Easy Target for Industries

Ministries of Environment and Economy, Trade and Industry agreed on setting goals for greenhouse reduction in short, mid and long term on Friday. While families or business offices are required to reduce emission of greenhouse gasses by around 40%, industries have to cut them by only 9%. The goals are products of compromise by two ministries, which have been struggling each other over implementation of international obligation for fighting global warming.

The goals include short-term 3.8% reduction based on 2005 level by 2020, mid-term one for 26% cut based on 2013 by 2030, and long-term promise of 80% reduction by 2050. For the mid-term goal, the plan set the lines for some sections in Japanese society. Families will reduce their greenhouse gas emission from 201 million metric tons to 122 million, as well as business offices that are required cutting from 279 million metric tons to 168 million. Meanwhile, 28% reduction is mandated for the each of transportation or energy section.

However, industry section is exception for the reduction. While it has emitted 429 million metric tons of greenhouse gasses in 2013, it will still be allowed emitting 401 tons in 2030. Major manufacturers are recognized as a driving force of Abenomics, which is currently regarded as getting obsolete. It is possible that METI insisted on setting easy target for Japanese industries.

Ministry of Environment worked hard for setting long-term goal of 80% reduction. Paris Agreement, a conclusion of COP 21 last December, demanded each nation having ambitious goals for tackling global warming. It was a supreme order for the ministry to keep the momentum for ambitious goal of Japan. According to Mainichi Shimbun, Ministry of Environment was successful in having 80% reduction by abandoning major emission reduction in power generation, in which nuclear power is strictly limited after severe accident in Fukushima 2011.

The mid-term plan also assumed the prevalence of various environment-friendly technologies. It set a goal of 100% prevalence of light-emitting diode or family energy control with smart-meter by 2030. Fuel cells for families will increase by one hundred times from current 55 thousands. Hybrid cars will be common as much as 29% of all automobiles, an eminent increase from current 3%. Cultivation in technology should be a common interest of both ministries. However, short or mid-term goal looks like insufficient for achieving ambitious long-term goal of 80% emission reduction as long as those ministries are involved in numeric compromise.