Japan’s bid to avert Trump tariffs draws fire over climate impact of US projects
Campaigners said the three US projects could generate greenhouse gas emissions equal to about 20 per cent of Japan’s annual total
The Japanese government agreed to invest 5.7 trillion yen (US$35.6 billion) in the three projects as part of the first round of spending on US infrastructure in return for Trump’s tariffs being suspended. In total, the bilateral trade deal is worth US$550 billion.
Japan agreed to the broader package in July last year after Trump had threatened 25 per cent tariffs on Japanese goods, with the deal lowering the rate to 15 per cent.
The three projects are a large gas-fired power plant in Ohio, a crude oil export facility in Texas and a plant manufacturing synthetic diamonds in Georgia.
A coalition of 29 environmental organisations from Japan, the US and other countries criticised the projects and urged Tokyo to stop using public money to support fossil fuel development, with an Asahi newspaper report published on April 11 estimating the three projects’ emissions at about 20 per cent of Japan’s annual total.
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Fukushima 15 years on: why Japan’s younger generation is embracing nuclear power
The planned Ohio thermal plant would be the largest of its kind in the world and could generate 9.2 gigawatts of electricity. Toshiba and SoftBank Group are among the Japanese companies expected to be involved in the development.