英字新聞

The Yomiuri Shimbun
Close global cooperation needed to achieve Paris accord emissions targets
パリ協定採択　世界全体で目標を達成しよう

The agreement by all participating countries to work toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions is a significant step forward in dealing with global warming.
　全ての国が温室効果ガスの排出削減に努める体制に合意できたのは、地球温暖化対策の重要な前進である。

The 21st Session of the Conference of the Parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP21) ended in Paris on Saturday after adopting the Paris agreement, a framework designed to take effect in 2020.
　パリで開かれていた国連気候変動枠組み条約の第２１回締約国会議（ＣＯＰ２１）が、２０２０年からの新たな枠組みとなる「パリ協定」を採択した。

The Kyoto Protocol adopted in 1997 called only on developed countries to carry out emissions cuts, but this time all parties are obliged to make efforts to curtail emissions in line with nationally determined goals. The new framework does not make it mandatory to achieve targets and is a loose structure, but calls for reexamining them every five years to make further efforts to cut emissions.
　１９９７年採択の京都議定書では、先進国のみが削減義務を負ったが、今回は全締約国が自主目標を基に削減を図る。目標達成を義務づけない緩やかな枠組みとする一方で、各国は５年ごとに目標を見直し、一層の削減を進める。

The Paris agreement aims to hold the rise of the world’s average temperature to “well below 2 C above preindustrial levels.” It also mentioned a commitment to “below 1.5 C above preindustrial levels,” which was demanded by island countries, as a target for which efforts must be made. Both these goals will be hard to achieve.
　平均気温の上昇は、産業革命前に比べて「２度を十分下回る」ことを目指す。温暖化の影響が大きい島嶼とうしょ国が求めた「１・５度未満」も努力目標として言及した。いずれも高いハードルだ。

The effectiveness of the agreement will be put to the test with regard to how each country can achieve its target and whether it can raise its target further.
　各国が目標をどれだけ達成し、さらに引き上げられるか。パリ協定の実効性が問われる。

Endeavors by emerging countries are key to cutting global emissions as a whole. China and India, among other nations, argued that “our per capita energy consumption is small and we are developing countries.”
　世界全体の排出量を減らすカギとなるのは、新興国の取り組みだ。中国やインドなどは「１人当たりのエネルギー消費は少なく、我々は途上国だ」と主張した。

The fact remains, however, that China and India are the world’s top and the third-largest emitters of greenhouse gases, respectively. To fulfill their responsibilities, the two countries must make greater efforts to curb emissions without limiting their efforts to nationally determined contributions.
　だが、中印両国は既に世界１、３位の排出大国だ。相応の責任を果たすため、自主目標の達成にとどまらず、一層の削減に努力することが求められる。

Realistic choice

During the Paris conference, developing nations called on developed countries to increase their financial assistance and technological transfers, arguing that they “became rich as a result of consuming huge quantities of fossil fuels.”
　会議で、途上国は「先進国が化石燃料を大量に消費して豊かになった」として、資金援助や技術移転の強化を求めた。

The agreement made it mandatory for developed nations to assist developing countries but did not put a monetary value on such assistance. Annual assistance of \100 billion in 2020 and onward was incorporated in a separate document of a nonbinding agreement. A realistic judgment by developing nations that placed priority on the conclusion of an agreement is laudable.
　協定は、途上国支援を先進国の義務としたが、額の明示は見送った。年１０００億ドルの支援を２０年以降、上積みすることは、拘束力のない別の文書に盛り込まれた。合意を優先した途上国の現実的な判断は評価できる。

Using such assistance to carry out measures to fight global warming is important. It also is necessary to ensure transparency of this assistance and work out a system to verify its effectiveness.
　大切なのは、支援を温暖化対策に確実につなげることだ。透明性を確保し、効果を検証できるシステムを構築する必要がある。

Japan proposed a “bilateral credit system” under which Japan would assist in the energy-saving measures of developing countries, with portions of emissions curbed calculated as its own. The scheme, adopted as part of the agreement, was the outcome of diplomatic efforts by Japanese officials.
　日本は、途上国の省エネ策を支援し、削減された排出量の一部を自国分に算入できる「２国間クレジット制度」を提唱した。この制度が協定に採用されたのは、日本の外交努力の成果だ。

Japan has already agreed to apply the bilateral credit system to 16 countries, including Mongolia and Bangladesh. Assistance in the energy-saving efforts of developing countries has greater cost-effectiveness than measures taken domestically. The application of the system must be expanded positively.
　日本は既に、モンゴル、バングラデシュなど１６か国と提携している。途上国の省エネ支援は、国内対策よりも費用対効果が大きい。積極的に拡大するべきだ。

Japan’s target is to reduce emissions by 26 percent in fiscal 2030 from the levels in fiscal 2013. Reliance on coal and other fossil fuels must be corrected. It is essential to promote the reactivation and new construction of nuclear power plants to lower the cost of renewable energy generation.
　日本の削減目標は、３０年度に１３年度比で２６％減だ。石炭など化石燃料への依存を改めねばならない。原発の再稼働と新増設を進め、再生可能エネルギーの発電コストを下げることが重要である。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Dec. 15, 2015)