Special Press Briefing
Speaker: Ambassador Koji Tsuruoka
Title: Director-General for Global Issues, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan
Date: 6 June 2007
Place: Heiligendamm, Germany
Moderator: Thank you very much for coming. Let us start the briefing that is going to be conducted by Ambassador Koji Tsuruoka. He is Director-General for Global Issues for the Japanese Foreign Ministry.
We have some change of plans. Mr. Seko--we announced initially--Special Advisor to the Prime Minister Abe--was supposed to come. However, due to some difficulties in moving--traffic conditions--he has not arrived yet.
We will start the briefing by Ambassador Tsuruoka, focusing on the issue of climate change, especially Prime Minister Abe's initiative on climate change issues.
Mr. Tsuruoka, please.
Mr. Koji Tsuruoka, Director-General for Global Issues, Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you very much for coming. We just arrived from Berlin this morning, traveling with the Prime Minister.
You have the press kit distributed to you. What I would like to do is give you perhaps a ten-minute overview of the speech by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, titled "Invitation to Cool Earth 50," which is the policy statement of the Japanese Prime Minister on climate change. After that, of course I would be very happy to answer any questions.
Before going through this speech, I would like to give you the background that led the Prime Minister to deliver his speech.
This is a major policy initiative by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the issue of climate change as we are looking to host the G8 Summit in Japan next year in Toyako, Hokkaido. The choice of the location, Toyako, which is a small town nearby the lake in the northern part of Japan on the island of Hokkaido, was a deliberate choice by the Prime Minister himself because this site is surrounded by very beautiful nature. He intends to make the G8 Summit in Japan next year a summit that will focus on the issue of the environment and, in particular, climate change.
Of course, Chancellor Merkel herself has been putting top priority in this summit at Heiligendamm on the issue of climate change. The issue is a very complicated and difficult issue that will be with us for some time. We will anticipate that the Heiligendamm summit resolves burning issues involving climate change. This will be a continued process that leads at least until the next G8 Summit in Japan. Therefore, looking at the series of events that will come up on the international scene, the prime minister has made the decision of announcing his initial initiative, which is titled "Invitation to Cool Earth 50." We will be having a series of international meetings, the most prominent one being the COP 13 in Bali, Indonesia towards the end of this year.
Separately, therefore, the process of negotiating for the post-first Kyoto framework will continue on. It is our intention to focus our attention in building up the international momentum so that we will indeed have a very meaningful post-Kyoto arrangement, which we hope will be a framework that will go beyond Kyoto.
I invite you to look at the summary, which is the first sheet of paper after the title page, "Invitation to Cool Earth 50 Summary." This speech was entitled "Invitation" because it is inviting all the countries of the world to come and join us in discussing how we could best deal with this very serious issue of climate change. The issue is well-known, and those are summarized in the first part of the first page.
The intention on our part is to create a new framework which moves us beyond the Kyoto Protocol. The Kyoto Protocol, as you may know, covers about 30 percent of the total global emissions. That is the average of the participation of the countries to the Kyoto Protocol, and 30 percent of course means 70 percent is left outside. This is not satisfactory, especially now that the issue is becoming global. We will really like to have a global comprehensive coverage in the post-Kyoto arrangement that will be with us.
We have had our own experience of addressing, first of all, air pollution or other problems with rapid economic development. As you can see in this summary, Japan was able to grow its GDP the last thirty years--to double it. But during this time, the oil consumption in Japan was reduced by 8 percent. This is a result of achieving diversity in energy sources, but most importantly, the technology that allowed us to save energy. This, we think, is a contribution that we could make to the rest of the world and we will share the experience as well as the technology that allowed us to save energy.
The proposal that the Prime Minister has made to the world is what we call "Cool Earth 50." He is calling to establish three pillars in this proposal. The first two is addressed to the world at large. The third one is addressed to the Japanese people.
