Japan’s natural gas industry has been making controversial claims about the fuel with the hopes of making it more appealing to climate-conscious buyers.
Tokyo-based Inpex Corp. this month said it sold two "carbon neutral” liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments to Shizuoka Gas Co. and Toho Gas Co., offsetting the fuel’s lifetime emissions using credits from projects that include forest conservation in Indonesia. Those credits would offset more than 450,000 tons of carbon-dioxide emissions from the two shipments, covering the entire value chain from production to combustion, according to spokespeople at Shizuoka Gas and Toho Gas.
The three Japanese companies said they will use the credits to meet their targets for net-zero emissions. The companies didn’t disclose who paid for the credits, price or supplier.