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ENVIRONMENT: Japan, China Pledge to Act on Climate Change

Thalif Deen

UNITED NATIONS, Sep 22 2009 (IPS) - When the one-day summit meeting on climate change ended late Tuesday, only Japan and China were singled out for their concrete commitments to battle one of the world’s biggest environmental challenges.

Asked for an assessment of the summit, David Waskow, spokesperson for Oxfam International, told IPS: “Everyone played nice at the climate summit tea party, but only Japan and China showed up with cake.”

James P. Leape, director general of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) International, was equally appreciative of China and Japan for their “strong leadership on climate change action at the summit.”

“We commend the leadership from the two largest East Asian players which is impressive,” said Leape.

Both Chinese President Hu Jintao and Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama “have demonstrated their commitment to implement a series of practical measures to turn rhetoric into action,” he said.

Addressing the largest ever gathering of world leaders at a summit meeting on climate change, U.S. President Barack Obama acknowledged that Western industrial nations that caused much of the damage to the climate over the last century “still have a responsibility to lead”.

“And we will continue to do so,” he vowed in his maiden appearance before the United Nations, “by investing in renewable energy, promoting greater efficiency, and slashing our emissions to reach the targets we set for 2020 and our long-term goal of 2050.” But the more concrete pledges came from two of the largest emitters of greenhouses gases: China and Japan (the rest of the big emitters being the United States, the 27-member European Union, Russia and India).

Chinese President Hu, also in his first appearance before the world body, said his country has adopted and is implementing the ‘National Climate Change Programme,’ which includes mandatory national targets for reducing energy intensity and the discharge of major pollutants, and increasing forest coverage and the share of renewable energy through 2010.

“By reducing energy intensity alone,” he pointed out, “China can save 620 million tonnes of standard coal in the five-year period (2005-2010), equivalent to cutting 1.5 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.”

He also pledged that China will endeavour to cut carbon dioxide emissions per unit of gross domestic product by a notable margin by 2020, from the 2005 level.

“We will vigorously develop renewable energy and nuclear energy,” Hu declared.

Japan’s new Prime Minister Hatoyama, also on his maiden visit to the United Nations, told world leaders that his country should positively commit itself to setting a long-term reduction target.

For its mid-term goal, Japan will aim to reduce its emissions by 25 percent by 2020, compared to the 1990 level, “consistent with what science calls for, in order to halt global warming.”

“This is a public pledge that we made in our (recent) election manifesto. I am resolved to exercise the political will required to deliver on this promise by mobilising all available public tools.”

These, he said, will include the introduction of a domestic emission trading mechanism and a feed-in tariff for renewable energy, as well as the consideration of a global warming tax.

But he warned that “the commitment of Japan to the world is premised on agreement on ambitious targets by all the major economies.”

Julian Wong, senior policy analyst at the Washington-based Centre for American Progress, said that most noteworthy was President Hu’s introduction of a new goal to reduce carbon dioxide emissions per unit of gross domestic product by a “notable margin”.

“No specific numbers were provided, but this should not be surprising as such a far-reaching national policy must undergo various necessary legislative steps before it can become domestically binding,” he added.

However, this is the clearest signal yet that China is willing to take on responsibilities that are commensurate with its resources and global emissions impact, he added.

Waskow of Oxfam International told IPS that climate change is a global problem that requires a global solution.

“All nations are facing a moment of truth and this is the time to go beyond rhetoric,” he said. “Will rich countries take on their appropriate role and lead the way in pursuing that global solution?”

“If they’re unsure whether to make that leap, they should look at the world around them and remember the consequences if they fail to act,” Waskow said.

Leape of WWF International said that world leaders were united in their message that there is no option but to succeed in the upcoming climate change negotiations in Copenhagen in December.

“They have clearly acknowledged that negotiations need to speed up and become much more ambitious,” he said.

Leape said President Obama recognised the urgency of climate change and promised that the United States will do its part.

“However, the speech as a whole represents a missed opportunity for the U.S. to take a leadership role. It was also disappointing that he did not reaffirm his previous call for action on climate financing at the upcoming G20 Summit.”