A 26-Year-Old Asked to Help Shape Japan’s Climate Goals Has a Warning

Article content

Government officials said Ikeda wasn’t delayed in setting out his view, and instead had been asked to present during a session with an agenda more in line with his remarks.

Article content

Japan’s emissions trajectory has been influenced by expert scientific and technical panels for decades, though the practice of using consultative bodies has faced criticism as ineffective and often unrepresentative of the country’s society. 

Article content

The panels haven’t been a place for “fruitful discussions” but rather for making minor adjustments to targets proposed by government officials, said Erik Goto, a researcher with the Tokyo-based Renewable Energy Institute, a non-profit that advocates for the use of clean energy. “There is this tactic of pushing through already decided, already agreed upon on numbers,” he said.

Article content

A study of participants on 15 consultative bodies on Japan’s energy policy found the majority were aged in their 50s to 70s, that men on average accounted for 75% of the membership of each panel, and that many were associated with power-intensive industries, Climate Integrate, a think tank that advocates for decarbonization, said in an April 2024 report.

Article content

Article content

“Substantive consideration” was given to Japan’s revised climate target by stakeholders including NGOs, labor unions, industry, academics and local authorities, the government said in its Nationally Determined Contribution document lodged with the United Nations. Japan is one of only 21 of the 195 Paris Agreement signatories to have submitted an updated plan in line with the accord, UN data shows.

Article content

Ikeda said he had worried during the consultation process that bureaucrats were too willing to endorse weak climate goals, rather than fully consider alternatives. “Have they imagined what 2050 might look like for their children and grandchildren,” he said. “I wanted to ask them if they were really thinking about the younger generations.”

Article content

Japan’s environment ministry conceded at a December meeting that the government’s proposed 2035 targets — circulated only toward the end of a previous session, and with little time left for debate — had been presented too hastily.  “I think it’s difficult to claim that there was enough discussion,” Masako Konishi, an expert director at the WWF Japan and a member of the consultation committee, said at the time.

Article content

Article content

Attention was paid “to the balance of expertise, age groups, and gender,” and to ensure committee members included specialists in energy and finance who had familiarity with environmental issues,” the environment ministry said in a statement. “We had intensive discussions, received various opinions, and then took into account public comments and other factors when formulating the plan, so we believe that we have proceeded with the process while holding as careful discussions as possible.”

Article content

To encourage reforms, voters should follow Ikeda’s lead in publicly criticizing the system of devising climate policy, said Seita Emori, a professor at the Institute for Future Initiatives at the University of Tokyo, and a former member of an expert committee that debated Japan’s previous 2030 climate target.

Article content

“It may be necessary to make politicians think that issues like these will affect votes,” Emori said. “What happened this time around may just be a ripple, but people will need to continue raising their voices at various opportunities so that change can take place.”

Article content

—With assistance from Aaron Clark and Stephen Stapczynski.

Article content