Key Roles of LPG in Realizing Long-Term Contributions
to the Environment and Resilience (Sustainable Recovery)
Chapter 3: Conclusions (Contributions of LPG industry to the SDGs and our proposals for the important role of the LPG industry)
Contributions of LPG industry to the SDGs
In this report, we identified four goals on which the LPG industry should focus to achieve the SDGs and came up with an action plan to address the issue. Our society is continuously changing with varied and unpredictable elements entangled in a complex manner. Amid such circumstances, we believe it would be meaningful to show the ways we need to strive in line with the SDGs, while properly recognizing various challenges that should not be overlooked to achieve the goals.
With this in mind, we would like to emphasize the following four points which represent the value and usefulness of LPG:
| 1) | LPG, as a decentralized energy, has an advantage of sustainability and can support our society and lives through the LPG industry’s secured distribution system: SDG7 |
| 2) | LPG has an excellent disaster response capability as demonstrated in the large-scaled disasters that have occurred in the past: LPG’s supply chain recovered much quicker than other energy sources. LPG will continue sustaining our daily life even in the event of disasters: SDG9 |
| 3) | LPG and electricity should intelligently co-exist and mutually complement each other from an energy security perspective by leveraging LPG’s advantageous points despite its nature as fossil fuel: SDG11 |
| 4) | Thanks to its lower CO2 emission, LPG is an eco-friendly energy not only suitable for consumer use, but also for the industrious use (switching to LPG) as well as for the Autogas vehicles: SDG13 |
Proposals for important role of LPG industry
The powerful Typhoon No.15 in 2019 brought a record-breaking wind to Chiba Prefecture, which destroyed hundreds of power poles as well as the high & low voltage power networks and led to the massive power outages in vast areas for a couple of weeks. This fact reminds us of a potential risk that even a mega city, such as Tokyo, may face greater dangers in the future as we saw in Chiba Prefecture.
Amid the serious risks as described above, we need to say that the monochronic energy policy -that renewal energy is the only solution to be set as the main power source for a long-term environmental countermeasure - is not a sustainable approach from a viewpoint of resilience. Unless we have supplementary fuels, which can back-up our energy infrastructure in a sustainable manner when facing with an unexpected power cut and consequent damages, sustainable society cannot be realized in a true meaning. In other words, unconventional changes in our mindset will be required in order to achieve and realize the SDGs; it is essential to establish a way of thinking that LPG should be utilized as a decentralized energy source so as to construct a sustainable social infrastructure.
In order to take climate change action by the LPG industry, in-depth consideration should be given to help realize a carbon neutral society and to enhance affinity between LPG and renewable energy. Especially, further efforts should be directed to the implementation of future-oriented actions such as development of innovative technologies to produce bio-LPG, synthesis LPG (i.e., Propanation), integration of LPG emergency generators into micro-grid system, and so forth.
In summary, it is necessary for all members of our society to share public awareness on the positive use of low carbon fossil fuels such as LPG, in light of well-balanced energy-mix while recognizing that LPG can play an important role as a decentralized energy source. In addition, bold and aggressive actions in well-organized ways through collaboration between the government, industry and academia are required to achieve the SDGs. Bearing these points in mind, those who are involved in the LPG industry should enhance our efforts to address these issues in a constructive manner so that LPG can be continuously chosen by this society as a favorable energy source.
