http://www.rtcc.org/policy/debate-is-japans-nuclear-u-turn-good-or-bad-news-for-climate-change/

 

Japan's announcement last week that it would abandon nuclear power by 2040 was widely praised by some green groups.

 

Others expressed fears that Japan would miss its climate targets by abandoning atomic power. Environmental commentator Mark Lynas called the decision "madness", saying the country's pledge to reduce CO2 emissions by 25% by 2020 was in tatters.

But it seems pressure from business forced a speedy turnaround. The government yesterday erased the '2040 decommissioning deadline', saying it would be used as a 'reference'.

The New York Times reported Tadashi Okamura, chairman of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, as saying the deadline "was not a viable option in the first place".

Greenpeace - who lobbied hard for Japan to ditch nuclear, reacted with fury at this decision, claiming that three of the five appointees to the new nuclear regulator - Shunichi Tanaka, Toyoshi Fuketa, and Kayoko Nakamura - had ties to the nuclear industry.

"The old Nuclear Safety Commission paved the way for the Fukushima disaster. Its close relationship with the powerful and corrupt nuclear village directly contributed to its failure to hold TEPCO to its safety obligations," said Kazue Suzuki, Greenpeace Japan's nuclear campaigner.

"By appointing three people heavily involved with the business of nuclear power and radioactive waste, the government is once again setting up the regulator for failure and endangering the health and safety of Japan's people and its economy."

Greenpeace say that criticism that a 2030′s phase out of nuclear will create climate disaster is 'fallacious', arguing renewables are already rapidly coming online and that long-term energy use in the country is declining.