The Japanese government plans to calculate the amount of "blue carbon," or carbon dioxide absorbed by seaweed and sea grass, as a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
The plan was revealed by Japanese Environment Minister Shintaro Ito at a ministerial meeting in Dubai on Saturday at the 28th Conference of the Parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, or COP28.
Japan aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 46% in fiscal 2030 from the fiscal 2013 level and reduce them to virtually zero by 2050. To meet the goal, the country is eyeing a system to count carbon absorption by trees, seaweed and others as a reduction in emissions.
Japan will include the amount of blue carbon in its report on greenhouse gas emissions and absorption for fiscal 2022 to the United Nations. This will be the first such step in the world.
Japan and other major countries are obliged to submit such a report by April each year.
At the COP28 ministerial meeting, the Japanese minister also unveiled an aid package for developing countries, including providing satellite data on emissions and helping them introduce an early warning system for weather disasters.