Japan Brief/FPCJ, No. 0976
December 21, 2009


COP15 Concludes with Decision to “Take Note” of Copenhagen Accord

The 15th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP15), held in Copenhagen, came to a close on December 19 with the participants in a plenary meeting holding back from formally adopting the Copenhagen Accord, which had been decided in an informal meeting of the leaders of more than 20 major countries, and instead adopting a proposal to “take note” of the accord.

Complicated Conflict of Interests Among Participating Countries

In accordance with the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, which was adopted in 1992 and put into effect in 1994, the Conference of the Parties, or COP, is convened every year. COP3, which was held in Kyoto, Japan, in 1997, adopted the Kyoto Protocol, which made it obligatory for major developed countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by certain ratios during the commitment period from 2008 to 2012. It was hoped that a new protocol to succeed the Kyoto Protocol would be formulated at COP15. According to reports, however, Denmark, the presiding country, realized that it would be difficult to wring concessions from the developed countries and developing countries, which were sharply at odds, and gave up on the adoption of a new protocol. As the next best policy, Denmark staked the outcome of the conference on the formulation of a binding political agreement by a meeting of government leaders, the first in COP’s history.

On December 18, which should have been the final day of the conference, more than 20 leading countries, including Japan, and also the United States and China, which are the two largest emitters of greenhouse gases, held an informal meeting of their government leaders and compiled the Copenhagen Accord. According to the Asahi Shimbun (December 19), Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said at the meeting, “It is required of us to produce a robust, if not necessarily perfect, political agreement. Our task ahead should be that of drawing up a comprehensive new legal document possibly by the middle of next year.”

Measures to counter global warming in and after 2013 were included in the Copenhagen Accord, but at a plenary meeting some developing countries adamantly opposed the content. The conference was extended by one day, and finally, on December 19, a compromise was reached by which the participants agreed to “take note” of the accord. In the end, therefore, COP15 did not produce a legally binding framework, and the formulation of a new framework became a pending issue.

Japan’s Efforts

The Japanese government had made various efforts toward achieving a new framework agreement at COP15. At the UN General Assembly in September Prime Minister Hatoyama announced the high target of a 25% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from the 1990 level by 2020, premised on the establishment of a fair and effective international framework by all major economies and agreement on their ambitious targets. On December 16 Minister of Environment Sakihito Ozawa announced the Hatoyama Initiative, by which, premised on the establishment of a political agreement at COP15, Japan, among other things, would supply about $15 billion in public and private funds to developing countries over the three years or so up to the end of 2012. And on December 17 Prime Minister Hatoyama himself met Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in Copenhagen to directly request China’s cooperation. In the end, however, the conference did not get as far as the “establishment of a fair and effective international framework by all major economies and agreement on their ambitious targets,” which was the premise for Japan’s own target of a 25% reduction.

Newspaper Editorials

Japan’s five major newspapers all carried editorials discussing the issues surrounding COP15 in their December 20 editions.

The Yomiuri Shimbun editorial commented, “The tangled negotiations eventually made progress after Japan and the United States announced financial assistance to emerging and developing countries to help them mitigate climate change. This clearly shows the reality that emerging and developing countries do move if they see practical benefit---assistance from developed countries.” It added, “Considering the lessons learned from the Kyoto Protocol, under which Japan had to shoulder disadvantageous obligations, the next framework to be established should be fair. The Japanese government will be pressed to make a difficult decision on whether to pledge in the appendix [to be made by January 31, 2010 under the Copenhagen Accord] the target of a 25% reduction from 1990 levels, which is a substantially tougher figure than those likely to be named by the United States and other countries.”

Drawing attention to the moves of China, the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases, the Asahi editorial stated, “For China, where economic growth is essential for the stability of the government, the obligation to reduce emissions would be a problem. Right to the end, therefore, it resisted pressure to force reductions on emerging economies and include monitoring in the agreement.” It continued, “The developing countries insisted on an extension of the Kyoto Protocol, which obliges only developed nations to reduce emissions. They could only adopt this hard-line stance because China stood behind them. The negotiations were greatly influenced by China because, as a background factor, the United States, the world’s number-two emitter, did not display sufficient leadership.”

The Mainichi Shimbun editorial observed critically, “If China and India do not shoulder responsibility for making reductions, fairness will be lacking. The important thing here is to establish a mechanism for ensuring transparency through the measurement, reporting, and verification of all reductions. However, China refused such a mechanism and insisted on an extension of the Kyoto Protocol, under which China itself is not obliged to make reductions.” The Mainichi also expressed disappointment with the United States, saying, “The United States showed weakness, too. Although just before COP15 it announced a numerical target of a 17% reduction from the 2005 level, this is no more than a reduction of about 4% compared to 1990.”

The Nikkei editorial commented, “In a speech at the United Nations in September Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama announced Japan’s target of a 25% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from the 1990 level by 2020. He also promised technical and financial support to promote reduction by developing countries, naming it the ‘Hatoyama Initiative’ after himself. The Japanese government intended to use this lever to gain concessions from the United States, China, and other countries and exert Japan’s presence in environmental diplomacy. There were few countries that followed Japan, though.” It also asked, “Was Japan’s coordination with other major countries adequate?”

The Sankei Shimbun editorial noted, “Fortunately a simple extension of the Kyoto Protocol, which was what Japanese business circles and opinion leaders were most concerned about, was avoided. However, the argument for an extension has not disappeared.” It concluded, “Japan’s society and economy will be dealt a fatal blow if this outcome is coupled with a reduction ratio that is too steep. The adoption of a new protocol participated in by all major emitting countries with a sense of responsibility toward the planet is an urgent necessity.”

(Copyright 2009 Foreign Press Center, Japan)

*Japan Brief is an original production of the Foreign Press Center, Japan, and does not represent the views of the Government of Japan or of any other body.


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