The four-year research project at the Junji Nakamura Laboratory (Research Professor) at Kyushu University's I2CNER concluded at the end of March 2026. Professor Nakamura is continuing his KAKENHI (Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research) S project as a visiting professor at the Institute for Catalysis (Takakusaki Lab) at Hokkaido University.
Junji Nakamura
Research Professor
Email: jnakamura@cat.hokudai.ac.jp
What is Global Warming?
Global warming is the greatest challenge humanity faces today. An analysis of 88,125 peer-reviewed climate change-related papers published from 2012 to 2020 reported that over 99% concluded that "warming is caused by human activity" (Lynas et al., Environmental Research Letters, 16, 114005, 2021). This result clearly indicates that the scientific consensus is that "global warming is anthropogenically caused." The primary cause of warming is the greenhouse effect of carbon dioxide (CO₂), with over 80% of emitted CO₂ resulting from the combustion of fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas). These fuels are primarily composed of carbon and hydrogen (CHₓ), and when reacted with oxygen, they produce CO₂ and water (H₂O), simultaneously releasing energy (approximately 800 kJ/mol). Therefore, using fossil fuels for power supply, industrial activities, and transportation leads to a nearly proportional amount of CO₂ emissions. Specifically, CO₂ equivalent to about three times the mass of the fossil fuel consumed accumulates in the atmosphere, especially near the Earth's surface (within about 10 km altitude). This CO₂ absorbs infrared radiation, covering the Earth like a blanket and trapping heat from the surface, thereby causing a rise in temperature. Currently, the Earth's average temperature continues to rise, but there are no signs of a decrease in global CO₂ emissions. This means that fundamental global measures remain insufficient.
The Path for Humanity: The Choice of Energy Carrier
Global warming is a global issue, and CO₂ emission reduction is also a problem that must be addressed on a global scale. While awareness of this point is spreading, there is still no clear agreement on the "future path," i.e., what specific technologies and energy systems should be built. One of the most important issues for future human society is the question of "what to choose as an energy carrier." Until now, fossil fuels excavated from underground have been used as a "virtually free" energy source. However, from now on, it will be necessary to artificially produce fuels using electricity derived from renewable energy, at a cost and with energy input. The important requirements for this are as follows: i) safety in handling, ii) ease of storage and transport, iii) availability in all countries, including developing ones, and iv) immediate implementability using existing technology. As a candidate that meets these conditions, I am convinced that methanol is the most promising. This is because, from my over 30 years of experience in methanol synthesis research, I have determined that methanol surpasses other candidates in terms of technical, economic, and practical aspects.
Mission as a Scientist and Engineer
The choice of energy carrier is an extremely important topic that will determine the future of humanity. Scientists and engineers have a responsibility to bring these options into the open within society and to promote quantitative and realistic discussions. Time is running out, and there is no room to rely on the hopeful expectation that so-called "dream technologies" will solve global warming. What is needed now is to immediately deploy practical and existing technologies and implement realistic measures. I am making concrete proposals for the realization of a methanol society through the book "Blueprint for a Methanol Society: Toward Carbon-Neutrality," published by Springer Nature in November 2025. I intend to continue these activities and contribute to global warming countermeasures through science and technology.