TOKYO, June 28 (NNN-AGENCIES) — G20 host Japan hopes world leaders will
endorse a deal on marine plastic waste and find common ground on climate change, but its own environmental record is under increasing scrutiny.
Activists say Japan has fallen behind on reducing plastic consumption and
is caving to US pressure to water down language on climate change to achieve a unanimous statement on the issue.
Japan, chair of this week’s Group of 20 meeting in Osaka, has already
secured agreement from environment ministers on a marine plastic waste deal that will be endorsed this week.
The deal commits G20 members to reducing plastic waste but includes few
details on how that will be achieved, proposing only voluntary steps and
yearly progress reports.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said last month the issue would be “one of the
most important themes of the G20”, adding that Japan “hopes to play a
leadership role”.
Experts welcomed part of the agreement that calls for research to better
understand where plastic is coming from and how to tackle it.
The agreement comes as campaigners criticise Japan for moving too slowly
on reducing plastic consumption, particularly as the country produces more plastic waste per capita than any nation apart from the United States.
Japan touts an enviable waste management system, and 86 percent of its
plastic waste is recycled.
But much of that “recycling” involves simply incinerating plastic, often
to produce energy, a process that generates carbon dioxide and contributes to climate change.
Japan exports around 10 percent of its plastic waste for recycling
overseas. But research by environmentalists shows the waste can end up in the ocean or being burned improperly, emitting harmful pollutants.
Last month, Japan announced a new strategy to reduce plastic waste,
including plans to eventually require retailers to charge for plastic bags,
but that still leaves it far behind nations that have simply banned plastic
bags and other single-use plastic outright.
Japan also faces growing scrutiny on climate change issues because of its
continued use of coal.
It is one of nearly 200 nations that signed the Paris climate agreement,
which commits signatories to efforts to cap global warming at “well below”
two degrees Celsius.
But earlier this month, it said it would continue to rely on coal-burning
power plants and set its target date for carbon-neutral status after 2050. — NNN-AGENCIES