November 30, 2023

Japanese Communist Party lawmaker Yamazoe Taku at a House of Councilors Budget Committee meeting on November 29 demanded that Prime Minister Kishida Fumio at the 28th UN Climate Change Conference of the State Parties (Nov.30-Dec.12) in Dubai, the UAE, propose to set a cap on military greenhouse gas emissions.

However, PM Kishida evaded any clear response by saying, “Each country’s gross emissions will be managed and the total allowable amount will be restricted.”

Yamazoe pointed out, “The U.S. military is the world’s number one GHG emitter as a single entity,” and asked if the government is aware of how much CO2 militaries worldwide release.

Environment Minister Ito Shintaro said in response, “As the military’s global emissions data is reported in the category of ‘others’ under the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) guidelines, we have no grasp on that.”

Yamazoe said that it is estimated that militaries account for 5.5% of the total global GHG emissions. He added that the U.S. military alone is said to produce more carbon dioxide than Switzerland or New Zealand.

Referring to the fact that seven countries among the top ten military spenders in the world are also included in the top ten CO2 emitters, Yamazoe pointed out, “Military expenditures obviously correlate with GHG emissions.”

He once again demanded that PM Kishida raise the issue of GHG releases by militaries at COP28.