Japan is unlikely to make good on its promise to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions under the Kyoto Protocol unless it takes further action, a government interim report said last week.

 

The report was compiled by a panel set up jointly by the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry to review the government's progress in achieving its target.

 

The 1997 protocol treaty requires Japan to slash the amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases it spews into the air to 6 percent below 1990 levels between 2008 and 2012.

 

The measures included in the current government's reduction plan, however, will lower Japan's emissions by only about 4 percent in 2010 from 1990 levels even if the amount absorbed by forests and purchases of reductions overseas through emissions trade are included, the panel's interim report said.

 

That means new measures must be taken to secure an additional cut of 2 percentage points.

 

Completing the Kyoto target must be the highest priority for the government, which hopes to play a high-profile role in environmental diplomacy on occasions like next year's Group of Eight summit, to be held at the Hokkaido resort of Lake Toyako.

 

But the panel's report focuses on urging businesses and consumers to make greater efforts to reduce emissions, giving the impression the government is trying to shift the burden of this challenge entirely onto the people.

 

The report calls on the business community to develop a voluntary action plan by setting a tough numerical target for each industry. But the energy efficiency of Japanese manufacturing plants has already been improved considerably.

 

The amount of CO2 emissions from the industrial sector in 2010 is projected to be about 9 percent lower than the level in fiscal 1990. A new incentive is needed to motivate businesses to make efforts to cut emissions even further.

 

One effective incentive would be the creation of a domestic emissions trade market that allows companies to buy and sell the right to emit greenhouse gases. Under such a system, companies outperforming their quota - the government-imposed limit on the amount they can pollute - can sell their remaining credit to others that haven't been able to do so.

 

The government should immediately start working with the business community to sort out related issues, such as how to set fair quotas of emission permits for companies.

 

Nuclear power generation has been promoted as a powerful means to prune greenhouse emissions. But inspections needed to allay the public concerns about the earthquake safety of nuclear power plants are bound to lower capacity utilization at plants.

 

An energy policy that depends too much on nuclear power cannot be a reliable cure for the problem of global warming. The government should change its nuclear power-oriented energy policy and focus more on efforts to promote the use of solar power and other alternative energy sources. Consumers also need to contribute by changing their lifestyles.

 

According to the panel's forecasts, CO2 emissions from households in 2010 will grow by more than 10 percent from 1990, and those from offices and other business-related facilities will increase by about 30 percent.

 

The interim report holds out hope for a 1-kg reduction in daily CO2 emissions by each person. In theory, that would trim the nation's overall CO2 emissions by several percent if everybody does their part. But the government will be criticized for inaction if all it does is call on people to make a greater effort.

 

Replacing air conditioners, refrigerators and lighting equipment with energy-efficient models would lead to a 0.3-kg cut in daily CO2 emissions per head, according to the government's estimates. Proposing these steps would make no difference unless effective measures are taken to promote them, such as public subsidies for the purchases of new models.

 

It is time to mobilize all possible policy measures to promote energy conservation at homes and offices, including tax incentives. The Ministry of Environment says it will consider revising the law to impose specific emissions reduction targets on large buildings.

 

That is an inevitable step for Japan to accomplish its Kyoto emission target by the deadline. The panel's final report, expected to be issued by year's end, will be the last plan to fulfill the Kyoto commitment. We hope the panel, which represents both environmental and economic interests, will lay out a bold vision to change the future.

 

(China Daily August 16, 2007)