Naoto Kan at G8 summit in France (image source: @ANN News)

My previous article mentioned that it is now very difficult to pursue the current Japan’s energy strategies highly depending on nuclear energy because its ‘safety myth’ collapsed as a result of Chernobyl-level radioactive leak from the Fukushima nuclear plant. Further, reducing GHG emissions by 25% by 2020 seems infeasible because its global warming strategies are similarly focusing on nuclear energy. Then,  in order to suffice the present/future energy demand and achieve the mid-term GHG reduction target,  Prime Minister, Naoto Kan, seeks to replace nuclear energy by renewable energy especially solar power and his favourite wind power.

As a result, on May 25th, Kan at the OECD in Paris addressed that Japan will install solar panels onto ’10,000′ houses. However, this proposition is not the official Government’s policy proposition but just his idea off-hand. Even his cabinet members including the Minister for Economy, Trade and Industry, Banri Kaieda, mainly responsible for energy issues, came to know it after he suddenly made this proposition in Paris. Unsurprisingly, Kaieda was very frustrated saying ‘I came to know it through the media. I was not told’. Further, Kansei Nakano, National public safety commission chairman, criticized ‘as a member of Kan’s cabinet, I want to share information and concerns with Kan before Kan proposes something’. As Kan was severely criticized by his cabinet members, on May 31st, he finally apologize for his inappropriate behaviour.

Though his proposition might have been welcomed for those for solar power, it is therefore unclear whether Japan will actually pursue solar power. Moreover, it should be pointed that the main world-wide concern may not be Japan’s future energy strategies but resolution of the current nuclear accident, as clearly indicated at G8 summit again in France. The Japanese Government must  solve the accident as soon as it can and disclose any information that it obtains during dealing with the accident. This is the main responsibility for Japan to fulfill as information on the accident will be utilized for other nations that have nuclear power plants and Kan should be strongly aware of this responsibility.

An interesting study from CERNA came out recently. Researchers from the team working on Technology Transfer and Climate Change (linked to the OECD) were looking at climate-related technology innovations over 25 years.

They found that Kyoto has accelerated their development, but that there is little evidence of the transfer of these clean technologies from the developed to the developing world. Based on patents taken out between the late 70s and 2003, they look at renewable energy technologies, as well as various other “cleantech” innovations, such as energy conservation in buildings, energy-efficient lighting and CCS.

The Kyoto link is that whilst innovation in all technologies (climate-related and otherwise) was growing at the same pace until the mid-nineties, climate change technologies are now apparently developing much faster. Furthermore, in Annex 1 nations, innovation in climate mitigation technologies has been growing at 9% per year on average between 1998 and 2003. However, no growth rate was observed in the US and Australia.

They measured tech transfer by looking at the share of inventions that are patented in other countries beyond the country of origin. Only 18% of clean-tech patents were extended beyond developed countries to developing countries. Indeed, three-quarters of the innovation transfers from one country to another were among developed countries.

Clearly this is not good news for adaptation. For developing countries, mitigation and adaptation will go hand in hand in the long term. If tech transfer is not happening fast enough, they will not be able to benefit from the technologies that will help them achieve low-carbon growth. There needs to be more effort from developed countries to ensure that advances in technology are shared globally, on a greater scale, and faster.