Japan is unlikely to make good on its promise to reduce its
greenhouse gas emissions under the Kyoto Protocol unless it takes
further action, a government interim report said last week.
The report was compiled by a panel set up jointly by the Ministry
of Environment and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry to
review the government's progress in achieving its target.
The 1997 protocol treaty requires Japan to slash the amount of
carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases it spews into the air to
6 percent below 1990 levels between 2008 and 2012.
The measures included in the current government's reduction
plan, however, will lower Japan's emissions by only about 4 percent
in 2010 from 1990 levels even if the amount absorbed by forests and
purchases of reductions overseas through emissions trade are
included, the panel's interim report said.
That means new measures must be taken to secure an additional
cut of 2 percentage points.
Completing the Kyoto target must be the highest priority for the
government, which hopes to play a high-profile role in
environmental diplomacy on occasions like next year's Group of
Eight summit, to be held at the Hokkaido resort of Lake Toyako.
But the panel's report focuses on urging businesses and
consumers to make greater efforts to reduce emissions, giving the
impression the government is trying to shift the burden of this
challenge entirely onto the people.
The report calls on the business community to develop a
voluntary action plan by setting a tough numerical target for each
industry. But the energy efficiency of Japanese manufacturing
plants has already been improved considerably.
The amount of CO2 emissions from the industrial sector in 2010
is projected to be about 9 percent lower than the level in fiscal
1990. A new incentive is needed to motivate businesses to make
efforts to cut emissions even further.
One effective incentive would be the creation of a domestic
emissions trade market that allows companies to buy and sell the
right to emit greenhouse gases. Under such a system, companies
outperforming their quota - the government-imposed limit on the
amount they can pollute - can sell their remaining credit to others
that haven't been able to do so.
The government should immediately start working with the
business community to sort out related issues, such as how to set
fair quotas of emission permits for companies.
Nuclear power generation has been promoted as a powerful means
to prune greenhouse emissions. But inspections needed to allay the
public concerns about the earthquake safety of nuclear power plants
are bound to lower capacity utilization at plants.
An energy policy that depends too much on nuclear power cannot
be a reliable cure for the problem of global warming. The
government should change its nuclear power-oriented energy policy
and focus more on efforts to promote the use of solar power and
other alternative energy sources. Consumers also need to contribute
by changing their lifestyles.
According to the panel's forecasts, CO2 emissions from
households in 2010 will grow by more than 10 percent from 1990, and
those from offices and other business-related facilities will
increase by about 30 percent.
The interim report holds out hope for a 1-kg reduction in daily
CO2 emissions by each person. In theory, that would trim the
nation's overall CO2 emissions by several percent if everybody does
their part. But the government will be criticized for inaction if
all it does is call on people to make a greater effort.
Replacing air conditioners, refrigerators and lighting equipment
with energy-efficient models would lead to a 0.3-kg cut in daily
CO2 emissions per head, according to the government's estimates.
Proposing these steps would make no difference unless effective
measures are taken to promote them, such as public subsidies for
the purchases of new models.
It is time to mobilize all possible policy measures to promote
energy conservation at homes and offices, including tax incentives.
The Ministry of Environment says it will consider revising the law
to impose specific emissions reduction targets on large
buildings.
That is an inevitable step for Japan to accomplish its Kyoto
emission target by the deadline. The panel's final report, expected
to be issued by year's end, will be the last plan to fulfill the
Kyoto commitment. We hope the panel, which represents both
environmental and economic interests, will lay out a bold vision to
change the future.
(China Daily August 16, 2007)
