Japanese industry bodies oppose extension of Kyoto Protocol |
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/business/news/20101125p2g00m0bu019000c.html
Nine Japanese industry groups on Wednesday urged the government not to support a plan proposed by some countries to extend the Kyoto Protocol, a legally binding emissions cut framework that expires in 2012.
"The Kyoto Protocol is a framework which is extremely unfair and lacks effectiveness as it excludes major greenhouse gas emitters the United States, China and India," said Takashi Sekita, chief of the environmental and energy committee of the Japan Iron and Steel Federation, one of the groups which issued a joint proposal.
In the proposal, the industry groups said extending the Kyoto Protocol would have an enormous impact on the economy and employment as Japanese industries will not be able to achieve an equal footing globally on the issue for a long period of time.
The groups also said efforts to create a fair and effective framework with the participation of all major countries, which is what the Japanese government has been aiming for, would lose momentum if the pact remains intact following its scheduled expiry.
The rest of the nine groups are the Petroleum Association of Japan, the Japan Cement Association, the Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan, the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association, the Japan Chemical Industry Association, the Japan Gas Association, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association and the Japan Paper Association.
The European Union plans to propose keeping the Kyoto Protocol intact from 2013 onward at the 16th Conference of Parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, or COP16, to be held in Cancun, Mexico in November to December if the parties cannot agree on a new international framework to succeed it.
The Kyoto pact imposes mandatory caps on greenhouse gas emissions by developed countries, but the United States has withdrawn from it.
In last year's U.N. climate summit in Copenhagen, the participants failed to agree on a new framework to succeed the Kyoto Protocol and only adopted a non-binding Copenhagen Accord, calling on developed nations to set out respective emission cut targets for 2020 and developing countries to take action to mitigate climate change.
"Prime Minister (Naoto) Kan has clearly said (Japan) will not extend the pact. We want him to remain firm in that stance," Sekita said.
The groups also expressed concerns about the proposed introduction of emissions trading, an environment tax and a system obliging power companies to purchase all types of renewable energy, saying that putting them in place could suppress business activities in the current severe economic climate.
They said the groups are committed to continuing to introduce cutting-edge technology and actively contribute to reducing carbon dioxide emissions through the supply of good products.
"We earnestly hope the government will support such efforts by private businesses with policies that achieve a good balance between the environment and the economy," Sekita said.
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