Mitsubishi bets on carbon removal while keeping coal plants

(Climate Home News, 27 Apr 2023) Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi has made a big investment in carbon credits from projects that will suck carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it.

The company has teamed up with carbon offset provider South Pole to buy nearly 200,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide removal credits from technological, about a quarter of all such purchases to date.

They hope to sell these credits for millions of dollars. Companies like UBS bank, Mitsui shipping line and the Bosting Consulting Group have already promised to buy them.

But New Climate Institute researcher Takeshi Kuramochi, who has studied carbon capture, told Climate Home that Mitsubishi’s involvement was “disturbing”.

“If Mitsubishi is to strengthen its ‘commitment to the sustainable future’, they would better contribute to [emissions reductions] by first accelerating its transition of fossil fuel-heavy energy business to renewables,” he said.

Major polluter

According to Global Energy Monitor, Mitsubishi currently operates nine coal power stations in Japan and Taiwan, and is building two in Vietnam and two in Indonesia.

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Climate Home News, 27 Apr 2023: Mitsubishi bets on carbon removal while keeping coal plants