TOKYO, Oct 6, 2023 (AFP) – A Japanese climate group has filed a petition to stop advertisements by the nation’s biggest power company using the phrases “zero-emissions thermal power” and “CO2-free fire.”
Jera, Japan’s largest coal-fired power generation company, plans to use ammonia alongside fossil fuels to generate power at its existing plants and reduce its carbon emissions.
But NGO Kiko Network has said the company’s ad campaign fails to mention that the production of ammonia emits carbon dioxide.
The group said in a statement on Thursday that the ads “may mislead consumers” and called them “climate greenwashing”. They have filed the petition to the Japan Advertising Review Organization.
Jera claims in the ads they will “create CO2-free fire” and their project will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by co-firing ammonia and fossil fuel.
The company told local media that they are aware of the petition.
Japan aims to become carbon-neutral by 2050, the same goal as the European Union.
To reduce carbon emissions, the country is promoting the use of hydrogen and its derivative ammonia by burning it alongside gas and coal at existing power stations.
After a tsunami caused a meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in March 2011, Japan halted all its nuclear reactors to review and strengthen safety controls.
That left the country highly dependent on imported fossil fuels — especially natural gas, which accounts for nearly 40 percent of Japan’s total electricity production, and coal, which represents around 30 percent.