Japanese Environmental NGOs Hold Debriefing on UN Climate Change Conferences

Ten environmental non-governmental organizations (NGOs), including WWF Japan, Kiko Network and FoE Japan, jointly organized a debrief meeting in Tokyo on January 11, 2013, after the Eighteenth Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP18) and the Eighth Session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP8). The conferences were held from November 26 to December 7, 2012, in Doha, Qatar.

In the first of a two-part session, the groups explained the so-called "Doha Climate Gateway," a series of agreements that include work plans for a new framework after 2020, and discussed other issues brought up by the conferences. In the second part, they evaluated the international negotiations and discussed the role that Japan should play in the future.

Challenging aspects of the international negotiations were reported, such as the decline of Japan's influence due to its decision not to participate in the Kyoto Protocol for the second commitment period. However, the achievements so far were evaluated favorably by some.

Mitsutoshi Hayakawa, a senior director of Citizens' Alliance for Saving the Atmosphere and Earth (CASA), attended the meeting as a guest speaker. He mentioned that the negotiations have been seesawing but steadily gaining ground and pointed out that engaged citizens as well as scientist are to thank for the progress seen so far since the approval of the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention Climate Change in 1992. He also said that he hoped to strengthen cooperation among NGOs and civil society in the future.

The ten groups plan to hold other debriefings as international conferences are held in the future.