Chưa thể “đoạn tuyệt” nhiệt điện than

-----

Just beyond the windows of Satsuki Kanno’s apartment overlooking Tokyo Bay, a behemoth (quái vật khổng lồ) from a bygone era (kỷ nguyên đã xa) will soon rise: a coal-burning power plant (nhà máy nhiệt điện than), part of a buildup of coal power that is unheard-of for an advanced economy.

It is one unintended consequence of the Fukushima nuclear disaster almost a decade ago, which forced Japan to all but close its nuclear power program. Japan now plans to build as many as 22 new coal-burning power plants — one of the dirtiest sources of electricity — at 17 different sites in the next five years, just at a time when the world needs to slash carbon dioxide emissions to fight global warming.

...Together the 22 power plants would emit almost as much carbon dioxide annually as all the passenger cars sold each year in the United States. The construction stands in contrast with Japan’s effort to portray this summer’s Olympic Games in Tokyo as one of the greenest ever.