “threaten lands, waters and culture.” The fossil award will be given daily until the conference ends on Nov. 21. CCS, in which carbon dioxide is captured and stored underground, is carried out at power plants, factories and other facilities to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Ammonia co-firing with fossil fuels has been mainly introduced at thermal power plants, since ammonia does not emit CO2 when burned. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]