The first pillar is the long-term strategy. The real world of climate change is not an issue that can be addressed in the near future, in the short term. This is a long-term, difficult issue that involves various interests.
Therefore, we are calling, first of all, to propose a long-term target for cutting global emissions by half of the current level by 2050. As you can see in the packet, "Cool Earth 50," the word "50" is calling on the meaning that we are halving what we are emitting today and also the year 2050. This is a very general vision that he is proposing for the world to share. Once we share this goal of "Cool Earth 50," we can move on to addressing to more immediate, mid-term elements that could be finalized before we go into the frame of discussion.
He is calling for the second pillar, which is the three principles for establishing an international framework to address global warming from 2013 onwards: the post-Kyoto framework. There are three elements in these principles. One: all major emitters must participate, moving beyond Kyoto. Two: the framework must be flexible and diverse because each country has different circumstances, the elements we will have to take into consideration, the circumstances of each country. Third: the framework will have to enable compatibility between environmental protection and economic growth. If the framework compels economic growth to be sacrificed because of environmental protection, you may not expect many countries to participate in this effort. Therefore, addressing the important issues of sustainable development, which is protection of environment as well as continued economic growth, is going to be a very important principle.
We know that we have different development stages in this world, compared between the industrialized world and the developing world. The developing world requires certain assistance from the industrialized world in order for it to cooperate in the goals that I have just mentioned. In order to do so, we will be creating an international cooperation, a new financial mechanism, which will be extending support to developing countries that have high aspirations of aiming at both economic growth and environmental protection. At the same time, improving the energy efficiency is the best cost-effective means of correcting climate change. This will continue to be a very important effort that we will continue.
The third pillar addresses the Japanese people. This is the prime minister launching a national campaign in order to achieve the targets that we have committed under the Kyoto Protocol. The Kyoto Protocol Achievement Plan is a plan that the Cabinet has decided upon to to arrive at the goal that we have committed ourselves to. This plan will be reviewed and will soon be announced in public, which will include more sectors and more areas of the Japanese people, which we hope will be reducing the emission in order to reach the 6 percent target that we have promised. You have in the pamphlet certain literature that explains this more in detail.
Since you do have the text of the speech in full in front of you, I will not go through every single detail but open the floor for questions and try to answer your questions. Perhaps I will refer to the speech as I do that.
Thank you very much.
Moderator: If you have any questions, please raise your hand, identify yourself.
Q: Do you work with other nations to establish a new framework for the world? The Kyoto Protocol is expiring in 2012. Do you have any feelings regarding the US President's plan? It should be a short-term plan, not long-term.
Mr. Tsuruoka: Sorry, I am not quite sure if I understood the question. You are asking the Japanese Government position?
Q: Yes
Mr. Tsuruoka: The Japanese prime minister's policy statement is aiming at having, first and foremost, the participation of all the countries of the world in the effort of addressing climate change. This is a global issue, and I do not need to stress that because we know that globalists will not protect us from the stress being caused by climate change.
Since this is a global issue, we need that the globe as a whole needs to address that. It is not possible for a handful of countries to address this to the satisfaction of preserving the climate in the global way. Therefore, the emphasis of the prime minister's policy statement is on the invitation for all the countries to come together in joining the effort in achieving this global task.
That is why what he had said, and I have just outlined the policy speech to you, the three pillars, his ways to understanding that you first start with as much diversity and flexibility as you can. By doing so, you will not eliminate any single country that may have a particular position or specific proposal that they have already made. But the other way around, having everyone in the world, all the particular messages and policy speeches and positions that have been announced come onboard and labels out so that we first of all can discuss everything with a global community.
Unfortunately, so far, we have seen a number of conferences under the United Nations (UN) auspices that have not necessarily moved us toward achieving this global goal of having the reduction of the global emission. The work at the UN has been numerous so far, as you all know. But we still do not see tangible achievements in sight. Therefore, the Prime Minister is now calling to look at where we are and allow all countries to come up with a serious proposal that they will be making, hopefully, in response to this invitation--how they think they could meaningfully participate in the reduction, in the long run, of the global emission of greenhouse gases.
