CLIMATE CHANGE SYMPOSIUM
Rethinking a global post-Kyoto solution

Initiatives to counter climate change have to to be ecologically sustainable and economically viable.

New ways of thinking on climate change are needed if the world is to create a workable post-Kyoto protocol framework to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, European scholars told a recent symposium in Tokyo.

Sollutions to climate change must be ecologically sustainable and economically viable, the scholars said, stressing that the participation of all major emitters is crucial to building an effective tool against the rapidly expanding concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Four experts from Europe spoke at Jan. 21 symposium organized by the Keizai Koho Center under the theme, "Climate change: Considering post-Kyoto frameworks with European scholars." Akihiro Sawa, a senior executive fellow at the 21st Century Public Policy Institute, served as moderator of the discussions.

Gwyn Prins, a Professor at the London School of Economics and Political Science, co-authored an essay in 2007 titled, "Time to ditch Kyoto," saying that the 1997 Kyoto Protocol had failed to produce even modest reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

Reliable scientific data show that the world continues to see an unprecedented increase in the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, Prins told the symposium.

With the Kyoto pact set to expire in 2012, countries are aiming to agree on a successor framework at a December 2009 U.N. climate conference in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Prins said the only way to save the Copenhagen meeting from failure would be to shift from the top-down approach of the Kyoto framework, and end the quest for tighter emissions targets, closer timetables and more binding regulations.

"What are people worried about? In 2008, it was clear that they were worried about food security. In 2009, everubody is filled with fear for themselves, their families, their jobs and their homes as we enter the slump," he said. "At the same time, there is growing resistance in countries, including those in continental Europe, to any form of taxation or legislation that will increase direct costs to consumers for stated environmental purposes."

Prins said it countries want to actually reduce carbon dioxide emissions, they should concentrate on the other side of climate policy - energy policy. "You need to shift from political obsession with output target setting... and have input goals by sector, and concentrate on the most heavy energy-using sectors first", the Professor told the audience.

Questions

1. The United States under President Obama would no more sign the Kyoto protocol than it would have done under President George W. Bush, but expect an aggressive set of actions on the supply side, on research and development of new energy, and renovation of the country's power-generation infrastructure. What is your take on this issue?

2. In assessing whether specific solutions to climate change will be functional or not, the first criteria should be ecological sustainability. It means that any solution we develop should not create other environmental problems. Do you think it can be attainable?

3. How does having an economically viable solution could keep up the motivation of people to be involved in climate mitigation?