A speech by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the 26th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Climate Change Framework Convention (COP26) held in Glasgow, Scotland, has raised doubts about Japan's preparedness to decarbonize.

       The summit, held for the first time in six years, represents an important opportunity to accelerate countries' efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

       Japan, which had long been criticized for its hesitance to reduce emissions, greatly stepped up its goals during the administration of former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. It set a target of achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, and reducing emissions by 46% from fiscal 2013 levels by fiscal 2030, approaching the levels of Europe and the United States.

       In spite of this, Kishida announced measures made on the premise of prolonging the life of coal-fired power generation used in Japan and other parts of Asia. He said that Japan would aim to achieve "zero emissions" without carbon dioxide (CO2) being emitted from thermal power plants, but doubts remain over the feasibility of this.

       Japan says that when coal and other such fuels are burned, hydrogen and ammonia will be co-fired to lower CO2 emissions, and the output will also be recovered. But this technology is still in the process of development, and the cost of electricity production is far higher than for solar power and other forms of renewable energy. Another problem is that CO2 is emitted in the production of hydrogen.

       In the first place, coal-fired power generation emits a large amount of CO2. The United Kingdom is presiding over COP26 this year, and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is calling for developed countries to abolish coal-fired power by 2030. Japan, however, plans to have this form of power make up 19% of its total power generation in fiscal 2030, and has remained reluctant to abolish coal-fired power.

       In the meantime, the situation regarding global warming is serious.

       If the average global temperature rise is not kept below 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to the level before the Industrial Revolution, great damage will be unavoidable. According to the United Nations, at the current pace, the average temperature will be 2.7 degrees higher.

       At COP26, India, which had been the only country among the Group of 20 not to state a target for decarbonization, finally announced that it would aim for net zero emissions. Leaders at the summit stressed the importance of the 1.5-degree C target, and showed their willingness to strengthen measures.

       Prime Minister Kishida said in his speech that Japan would boost its support for developing countries by 1.1 trillion yen over the next five years, but he did not touch on the 1.5-degree C target.

       The stance of developed countries is important when encouraging substantial measures from China and India, which are major emitters of greenhouse gases, and developing countries. Japan is the world's fifth-largest emitter, and it is impermissible for it to undermine the global momentum toward decarbonization.

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