As summer heat looms, Japan urged to curb emissions

TOKYO — Temperatures are rising in Japan and summer is coming fast.

Cherry blossoms are blooming sooner than ever before, chiffon-pink that's traditionally heralded spring for the nation popping up just two weeks into March.

In Osaka, temperatures soared to 25 C on March 22, a record for that time of year. Tottori, in the southwest, hit 25.8 C on the same day, the highest in 140 years, according to climatologist Maximiliano Herrera. Tottori's temperatures usually hover around 12 C in March.

With thermometers already shooting upward and fossil fuel use that feeds climate change still creeping up around the world, Japan is set for another sweltering summer and is at growing risk of flooding and landslides.

"The risks from climate change are right before us," said Yasuaki Hijioka, deputy director of the Center for Climate Change Adaptation at the National Institute for Environmental Studies in Tsukuba, northeast of Tokyo.

Critics say Japan could be doing more to boost renewable energy use, such as solar and wind power. The government plans for renewables to make up over a third of the country's power supply by 2030 and to phase out coal use sometime in the 2040s.

Japan is also part of the Group of Seven economies that pledged to be largely free of fossil fuels for electricity by 2035.

Since Fukushima, Japan has kept most of the nation's 50-some nuclear reactors offline. About 10 reactors are up and running, 24 reactors are being decommissioned. What Japan will eventually decide on nuclear power remains unclear.

Hijioka, who believes Japan lags in the shift toward renewable energy, said he was frustrated by policymakers who he said have dragged their feet on dealing with climate change, but are pushing a return to nuclear.

Despite its potential to curb planet-warming emissions, skepticism remains among some climate change experts about turning to nuclear power due to costs and time scales of projects compared with how quickly and cheaply an equivalent amount of renewable energy can come online. There are also concerns among the public.

"It's utterly irresponsible, when we think about the next generation," Hijioka said. "We may be old, and we may die so it might not matter. But what about our children?"

Agencies Via Xinhua