There are various positions that are available. The US President has just come forward with his own proposal. You may know that Prime Minister Abe had welcomed the Chinese Premier in Japan two months ago. It was in this summit meeting with the Chinese Premier that he had asked China to seriously engage in post-Kyoto framework discussion. The Chinese Premier was very positive in responding to the Japanese Prime Minister's statement. We had produced a joint document on environmental protection that was agreed at the summit level between Japan and China. It was, in our view, the first document that the Chinese Government was willing to sign on at summit level discussing the serious participation in the post-Kyoto framework discussion.
Secondly, the Prime Minister was in Washington about a month ago, where he had discussed this issue extensively with President Bush. After this meeting, the two governments issued a joint statement on energy security, clean development and climate change. In that statement, the two leaders agreed that efforts must be exerted in order to stabilize the greenhouse gas concentrations. The two governments will work very closely to achieve this in future negotiations. This, again, as a separate document had--bearing the name of the two leaders--was the first document conducted by President Bush with regard to the issue of climate change.
Now we are at Heiligendamm. This is the third occasion where the Japanese Prime Minister is going to address the world leaders discussing this issue. Just before that, yesterday in Berlin, you may know that the Prime Minister met with Chancellor Merkel on a bilateral basis, which was followed by a discussion with the European Union (EU) in the regular leaders' meeting between the Japanese and EU leaders. A joint document was again issued by the two sides. In that document, it was also described that EU and Japan will work toward achieving the target of reducing global emission of greenhouse gases by 50 percent or more by 2050.
As you can see, these are step-by-step approaches of trying to engage the countries that are making differences because they are large emitters of greenhouse gases to join in the global effort of addressing this issue.
Q: My question is: Is the cutting of 50 percent by 2050, a compulsory cutting, almost?
Mr. Tsuruoka: Thank you very much for that question. The setting of the target is a decision made by the Prime Minister as a political decision. When we look at the year 2050, it is more than 40 years away from now. We do not really know what will happen in the year 2050. We do not know what technologies will be available.
When we look at this target of reducing the global emission by half in 2050, what we now know is that with the existing current technologies that are available today, this target is not going to be achievable. We will have to develop radically new technologies, innovative technologies, and also enter into a society that will be more low-carbon-based. It requires two changes, therefore. One is on the technological front: developing innovative technologies that will allow us to reach that target. At the same time, that will have to be combined with the changes in the mindset of the people moving onto a low-carbon society, meaning we will become less dependent on carbon-generated energy.
That is why we are not taking this as a compulsory target because you cannot really define it very precisely. The science that is available today does not tell us the details that will enable us to define this 50 percent by 2050 as a legally binding target.
It is, however, at the same time, a very strong political commitment that the Prime Minister is making. On that basis, the two important elements that will be the driving engine to achieve this: one, the technological innovation; the other, the change of this society behavior to the low-carbon society.
Q: I have two, three questions, very short. The first one: When you mentioned about global negotiations or global agreements, you do not mention within the form of the United Nations. Is this something we have to take for granted?
Second question: when you talk about reducing the emissions over 50 percent by the year 2050, can you please tell us clearly which is it you are using as a reference?
And thirdly: Japanese officials said that they are going to [inaudible] Chancellor Merkel in Heiligendamm the proposal [inaudible] climate change because it is too radical. Can you put that by which of the articles of the German proposal do you consider too radical?
Mr. Tsuruoka: The first question: first of all, we are-Japan is signatory to both the UN FCCC and the Kyoto Protocol. We have been an active participant in all the UN negotiations including the latest one held in Bonn in the very first weeks of May. We have no intention of discontinuing that. The UN forum, we believe, is the appropriate forum in addressing the issue of climate change. At the same time, you may know that we are also starting an effort that is more regional. It is called the Asia-Pacific Partnership. Six countries are taking part in that effort and these are countries in the Asia-Pacific region. This is an effort that addresses sectoral approaches for energy saving and what we call the "top runner approach"--meaning the most advanced technology that allows energy reduction in production of, let us say, steel or cement will be shared by the same sectors of the six countries. The net effect will, of course, be major energy savings and hence, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by the sectors. These are more compatible and complementary to what we try to do within the UN format but it is our standing policy to continue to discuss these issues within the UN forum.
