Some good news from Japan yesterday. Just weeks after Japan rolled out the weakest CO2 targets of any developed country, the new prime minister has declared a much more ambitious new set of commitments.
The previous goal was to reduce CO2 emissions by 15% by 2020, from a 2005 baseline. The new target, announced by Yukio Hatoyama, takes the internationally recognised baseline as 1990 and will involve a 25% cut by 2020.
It’s not the first time a change of government has ushered in a new approach to climate change. Australia’s John Howard’s cavalier approach was summarily replaced by Kevin Rudd in what some described as “the first climate change election“. The denial and prevarication of the Bush era was brought to an end within hours of Barack Obama taking office.
Japan’s new commitments are just in time. With three months until the critical Copenhagen summit, there is no room for free riders.
