Japan will set itself the goal of reducing emissions by 60-80% compared with current levels by 2050, with a mid-term reduction target of 14% by 2020 based on 2005 levels.
The announcement was made by Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukada on 9 June as part of the government's vision "towards building a low-carbon society in Japan".
Furthermore, the Japanese government is planning the massive introduction of existing advanced technologies, including a forty-fold increase in solar power capacities by 2030. There are also plans to introduce an emissions trading scheme similar to the one launched by the EU, but on a voluntary and experimental basis.
The plans, to be discussed in greater detail with the other G8 countries - the US, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Russia - during the 7-9 July G8 summit, represent a significant shift in the position of Japan, which had been waiting for the US to take the lead on climate change.
Nonetheless, Japan's commitments "will only succeed if the G8 countries, in particular the US, are willing to turn the 'considerations' of the 2007 [Heiligendamm G8] summit into a legally binding agreement," according to professor Hironori Hamanaka of Japan's Keio University. At their last summit in Heiligendamm, Germany, G8 leaders agreed to "consider seriously" a 50% reduction of global CO2 emissions by 2050 (EurActiv 08/06/07).
Japan also wants to get rapidly industrialising countries like Brazil, China and India on board, Hamanaka said at a 26 June briefing at the European Policy Centre (EPC).
The EU and Japan's views on how best to address climate change have been converging recently, with the Commission appearing more favourable towards the use of 'bottom up' approaches, like international sectoral industry agreements as traditionally favoured by Japan, to bringing down CO2 emissions (EurActiv 24/04/08).
However, the EU's own emissions reduction ambitions remain far more ambitious and revolve around a 'top down' approach based on binding emissions cuts. The EU is also pushing at international level for a 60-80% cut in emissions - but based on 1990 rather than 2005 levels.
