Ministries need to transcend their differences and agree to a comprehensive policy to combat global climate change if Japan hopes to successfully host the third U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change in December, according to an environmental bureau officer at a press conference July 16 in Tokyo.
Very intense discussions are necessary to achieve consensus and policy agreement, said Hironori Hamanaka, director general of the Global Environment Department Planning and Coordination Bureau. "The recent initiative taken by Prime Minister Hashimoto is important to accelerate the internal process and build consensus," Hamanaka said, referring to Hashimoto's instruction to the heads of the Environment Agency, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry and the Finance Ministry to clarify their positions by the end of the month.
The Japanese government needs "well coordinated and specific positions so it can play a leading role in advancing the discussion in Kyoto," said Hamanaka. To do this, leaders will need to come up with numerical targets, policies to achieve the targets and ways to advance existing agreements.