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By Aaron Sheldrick and Yuka Obayashi

TOKYO, Nov 9 (Reuters) - More than 20 international locations agreed to part out coal energy at the U.N. local weather talks in Glasgow, but not Japan - a "leap backwards" for a rustic that when led the best way on the Kyoto Protocol to cut back greenhouse fuel emissions.

The pact was among a raft of pledges made on the COP26 summit within the final week. Japan, the world's third-greatest importer of the dirtiest fossil gasoline, declined to sign as a result of it needed to preserve all its choices for energy era, officials said.

Critics referred to as that quick-sighted, at the same time as new the prime minister, Fumio Kishida, has agreed to step up different environmental measures.

"Despite Prime Minister Kishida pledging to direct elevated funding to local weather finance, we're dissatisfied that he failed to handle the elephant in the room - Japan's dependency on coal," mentioned Eric Christian Pedersen, head of responsible investments at Danish fund supervisor Nordea Asset Management.

The criticism highlights the shift in Japan's circumstances. It led climate change efforts during the 1990s Kyoto Protocol period, however has been burning more coal and different fossil fuels after the Fukushima disaster 10 years ago left many nuclear plants idle.

Not phasing out coal has "positioned Japan to take a leap backwards by signalling thermal energy plants can keep operating primarily based on new applied sciences that do not exist," said Kiran Aziz, head of accountable investments at KLP, Norway's largest pension fund.

China, the world's biggest supply of local weather change-fuelling gases, did not signal the pact and President Xi Jinping did not attend the conference. The nation has said it would reduce its use of coal for electricity by 1.Eight % over the following five years.

Japan has pledged billions of dollars for vulnerable international locations and to help building infrastructure in Asia for renewables and cleaner-burning fuels. It has also cut targets for coal use. Raised these for renewables.

"In Japan, where resources are scarce and the country is surrounded by the sea, there isn't a single excellent vitality supply," Noboru Takemoto, an trade ministry deputy director, told Reuters. "For this reason, Japan does not support the statement" on coal.

The ministry mentioned final year it could speed up shutdowns of coal-fired plants by 2030, later setting minimum effectivity standards and requiring firms to submit annual updates on section-outs.

But corporations are resisting such plans, a senior government at a significant Japanese generator said.

"It's being delayed and dragged out because lots of corporations are saying these units still work and are cheaper," the govt mentioned, adding that "a management push is needed."

A Reuters survey of Japanese corporations operating outdated coal energy models, together with Hokuriku Electric Power and Hokkaido Electric Power, showed that the majority of them haven't determined schedules to shut them down.

Hokuriku Electric plans to shut only one 250-megawatt coal unit in 2024, a spokesperson informed Reuters,

"Our coal-fired thermal energy plants play an vital position," in sustaining stable electricity provides, the spokesperson stated.

Hokkaido Electric, which shut two coal items in 2019, has no closings planned, while the opposite 5 corporations surveyed said they have no firm proposals. If you liked this report and you would like to receive additional facts relating to power backup diesel generator set (www.ultimate-guitar.com) kindly visit our site. Some are taking a look at using cleaner fuels, equivalent to ammonia, to burn with coal and other applied sciences to maintain them operating more cleanly.

"For professional-coal company Japan, what's more vital is enterprise, not the planet," mentioned Mutsuyoshi Nishimura, a former senior Japanese government official and chief climate change negotiator. "It's unhappy to see there isn't a vision for a better, extra sustainable and more aggressive Japan."

(Reporting by Aaron Sheldrick and Yuka Obayashi.