After a quick introduction to Mitchy, a cute, spectacled ghost character, dozens of guests are ushered into a dark room with a large screen and rows of virtual reality headsets.

The headsets transform the guests into obake (ghosts) and bring them into a whimsical world where smiling supernatural beings hand out a seemingly limitless number of gifts. The playful scene soon turns dark with the entrance of King C.O2, a large horned character with a Darth Vader-like voice.

“Human greed brought me to life,” the character bellows. “I’m going to rule the world.” Obake Wonderland is one of several pavilions at the Osaka Expo that focuses on the climate crisis and what the world can do to avoid the worst consequences of global warming.

But the organization behind the pavilion — the Japan Gas Association — might raise some eyebrows.

The main purpose of the pavilion is to detail a new type of gas called e-methane, which the association, including member utilities such as Tokyo Gas and Osaka Gas, is counting on to reduce emissions in order to meet net-zero goals.

In addition to the VR experience and the pavilion’s array of cute characters, the facility also explains the process of making e-methane and how it can help eliminate the gas industry’s massive annual total of planet-warming emissions. The Gas Pavilion had welcomed around 500,000 visitors by the end of August, making it one of the most popular exhibits at the expo.

But it's also not without controversy.

A display at the Gas Pavilion explains the process of producing e-methane. | JOEL TANSEY

While major Japanese gas companies say that e-methane is an essential tool to fight climate change, industry experts paint a different picture.

Critics say the myriad hurdles that need to be overcome for its widespread use will not come soon enough to help a planet that is rapi