The leaders of two of the Adopt a Negotiator’s project’s coalition partners, Kumi Naidoo of Greenpeace and Jeremy Hobbs of Oxfam, placed this oped in the Kyodo News.
June 11 marks three months since the tragic events in Japan began.
As the chief executives of Greenpeace International and Oxfam International, we wish to mourn those who died as a result of the 3.11 disaster and honor those who continue to put their lives on the line at Fukushima.
We are also providing assistance to communities hit by the tsunami and support for Japanese civil society demands for accountability and transparency from both government and industry.
Fukushima has revealed the risks inherent in Japan’s former energy plan, hence the prime minister’s announcement supporting a new Basic Energy Plan is welcome, but the question is which road to recovery will Japan take?
Will it be ”business-as-usual” using dangerous and dirty coal and nuclear power, or a safe, secure path of renewable energy with efficiency and decentralized systems?
Prime Minister Naoto Kan has reaffirmed the government’s commitment to cut climate-changing greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent from 1990 levels by 2020. Now the government must pass the Climate Bill with the 25 percent target and a bill to establish a feed-in-tariff system for renewable energies.
Germany aims to shut down all its nuclear plants by 2022. The country is staking its economic future on alternative sources with plans to increase its share of renewable energy to 35 percent by 2020 to over 80 percent in 2050.
Germany will also cut greenhouse gas emissions (from 1990 levels) by 40 percent in 2020, to over 80 percent in 2050. The renewable energy policy has already generated 300,000 jobs. This shows that a technologically advanced Japan need not trade off its global climate commitments because of the Fukushima disaster.
Political will is all that is needed for the uptake of renewable energy sources to supply 80 percent of global energy by 2050. This was a key finding of the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) May 9 report on renewable energy that was approved by 194 countries.
Fukushima exposed the unacceptable costs of nuclear power. Coal is also dangerous to human health and will not allow Japan to meet its international commitments on global warming.
Japan should commit to a safe, secure energy future using renewable sources in the new Basic Energy Plan, and resist the pressures of vested interests to water down legislation on emission reduction targets.
Surely Fukushima presents an opportunity to choose a greener, safer, economy that benefits Japan, and the rest of the world, particularly poor and vulnerable communities who endure devastating floods and droughts linked to climate change.
On average the number of weather-related disasters in poor countries has trebled in the last three decades. Japan also must provide its share of climate finance to help poor countries cope.
Just as Japan has welcomed support and solidarity from countries around the world for this disaster, so will other countries welcome the solidarity and support of Japan if it shows leadership and holds to its climate change commitments.
(Kumi Naidoo is executive director of Greenpeace International and chair of the board of directors of the Global Campaign for Climate Action. Jeremy Hobbs is executive director of Oxfam International.)
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About the author
The Adopt a Negotiator Editorial team is made up of Global Campaign for Climate Action staff and lovely volunteers.