The second question, "what is the reference?" If you look at the text of the Prime Minister's speech, you will see that we say from the "current levels". The reference here, so to say, is not specifically identified because, as I said earlier, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by the year 2050 is presented as a vision calling for other countries to share this. It is not a specific, scientifically worked-out figure that we are trying to have others join in on. It is not our intention to enter into a discussion whether this is scientifically true or not, because dwelling on that kind of issue is not going to resolve the question that we need to address today; and this is formulation of a framework that will allow us to move beyond Kyoto.
Thirdly, I do not know what the official that you had referred to had told you in describing what Chancellor Merkel was proposing. If you look at what we had agreed on yesterday in Berlin, which is reflected in the joint document that we issued yesterday between Japan and the EU, you will see that a lot of agreements were put on the record. I invite you to look at that document that had been announced and made public yesterday.
Q: That is the format? That is the main thing that Japan then supports: The German proposal for greenhouse reductions?
Mr. Tsuruoka: I can only repeat my answer. The Japanese position, which was agreed with the Germans-it is not necessarily just the Germans, because Chancellor Merkel was acting on behalf of the EU presidency-the document that we signed, yes, we have agreed upon yesterday and announced, was a joint effort by both Japan and the EU. You will see the agreement registered in that document.
Q: First of all Japan seems to take the issue of Global warming very seriously, but on the other hand, I cannot find the concrete goal that they mentioned. I wish the Japanese Government is prepared to show an effective and proper resetting of this issue, and the Japanese people were also committed to look upon this issue as very important.
Mr. Tsuruoka: I think my answer for that question will be two for one. The Japanese Government--not only the Government but Japan as a nation--has committed to deliver the promises that we made under the Kyoto Protocol. That is the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by Japan 6 percent of that level compared to the level of 1990--in other words, during the term starting from 2008 to 2012. This is the immediate initial obligation that we need to fulfill and we are making efforts in order to achieve that. You can see in the third pillar, which is the national campaign by the Prime Minister, which is going to be fiercely promoted by the Prime Minister himself. His participation in this summit which is centering on this issue is also one aspect of holding the Japanese people's attention to the issue of climate change. There are many things that Japanese individuals/nationals can do in order to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions by Japan, on top of what their industry and government has been doing. We are now trying to mobilize the Japanese public as a whole in order to achieve that.
As I said, there will be a revised Japanese National Action Plan in achieving targets very soon. It will be announced a little while after the Prime Minister returns to Japan. It is currently in the works. This will be, again, renewed before the end of the Japanese fiscal year, which is March next year, as we enter the first year of the commitment period 2008. So that is the initial immediate target that we need to fulfill and we will indeed do that.
Now, if you see the seriousness or the gravity for the Japanese nation as a whole in achieving this target of minus six compared to 1990, you can understand that the effort that will be invested in achieving this is going to be very, very huge. And that of course will bring us to be even more forthcoming in trying to achieve a larger target in the mid-term-we do not know when the term will be, because that in itself is an issue that will be negotiated.
As I have said repeatedly, the Japanese target is to move beyond Kyoto. It is not just simply stating that the coverage must move beyond. "Beyond Kyoto" means that it has a real impact in the long-term reduction of global emission. And coupled with this political vision that the Prime Minister has made clear, reducing gas emissions by 50 percent by 2050, it will require Japan to be more forthcoming for sure. The explanation that I provided earlier that this is an initial proposal by the Prime Minister, keeping in mind the presidency that the Prime Minister will have in hosting the G8 Summit in Japan, the Japanese position will be more consolidated and more detailed as we move on. It was intentionally left flexible and diverse because it is not the Japanese intention to alienate any one country that may have its position of its own. If we were to say "you cannot participate unless you do X," it is not going to be a very valid and welcome invitation. We would like to keep the invitation totally open so that all these questions will be undertaken and that everyone will come on board.
