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The Nitrogen Cycle: Negative Impacts of Japan’s Ammonia Power Dreams

In Japan, plans are under way to promote the use of fuel ammonia to generate electricity from thermal power generation. This article will focus on nitrogen, an essential component in ammonia production, and look at the impacts of the massive use of ammonia on the natural nitrogen cycle.   Natural nitrogen cycle Ammonia (NH3) is a compound consisting of nitrogen and hydrogen. Nitrogen accounts for 78% of the Earth’s atmosphere, and is one of the elements in the proteins that are essential for living organisms. In the atmosphere, it exists in the form of extremely stable nitrogen molecules (N2). Living organisms cannot easily use nitrogen, unlike oxygen, but certain microorganisms […]

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Road to Hiroshima 2023
ー Key Takeaways from G7 Summit ー

Group of Seven (G7) leaders, during the G7 Summit in June in Elmau, Germany, agreed to find solutions to issues such as climate change, a just transition, COVID-19 and gender equality. The leaders also confirmed their determination not to compromise on climate change and biodiversity targets, and to reduce dependence on Russian energy, despite heightened energy and food risks resulting from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to the G7 Leaders’ Communiqué (“Communiqué”) . Japan will hold the G7 presidency and host the summit in Hiroshima next year. To help advance climate actions of G7 and beyond, here are our recaps of key agreements on climate change at G7 this year. […]

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Ammonia use in thermal power generation in Japan

≫ Download Full Report Japan is actively promoting the use of fuel ammonia, purportedly in an effort to achieve carbon neutrality. There are great expectations for its use as an alternative fuel to coal, particularly in the thermal power sector. Could the use of fuel ammonia really be a key to decarbonization?   Ammonia as an alternative fuel to coal?   The government is giving its all-out support to expand the use of fuel ammonia with every tool available, from strategic plans, legislation, subsidies, and debt guarantees, to memorandums of understanding with Southeast Asian countries, and more. The private sector is rushing to join the bandwagon with a wave of new […]

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2022
Japan Climate Calendar
Top Ten Highlights

What will happen in 2022? The COP26 Glasgow Conference in 2021 (26th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change) agreed on the goal of effectively limiting the global average temperature rise to 1.5°C. As current national targets, policies and measures fall far short of what is needed to achieve the 1.5°C goal, however, COP26 called on countries to revisit and strengthen their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) before the 2022 meeting, with more ambitious targets for 2030. The year 2022 will therefore prove to be a real test of whether or not countries can strengthen their targets and policies, inject a sense of greater urgency, and […]