|
Sadayuki Tsuchiya
Director-General for Policy
Coordination,
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and
Technology (MEXT)
|
|
Currently climate change issue is one of the most
important issues to be tackled by global community and the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, so called IPCC's
4th Assessment Report in 2007 made us to recognize its
importance and to share urgency to combat. It was supported
by the G8 leaders at the L'Aquila Summit last year that the
developed countries would reduce emissions of greenhouse
gases in aggregate by 80% or more by 2050. Also the prime
minister Hatoyama pledged at the UN summit on climate change
last September that Japan will aim to reduce its emissions
by 25% by 2020, if compared to the 1990 level, consistent
with what the science calls for in order to halt global
warming, where it is imperative to establish a fair and
effective international framework in which all major
economies participate. In addition, at the 15th Conference
of the Parties (COP-15) of the UN Framework Convention on
Climate Change (UNFCCC) held in Copenhagen, Denmark last
year, we agreed to take note of "Copenhagen Accord" though
we could not reach a consensus on the post Kyoto
protocol.
In terms of the environmental energy strategy of Japan,
Hatoyama Government laid out "Green Innovation" concept and
the Council for Science and Technology Policy, namely CSTP,
formulated the resource allocation strategy and the new
development strategy (basic policy) was approved by the
Cabinet last year. Based on the strategies, related
ministries and agencies are now underway to plan and promote
related programs. Taking such strategy in advance, our
ministry launched "R&D Strategy for Achieving a
Low-carbon Society" last August to comprehensively carry out
research and development to realize low carbon society and
now MEXT is conducting broader range of R & D
activities.
It is necessary for us to develop innovative environmental
energy technologies to realize low carbon society, also
innovative changes of the social system are essential.
Therefore our ministry, which supervises universities and
R&D independent administrative agencies, plays an
important role for low carbon society development.
Especially, in order to present the right direction of
innovative changes of the societal system as a vision of
future low carbon society strategy to the public, MEXT
established the Center for Low Carbon Society Strategy in
Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) and started
research of societal scenario where environment and economy
coexist. MEXT will fully utilize potential of universities
and related agencies and also strengthen linkage among
ministries, agencies, and industrial community toward the
realization of low carbon society.
|