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Osaka (AFP) March 29, 2011 Japan's Premier Naoto Kan said Tuesday the country must push alternative energy sources as it recovers from its quake and tsunami disaster and struggles to contain a nuclear emergency. "Taking this as a lesson, we have to lead the world in clean energy, such as solar and biomass, and make it a major pillar of a new Japan," the centre-left leader told a parliamentary committee. His top spokesman, Yukio Edano, later said that the use of clean energy sources would likely be a key feature of a reconstruction plan for the northeastern region where entire towns were swept away on March 11. "In overcoming the devastation and creating a future-oriented vision, we are looking into the possibility of promoting and pushing more for clean energy," Edano was quoted as saying by Kyodo News agency. A massive 14-metre (46-foot) tsunami sparked by the seabed quake hit the coastal Fukushima nuclear plant northeast of Tokyo, which has since emitted radiation into the air and sea, sparking international concern. Resource-poor Japan, highly dependent on Middle Eastern oil, meets about one third of its energy needs with nuclear power, but its high-tech companies are also world leaders in many environmental and energy-saving technologies. Japanese officials also said Tuesday that -- despite the seismic calamity that left about 28,000 people dead or missing -- Tokyo would attend UN climate talks starting in Bangkok on April 3 as planned. The meeting of senior officials is the first for the year aimed at building international cooperation on combating global warming. It will also continue a fierce debate over whether to extend the Kyoto Protocol on curbing greenhouse gases that expires next year. "Japan is set to fully participate" in the meeting, said Takeshi Sekiya, an environment ministry official, despite the fact that Japan's primary focus now was on disaster recovery and reconstruction. On the climate issue, he said: "Japan's basic stance remains unchanged. We aim to build a fair and effective framework in which all major (carbon) emitting countries, such as the United States and China, take part." Japan attracted some criticism last year for opposing an extension of the Kyoto Protocol. It said doing so would be unfair because top polluters China and the United States were not involved.
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Debut Of The First Practical Artificial LeafAnaheim CA (SPX) Mar 29, 2011 Scientists claimed one of the milestones in the drive for sustainable energy - development of the first practical artificial leaf. Speaking here at the 241st National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, they described an advanced solar cell the size of a poker card that mimics the process, called photosynthesis, that green plants use to convert sunlight and water into energy. "A prac ... read more |
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