Today, Japan announced that it would cut emissions by 15% of 2005 levels by 2020.
Perhaps a measure that this was the right target for PM Aso's government to pick is that no one seems happy with it. The World Wildlife Fund calls it "Far too little, far too late"; China's climate ambassador Yu Qingtai told Reuters: "I do not believe it is a number that is close to what Japan needs to do, should do"; and the cut was denounced by energy intensive industrues as too deep.
It will only meet this 15% target with dramatic investments into new technologies -- including a probable increase in nuclear power -- and with the purchase of overseas 'offsets'. Unlike Europe, Japan has not instituted a domestic mandatory emissions cap to meet its committments, instead it has relied on voluntary reductions and government command and control.
As an island nation, Japan faces serious threats from climate change, including sea level rise and increased damage from more powerful typhoons. However, as a resource-poor nation with few domestic sources of fossil fuel, Japan stands to gain significantly from a push into cleaner energy. Because of its resource scarcity (and consequent high prices), Japan already is one of the most efficient users of energy. By making this commitment, Japan's government clearly shows that it percieves the threats of a warming climate, and are willing to make a politically challenging stance to fight it.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Monday, June 8, 2009
China US Climate Change Cooperation Part 1
China expert Orvell Schell has an article on YaleEnvironment 360 about the US-China conflict over climate policy; its worth reading. He contends that key actors in the US and Chinese government view climate change as an economic and political opportunity for the world.
Developing nations like China and India are seeking to modernize their economies for a green future. Realizing that it’s impossible economically and ecologically to develop just as the United States did, both countries are trying to leap ahead by becoming dominant players in emerging technology markets like solar and clean coal. As last week’s Foreign Relations Hearing demonstrated, China’s government has passed substantial legislation aimed at modernizing its electricity grid, promoting renewable energy, manufacturing electric cars, and building energy efficient buildings.
Now, the United States’ relationship with China is changing in light of the threat of climate change. Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and a delegation of Members of Congress, visited China two weeks ago to see China’s efforts first hand. Pelosi, who in 1991 unfurled a banner in Tiananmen Square recognizing the massacre in 1989, wrote an Op-ed today calling the climate change crisis “a game-changer in the U.S.-China relationship.” Because the US and China collectively contribute to about 40% of current greenhouse gas emissions, any international treaty on climate change will need both countries on board.
China’s government could have trouble meeting its ambitious goals. at all levels is notoriously plagued with corruption and a lack of transparency at all levels: both symptoms of a totalitarian state. Pelosi thinks China’s attempts at combating climate change will necessitate political, not just economic, liberalization:
Elizabeth Economy, at last week’s hearing said the same thing. Unless local officials in China start actually following the environmental policies the national government sets out and stops falsifying data or ignoring the law, China’s emissions will never be reportable, measurable or verifiable and thus it’ll be unable to meet any of its international obligations or actually improve its climate. That’ll only happen if the Chinese government makes itself more accountable and transparent at all levels.
Developing nations like China and India are seeking to modernize their economies for a green future. Realizing that it’s impossible economically and ecologically to develop just as the United States did, both countries are trying to leap ahead by becoming dominant players in emerging technology markets like solar and clean coal. As last week’s Foreign Relations Hearing demonstrated, China’s government has passed substantial legislation aimed at modernizing its electricity grid, promoting renewable energy, manufacturing electric cars, and building energy efficient buildings.
Now, the United States’ relationship with China is changing in light of the threat of climate change. Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and a delegation of Members of Congress, visited China two weeks ago to see China’s efforts first hand. Pelosi, who in 1991 unfurled a banner in Tiananmen Square recognizing the massacre in 1989, wrote an Op-ed today calling the climate change crisis “a game-changer in the U.S.-China relationship.” Because the US and China collectively contribute to about 40% of current greenhouse gas emissions, any international treaty on climate change will need both countries on board.
China’s government could have trouble meeting its ambitious goals. at all levels is notoriously plagued with corruption and a lack of transparency at all levels: both symptoms of a totalitarian state. Pelosi thinks China’s attempts at combating climate change will necessitate political, not just economic, liberalization:
“Our governments will have to make difficult decisions that must be based in
science. The challenge of the global climate crisis must be met with openness,
transparency, respect for the rule of law, and the government must be
accountable to the people. The principle of environmental justice must be
upheld, especially when poor people are more adversely affected by drastic
environmental changes than others.”