We believe that because this is a world issue, and because countries and people are becoming more and more aware that this issue needs to be addressed--if not today then in the most immediate future--we are moving toward an era where there will be much more momentum among the public in addressing this more seriously. If the doors are kept open for more countries to come on board in addressing an issue of global interest--it is not a national interest of one country against the other, it is the international global interest that we are working on--the doors will have to be kept open so that more countries will not decide not to come in. After that, of course, we have to discuss how we can best achieve to meet the goal of establishing the framework that will move us beyond Kyoto, moving closer to the reduction of global emissions.
Q: I am from DPA, the German Press Agency. You said yesterday there was full agreement between the EU and Chancellor Merkel and Japan. Does that mean that there is also full agreement on the summit document on climate change? If not, what are the differences?
Secondly, you seem to want to talk about the vision for Japan [inaudible] look back, seen yesterday from Japan that Japan's emission rose by 8 percent. To achieve the goal in terms of 2004, how can you hope to reduce by 14 percent? What are the main difficulties for Japan to achieve the goal?
Mr. Tsuruoka: First of all, it seems that there was not much press attention around the 16th EU-Japan Summit that was held in Berlin yesterday.
Q: What are you talking about today? About the G8 Summit, right?
Mr. Tsuruoka: But you had asked in your introduction if the EU-Japan Summit agreement would be in the agreement of the G8? But if you do not know what was agreed between Japan and the EU yesterday, you cannot ask that question.
Q: But you can tell us.
Mr. Tsuruoka: Well, yes I can tell you. That is what I am going to do because it seems you did not pay attention to what we believe was an important meeting for us, so thank you for asking.
We have had very extensive discussions on climate change, as you can imagine, between the EU and Japan yesterday at Berlin. A joint press statement was issued. I have no intention of reading this long page because that is going to bore you but we did agree that, first of all, the EU and Japan reached common understanding that in order to stabilize the greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system, an urgent and strong action is needed.
In light of this, let me just jump on, the post-2012 framework must ensure participation of all major emitting countries. Ensuring the participation of all major emitting countries is, of course, a very strongly agreed principle between Japan and the EU. We also agreed that the Bali conference, which will be held at the end of this year, has crucial importance in this respect. We also agreed that the negotiation for a post-2012 framework should be completed as early as possible to avoid a gap after 2012. We also said that in regards to a long term goal, reducing global GHG emission by half or more by the year 2050 needs to be established. We also have referred to the importance of engaging the countries other than the developed countries.
This is just a gist of what was written in the EU-Japan Summit Joint Press Statement and, of course, we do not know at this stage whether this will be what the G8 leaders will adhere on by more or less--that is still continuing to be debated. You can see in these elements that--if you look at the bilateral Japan-EU agreement--that can be announced and registered. We have other countries that are talking to the G8. Neither EU nor Japan dominates them. It will be a discussion that--we will see consensus among the participants and we will have to see what that discussion will produce.
Q: The difficulties of Japan to fulfill the Kyoto Protocol target?
Mr. Tsuruoka: The first 14 percent reduction; it is a little bit clear cut. That is what we need to do but this is going to be a very lofty goal that we need to accomplish. As I have said, this is very well registered in the minds of the Japanese leaders both in the political context as well as industry and now among the public at large. We have no doubt that we will be accomplishing this together with the Japanese people.
