Japan’s international imports of liquified natural gas (LNG) from the United States, much of which it subsequently sells to Asia, were responsible for 63.5 billion kilogrammes of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions between 2020 and 2025, a similar amount as 17 coal plants in a year, analysed by research firm Zero Carbon Analytics.
In a report released this month, the research firm said that Japan sold 77 per cent more US LNG to other countries than it imported for domestic use, with 31 per cent of that going to other Asian markets like South Korea, China, India, Thailand, Singapore, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Malaysia.
Beyond trading LNG as a commodity, Tokyo promotes continued demand for LNG through initiatives such as Asia Zero Emissions Community, through which both Japanese and local Southeast Asian companies have signed 32 agreements to develop gas or LNG-related projects.
Asia Zero Emissions Community is a platform for cooperation towards net zero emissions in the Asia region.
LNG is often promoted as a “cleaner” fuel than coal as it produces lower emissions when burnt, but export of the fuel to various Asian countries adds on to the total emissions from LNG’s long supply chain.
“Our calculations of the full lifecycle emissions of these LNG resales highlight the risk they pose to a region already vulnerable to extreme weather and other climate impacts,” said Asia regional researcher of Zero Carbon Analytics, Yu Sun Chin.
The report also states that LNG is highly polluting in the short term since it is primarily made of methane, making up 30 per cent of total emissions in the supply chain which leaks during production and processing of the gas as well as being released when burned for final use. Methane is considered a more potent greenhouse gas than CO2 as it warms the atmosphere 80 times as much as CO2 within the first 20 years of being emitted.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) warns that methane emissions from LNG remains high and emphasises that reducing wasted methane from leaks and flaring can serve as an effective energy efficiency measure through their global methane tracker.
Other experts noted that Japan’s role of trading and reselling US LNG to Asia has led it to invest in growing the region’s demand for gas, building a new market for the fuel even as Japan’s own demands for LNG declines.
From the research firm’s press release, there are several statements made by a few experts on their perspective on Japan’s reselling.
“This strategy not only jeopardises global climate goals, but it also threatens to lock in emerging economies to a volatile, expensive fuel source for decades and delay a more rapid transition to renewable energy,” said Sam Reynolds, research lead for LNG and gas in Asia at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA).
Despite the recent announcement of a deal between US and Iran to end the conflict in the Middle East, gas prices remain elevated after having surged to three-year highs since the war broke out at the end of February.
“Japan has long positioned itself as a regional energy and economic leader in Asia,” said senior advocate of international energy Shruti Shukla at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). “That leadership should help accelerate a resilient clean energy transition across the region, not deepen dependence on another generation of imported fossil fuels.”