Elizabeth Economy, at last week’s hearing said the same thing. Unless local officials in China start actually following the environmental policies the national government sets out and stops falsifying data or ignoring the law, China’s emissions will never be reportable, measurable or verifiable and thus it’ll be unable to meet any of its international obligations or actually improve its climate. That’ll only happen if the Chinese government makes itself more accountable and transparent at all levels.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Hearing on US-China Climate Change Cooperation
Yesterday, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing entitled "Challenges and Opportunities for U.S.-China Cooperation on Climate". The committee heard testimony from Ken Lieberthal, from the Brookings Institute; Elizabeth Economy, from the Council on Foreign Relations; and William Chandler, from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Senator Kerry, fresh from a trip to China, stressed how seriously China's government takes climate change and how the United States and China, being responsible for around half of the world's emissions, must cooperate to tackle climate change.
Ken Lieberthal discussed China's current economic and environmental state. The country will continue to increase its carbon emissions in the coming decades because tens of millions of Chinese citizens are rapidly migrating each year from the poorer countryside to the more affluent cities. This migration causes an enormous demand for raw materials like timber, concrete and aluminum that are very carbon intensive. China must continue to expand its urban infrastructure to support approximately 1.25 million people each month. Coal provides about 70% of China's energy, so the US and China can cooperate on developing clean coal technology because both countries have relatively large amounts of it.
Elizabeth Economy emphasized the importance of assisting China in measuring, reporting and verifying its carbon emissions, and its efforts to reduce those. Because many leaders in China's provinces don't know or don’t have the technological training or expertise to implement the central government's environmental goals, often China's laws don't get enforced or data is falsified. For example, the United States can help train Chinese companies and officials to conduct energy audits.
Bill Chandler spoke about how China's government is frustrated that foreign countries don't give the Chinese government credit for its stringent environmental laws and substantial investments into clean energy technology. For example, the US last year invested $88 billion into green technology, jobs, and research but China invested $200 billion in its stimulus package. China seeks to become the leading manufacturer of electric cars and is putting billions into developing smartgrid technology. He believes China wants to work with the US especially in using markets to reach environmental goals.
All three experts emphasized that China takes climate change seriously as an opportunity for economic growth, but also as a threat to its stability. With much of its economic activity on low lying lands like the Yangtze River Delta or the Pearl River Delta, sea level rise poses a real risk to China’s stability. Similarly, glacial melting throughout the Himalayas and the Tibeten plateau would dramatically impact water availability throughout much of China. China's government is faced with the task of maintaining high rates of economic growth because of massive urban migration while at the same time cutting its carbon emissions to prevent even environmental catastrophe. Right now, with a new administration and the Copenhagen conference coming up, all three experts agreed that the US and China have many areas for cooperation. The United States can successfully persuade China to cooperate in international agreements, but it should not be perceived as attempting to limit China’s economic growth under the pretext of fighting climate change.
Ken Lieberthal discussed China's current economic and environmental state. The country will continue to increase its carbon emissions in the coming decades because tens of millions of Chinese citizens are rapidly migrating each year from the poorer countryside to the more affluent cities. This migration causes an enormous demand for raw materials like timber, concrete and aluminum that are very carbon intensive. China must continue to expand its urban infrastructure to support approximately 1.25 million people each month. Coal provides about 70% of China's energy, so the US and China can cooperate on developing clean coal technology because both countries have relatively large amounts of it.
Elizabeth Economy emphasized the importance of assisting China in measuring, reporting and verifying its carbon emissions, and its efforts to reduce those. Because many leaders in China's provinces don't know or don’t have the technological training or expertise to implement the central government's environmental goals, often China's laws don't get enforced or data is falsified. For example, the United States can help train Chinese companies and officials to conduct energy audits.
Bill Chandler spoke about how China's government is frustrated that foreign countries don't give the Chinese government credit for its stringent environmental laws and substantial investments into clean energy technology. For example, the US last year invested $88 billion into green technology, jobs, and research but China invested $200 billion in its stimulus package. China seeks to become the leading manufacturer of electric cars and is putting billions into developing smartgrid technology. He believes China wants to work with the US especially in using markets to reach environmental goals.
All three experts emphasized that China takes climate change seriously as an opportunity for economic growth, but also as a threat to its stability. With much of its economic activity on low lying lands like the Yangtze River Delta or the Pearl River Delta, sea level rise poses a real risk to China’s stability. Similarly, glacial melting throughout the Himalayas and the Tibeten plateau would dramatically impact water availability throughout much of China. China's government is faced with the task of maintaining high rates of economic growth because of massive urban migration while at the same time cutting its carbon emissions to prevent even environmental catastrophe. Right now, with a new administration and the Copenhagen conference coming up, all three experts agreed that the US and China have many areas for cooperation. The United States can successfully persuade China to cooperate in international agreements, but it should not be perceived as attempting to limit China’s economic growth under the pretext of fighting climate change.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)