Delay in New Framework on Climate Change

Ministers on Environment in European Union agreed on ratification of Paris Agreement, which would be a new international framework for tackling global warming. With the participation of EU, the agreement reached the condition for activation that required ratification of 55 countries or more and 55% out of whole greenhouse gas emission in the world. Miserable enough, Japan cannot contribute to the kick off.

The move for Paris Agreement has been abrupt. United States and China simultaneously announced their ratification of the agreement early last month. India followed them this month. EU caught up with those moves with unanimous approval that would not require domestic procedure for ratification in each country. The agreement will be activated in next meeting of United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, or COP 22, next month.

Japan has been lagging behind in the movement for new framework. To ratify it, Shinzo Abe Cabinet has to decide the policy and pass related bills in the both Houses of the Diet. “It may be difficult. We have to be unequivocal on our willingness for ratification,” told Minister on Environment, Koichi Yamamoto. Abe also promised to do his best for ratification in the Diet discussion.

If Japan could not ratify Paris Agreement by COP 22, it is likely that the country will be excluded from decisions for rule making. As sharing 3.79% of whole greenhouse gas emission in the world, which put the country at the sixth place of world emission ranking, it will be irresponsible to absent international discussion for stopping global warming. Experts for climate change in Japan are embarrassed by the slow progress in Japanese government.

Although Abe administration is going to decide the policy for ratification on October 11^th and submit it to current session of the Diet, it takes 30 days to be qualified as a ratified country. Such a country will be an observer without voice in the first meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement. While Japan wants to propose Joint Crediting Mechanism, which enable a country that transferred energy saving technology include the credit for its own reduction of greenhouse gasses, it is obvious for Japan not have influence to the discussion.

Japanese government has been reluctant to reduce greenhouse gasses, as far as the policy makers believe in that movement harms Abe’s economic policy called Abenomics. While they were enthusiastic in distorted monetary policy or fiscal mobilization, the world was making progress to an inevitable agenda for the future of human being.