Japan’s New Government Commits To Leading The World With Carbon Reductions

Posted on 07. Sep, 2009 by Ross in Asia, Government Policy

Having firmly ousted the previous administration, Japan’s Democratic Party are turning the country from an environmental laggard to a world leader.

The new government has confirmed that a 25% drop in carbon dioxide emissions from 1990 levels by 2020, a prominent campaign message during the recent election campaign, is now the country’s official carbon target which they will bring to the negotiating table at the Copenhagen conference in December.

Japan’s previous poor carbon target equated to only an 8% reduction in carbon emissions from 1990 levels, only 2% less than their Kyoto target which they are currently struggling to meet within the next three years. The lack of ambition from Japan caused widespread condemnation from other countries and environmental groups, with the World Wildlife Fund describing the target as ‘appalling’.

The move is a real boost to European efforts to engage other developed nations with stronger emission cuts, with the developing world expecting nothing less. It means that more attention is likely to focus upon the USA, whose commitments are weak compared to most, and Russia, whose carbon targets equate to a 30% increase.

Japan’s commitment comes with a proviso which is becoming increasingly common in national carbon reduction policies, though: the target only stands if China and India also commit to binding agreements on carbon reduction at the Copenhagen conference. Japan’s Prime Minister-elect Yukio Hatoyama said:

We can’t stop climate change just with our country setting an emissions target… We will also aim to create a fair and effective international framework by all major countries in the world… Tackling climate change aggressively will open a new frontier for the Japanese economy and create jobs in areas such as electric cars and clean energy technology, including solar power… There are cautious people who worry that it will hurt the economy and livelihoods, but I think it will change things for the better.

He added that industrialised countries should provide financial and technological support to developing nations to reduce emissions, and that he wanted to present his stance on climate policy in more detail at a U.N. international climate change meeting later this month.

Photo of Japan’s Mount Fuji by skyseeker @ Flickr