Cut CO2 by 25% without any preconditions: Kasai

Japan Press Weekly

Japan Press Service Co., Ltd. is the only news agency providing information of progressive, democratic movements in Japan

Cut CO2 by 25% without any preconditions: Kasai

Japanese Communist Party representative Kasai Akira on April 20 called for immediate action to achieve a 25%-cut in greenhouse gas emissions from the 1990 level without preconditions.

A bill now under discussion in the House of Representatives requires Japan to set the goal of a 25-percent reduction only after all major countries agree on establishing an international framework and similarly ambitious goal.

Kasai in his questioning in the House plenary session stated, “No matter what positions other countries may take, Japan must fulfill its responsibility as a developed country, in accordance with the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities” and demanded that such preconditions be deleted from the bill.

He also stated that a binding promise between the government and the industrial sector is essential because the industrial sector discharges 80-90 percent of the country’s carbon emissions.

Stressing the need to aim for a 20-percent increase in renewable energies and adopt effective measures without resorting to the use of nuclear energy, Kasai demanded that a provision on promotion of nuclear power generation be removed from the bill.

However, Prime Minister Hatoyama Yukio replied, “If Japan is the only country that pursues a high goal, it will be impossible to solve the issue of global climate change. So, we need some preconditions and I believe that nuclear power will contribute to establish a low-carbon future.”

- Akahata, April 21, 2010