Japan's Lack of Leadership Threatens Success of Kyoto Climate Change Summit
August 7th, 1997
BONN, GERMANY, -- WWF sharply criticized the
government of Japan, Tuesday, for slowing progress at the current
United Nations climate change negotiations in Bonn by displaying internal
confusion for the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions and a complete
lack of ambition for ultimately achieving a meaningful commitment to
combat climate change. WWF believes Japan's actions seriously threaten
the success of the Climate Change Summit that they will host in Kyoto at
the end of this year.
WWF firmly believes that the Climate Change Summit can only be
considered a success if there is agreement on binding targets to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions in Annex I countries by 20% below 1990
levels by 2005. To that end, WWF has produced a series of reports
about the environmental destruction caused by climate change. In
response, WWF has begun dialogues with industries around the world
about practicing greater energy efficiency and renewable energy
processes.
At a WWF symposium in Tokyo, Japan, last month attended by more than
190 Japanese business and industry leaders, it was evident that
Japanese businesses are interested in reducing emissions and find it
technologically and economically feasible to do so in the short- and
long-term.
In July, WWF representatives from Europe and the US spent a week in
Tokyo talking with business leaders and officials of government agencies
including Ambassador Tanabe, MITI, the Environment Agency and NEDO.
Industrialists from ENRON Corporation and AEG Household Appliances,
representing the US and European Business Councils for Sustainable
Energy also attended the symposium.
Conclusions from those meetings include:
- There is a fatal flaw in the Japanese government's meagre
ambition for a Kyoto Protocol containing a weak target, or no target,
which would then be reviewed at a later date. Also, it does not provide
the clarity of direction that investors in the energy industry require.
- Such a weak Protocol would undermine industry's faith in the
Convention process because it would not be effective in protecting the
environment. And it would notencourage developing countries to become involved in later
efforts. Japan must be more ambitious. Agreement on only a weak Protocol in Kyoto would be
a disaster for Japan regarding public expectations and incentives for
innovative industries in Japan, which have proven to implement a
high level in energy efficiency.
- Japan is concentrating too much on criticising the EU's position
without coming forward with its own proposals.
- There are now questions about the leadership of Toshiaki Tanabe,
Japan Ambassador for Global Environmental Affairs, because of his
inability to unify the conflicting views of MITI and the Japan's Environment
Agency.
- Whereas Japan once lead the world in energy efficiency, some
European countries now perform just as well. And Europe is now more
ambitious than Japan in its current and future use of co-generation, the
use of natural gas and expansion of renewable energy.
- It is a myth that Japan has done all it can to improve energy
efficiency. In the steel industry, for instance, efficiency gains of 24%
would be possible by 2005. A published report from the National Institute
for Environmental Studies says that carbon dioxide reductions of 6.1 to
7.6 % would be possible in Japan by 2010. WWF has commissioned two
Japanese experts to report on what policies and measures can be used
to reduce the country's carbon dioxide emissions for distribution before
the Kyoto Summit.
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