Q: I have two questions: One of Japan's most praiseworthy initiatives in recent years was the institution in 1989 of the Praemium Imperiale Awards. Prizes for paintings, sculptures, architecture, music and theater. But the standard of [inaudible] in new ways [inaudible] prizes. Initially, the new prizes were not particularly women-friendly, though perhaps the 1996 letter to the international advisors enlisted women artists in their help in raising the number of women recipients. 2008, when Japan hosts the G8 summit, will mark the 20th award year. Five of our [inaudible] the Hokkaido region will provide an opportunity both for an exhibition of works of award-winning painters, sculptors and architects and aligned performances by recipients to the music and theater prizes-especially because it means half of the prize winners to date are nationals of G8 countries.
Mr. Tsuruoka: Thank you very much for that question but I am afraid I am not very well versed with that prize. Is that Japan's prize?
Q: Yes, the Japan Arts Association.
Mr. Tsuruoka: Yes. I think I know which prize you are referring to. It is a major prize that has a very elaborate system for election of the nominees. To be very frank with you, we have not thought of that in conjunction with the G8 Summit next year but since you have raised that question, I will be very happy to take that to the board and see if that can be addressed. Thank you.
Moderator: Given the constraint of time, I actually have to close this session. If you could just come up with very short questions.
Q: This is very short. Although there are still negotiations going on, would you please be kind enough and share with us your expectations of the G8 Summit. Are you optimistic about the negotiations? Can you share any idea with us, how you think with respect to that meeting?
Mr. Tsuruoka: Much of what is being debated has been shared with the press by certain sources and therefore I think you may know more than I do of what is coming. We are here at Heiligendamm to focus our attention on the issue of climate change. This is going to be the first summit where the top priority, undoubtedly, is going to be placed on climate change. And this is not going to be the last G8 summit that will put the top priority on climate change either. Now, what should we achieve in that context, then?
The most important basis for us to achieve in the Heiligendamm summit is to have the participation of all the G8 countries in joining their acts or political will in order to address this global issue. It is true that in the past that sort of participatory engagement was not necessarily well registered equally among all the G8 countries. I think we now have a golden opportunity to register the political commitment at the leader's level of all the G8 participating countries. This is an issue of top priority that needs to be addressed at that leaders' level. Also, looking into the succeeding number of international conferences and events, forces will have to be joined by the G8 leaders to move the issue and advance it so that we can register progress. I do not know what will be the exact outcome because this is still being debated. But I have no doubt that all the leaders will try very hard to make sure that they will come out with a consensus.
Moderator: Very last question please.
Q: I am a reporter for the Indian newspaper, The Hindu. Will Japan be willing to agree to any kind of binding commitment on emission targets here in Heiligendamm? And, looking at the dates from the mitigation and target the nations [inaudible] to adaptation costs. Is Japan willing to take financial commitment on financial aid to developing countries, to deal with the impacts of climate change and adaptation costs?
Mr. Tsuruoka: The G8 Summit is not a meeting where we pledge and commit what we do. It is a forum where the political leaders come and discuss issues at the highest political level of the G8 participating countries. Therefore, I am not anticipating any particular country making any particular commitment to the effect that you have described, committing one to a particular figure or any particular resources to a certain area.
At the same time, on the issue of adaptation, Japan has been one of the forefathers in inviting international attention to this particular issue because climate change is not an issue of the future. It is the issue of today. Especially to those countries that are not capable of addressing the effect of the changes of temperature or the rise of the sea level. We are seeing some other countries--island countries--that are indeed at the verge of losing their very nationhood because the whole island is sinking under water. We cannot leave those countries unattended. This is a typical example of adaptation that has to be addressed today, not tomorrow.
We have enrolled Japanese foreign policy in addressing these issues of adaptation and if you look at the Prime Minister's speech, you will see reference to the Japanese willingness of taking very seriously the issue of adaptation described in detail. This is one of the objectives for setting out a new financial mechanism which we believe will be used for assisting countries in the area of adaptation. Thank you.
Moderator: Thank you very much for coming.
Related Information (G8 Summit 2007 Heiligendamm)
Related Information (Cool Earth 50)
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