Japan approves 26pc emissions reduction targets amid controversy
Ministers approve plan on Tuesday but choice of 2013 as baseline year proves controversial
Japan approved a plan on Tuesday to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 26 per cent by 2030.
Environment Minister Yoshio Mochizuki made the announcement in Tokyo and the plan now awaits final government approval.
The reduction targets were first put forward in a draft in April and 2013 will be used as the reference year for the cuts.
Cabinet ministers signed off the plan this week and the target is already being criticised by environmental groups for not going far enough.
The choice of 2013 as the baseline is proving controversial because Japan recorded the second-highest emissions level in its history that year as it used more fossil fuels to compensate for the reduced nuclear power sources after the Fukushima power plant meltdown.
Mochizuki said: “We know there are various opinions. We will explain our target to other countries to gain their understanding.”
Japan confirmed its US$1.5 billion pledge to the UN’s climate fund on Friday, bringing the fund over the 50 per cent threshold to start financing projects in developing countries.
Japan’s commitment brings the total of signed contribution agreements to US$5.47 billion, or 58.5 per cent of the amount that countries committed at the Green Climate Fund’s High-level Pledging Conference in Berlin in November 2014.
The GCF has now formally reached ‘effectiveness’ and can begin the critical phase of considering funding proposals with a view to submit initial projects to the Fund’s Board later this year, ahead of the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP 21) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Paris.
Atsuyuki Oike, Ambassador Director-General for Global Issues in Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said: “The Government of Japan appreciates the finalization of the contribution arrangement, just in time for the 7th Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting which will be held in Japan this week and address financing for climate adaptation of small islands states. We now look forward to reviewing GCF’s first projects and programmes to achieve the Fund’s objectives, with a particular emphasis on vulnerable countries including SIDS and LDCs. We also hope that the effective operationalization of GCF will contribute to successful negotiations for a Paris Agreement.”
Established in 2010, the Green Climate Fund is designed to distribute money equitably from developed nations to the developing states to reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions and support climate change adaptation projects.
