May 28, 2008
The Japanese Communist Party in the Diet demanded that Japan, as an advanced capitalist country, establish its mid-term target for cutting greenhouse gas emissions in the next 12 years.
At the House of Councilors Environmental Committee meeting on May 27, JCP Secretariat Head Ichida Tadayoshi took up the Japanese government policy in connection with the recent G8 Environment Ministers’ Meeting held in Kobe City in which Japan was criticized for clinging to its call for a “sectoral approach.”
The sector-specific approach requires each industrial sector to come up with its own target. The country’s goal will be the aggregate of amounts promised by the industrial sectors. This method will be convenient for such industries as steel, which are large emitters of carbon dioxide.
Ichida pointed out that the government policy of leaving the matter to the business sectors makes it comfortable for them to continue using larger amounts of coal as fuel compared to other countries.
Many countries succeeded in drastically reducing the consumption of coal, a fossil fuel that emits large amounts of carbon dioxide, but Japan’s coal consumption has decreased only by 18 percent since 1990.
Ichida said that Japan’s heavy dependence on coal has contributed to increasing greenhouse gas emissions by 6.2 percent, far from fulfilling its commitment under the Kyoto Protocol to cut emissions by 6 percent by 2012 from the 1990 levels.
Environment Minister Kamoshita Ichiro admitted the policy of leaving everything to the industrial sectors will be largely ineffective.
“By setting a mid-term target, Japan should show more initiative and a sense of urgency,” Ichida said.
At the House of Councilors Environmental Committee meeting on May 27, JCP Secretariat Head Ichida Tadayoshi took up the Japanese government policy in connection with the recent G8 Environment Ministers’ Meeting held in Kobe City in which Japan was criticized for clinging to its call for a “sectoral approach.”
The sector-specific approach requires each industrial sector to come up with its own target. The country’s goal will be the aggregate of amounts promised by the industrial sectors. This method will be convenient for such industries as steel, which are large emitters of carbon dioxide.
Ichida pointed out that the government policy of leaving the matter to the business sectors makes it comfortable for them to continue using larger amounts of coal as fuel compared to other countries.
Many countries succeeded in drastically reducing the consumption of coal, a fossil fuel that emits large amounts of carbon dioxide, but Japan’s coal consumption has decreased only by 18 percent since 1990.
Ichida said that Japan’s heavy dependence on coal has contributed to increasing greenhouse gas emissions by 6.2 percent, far from fulfilling its commitment under the Kyoto Protocol to cut emissions by 6 percent by 2012 from the 1990 levels.
Environment Minister Kamoshita Ichiro admitted the policy of leaving everything to the industrial sectors will be largely ineffective.
“By setting a mid-term target, Japan should show more initiative and a sense of urgency,” Ichida said.
