Japan’s international cooperation fora carbon neutral world

Supporting leapfrog developmentin natural resource-dependent developing countries
Expectations for leapfrog development
Developing countries as key to a transition to carbon neutrality. With theParis Agreement, the world reached a consensus on a global transition tocarbon neutrality, requiring prompt and substantial reduction of greenhousegases (GHGs). However, even if emissions reductions by countries currently
submitted as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to the secretariat of
the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) areadded up, they do not put the world on a course that allows transition before theend of this century. Toward realising carbon neutral societies, many developed
countries are in the process of submitting long-term strategies aiming in thevicinity of 80% reductions by 2050, and the advancement of genuine reductions
is expected. Meanwhile, business-as-usual emissions from developing
countries, where population increase and economic development are predicted
to continue, are expected to exceed the emissions of developed countries by
several-fold, making climate stabilisation without emissions reductions by
developing countries problematic.
Climate policy in the context of development. Most developing countries
have pursued development patterns based on mass consumption of fossil fuelenergies, in a similar manner as industrialised countries to date. As such,developing countries seem to be at a loss as to how to make the switchover tocarbon neutral development. Large-scale energy use is indispensable to thetype of development on which developing countries have set their sights. Priority
issues are: securing of energy sources and its expanded use; improved energy
access for the poor; and clean energy conversion. The low-carbon transition
requirement added on by the Paris Agreement will have major impacts on suchenergy policies to date. In order to comply with the Paris Agreement, developing
countries must adjust their development paths and recreate appropriate energy
use and supply technology systems suited to their respective development
stages, energy availability and regional environments.
Leapfrog development is essential. At the dawning of a carbon neutral
world, societies in all countries will function in harmony with nature based on
renewable energies and natural carbon absorption, although circumstances will
differ in each country. In Asia, China is preceding “developed nations” in its
switch to post-carbon development patterns, while emerging nations in theheight of industrial development, such as Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Viet
Nam, are exploring transitions that capitalise on natural resources while
reducing dependence on fossil fuels. Meanwhile, countries that remain at thevery beginning stages of development cannot retrace the footsteps of developed
nations and fossil energy-based development, but must search for new
development pathways. Some of these countries already have a base in place
for a carbon neutral society. They are blessed with natural resources, and the
majority of energy is supplied by biomass and hydropower. Thus, they need notpass through fossil energy dependence, but are capable of finding paths toleapfrog directly to carbon neutral societies.
Not only is the leapfrog development of these countries desirable for theentire world, it also offers good suggestions to countries that are rich in naturalresources and have undergone industrialisation dependent on fossil fuels. The
extent to which developing countries can leapfrog to carbon neutral
development holds the key to climate stabilisation.
A new approach in development cooperation for carbon neutrality. While
promotion of cooperation (support) between developed and developing countries
is established in the Paris Agreement, developed country support for the carbon

neutral development of developing countries from here on cannot be a mere
shift from the successes in fossil fuel-dependent development to date. Support
based on new concepts must be envisioned.
Focusing support on renewable energy use and maintenance andenhancement of absorption capacity. As the carbon neutrality goal wasestablished in the Paris Agreement, ultimately renewable energies must become
the major energy source relied upon in all countries of the world. Moreover,carbon neutrality requires not only suppression of carbon dioxide emissions.
Also important are the maintenance and expansion of carbon sinks–forests, soiland oceans–and appropriate ways of managing national and local land use toprotect these natural resources must be highlighted.
Proper assessment of absorption capacity is required. Global efforts tosuppress fossil fuels are assessed in terms of carbon price, extending to tradingin the emission credit market. In contrast, while there have been individual
measures within REDD+ to examine maintenance of absorption capacity, proper
assessment has not been established, mainly due to insufficient scientific data.
For this reason, incentives for developing countries to maintain their absorption
capacities are not effective, and concerns have risen that natural resources willcontinue to slowly deteriorate. International debate must be hastened.
Appropriate technology, capacity building and mutual learning. A carbon
neutral society is built upon renewable energies as a main energy source.
Technologies for the provision and use of renewable energies are fundamentally
decentralised, small-scale, adaptable to regional characteristics andcommunity-managed, differing in characteristics from the technologies
advanced by developed countries that are centralised, large-scale, standardisedand expert-managed. Enhancing access to appropriate technologies that aresuited to the differing circumstances of regional conditions and resource
availability, simultaneously with capacity building to secure the humanresources in local locations, is required. In a carbon neutral age, the appropriatetechnologies in developing countries may in some cases become leading-edge,
resulting in mutual learning based not only on one-way technology transfer fromadvanced nations, but also enabling learning from developing countries.
Emphasising the development context. For most natural resource-dependent
developing countries, future development is the foremost goal. Energy is thedriving force behind development in all areas, including housing, livelihoods,industry and transportation. As such, carbon neutrality must be balanced withnational development goals and incorporated into development paths ordesigned together with development plans. Leapfrog development cannot rely
solely on the transfer of technologies and knowledge from developed countries.
Rather, countries must create policies on their own suited to their own
respective circumstances. To do so, capacity building with a long-term view
from human, organisational and institutional perspectives is essential. Also
essential are development and diffusion of appropriate technologies, thosesuited to respective environments based on the size of a country’ s economy,
population and resources, as well as differences in technologies, finance,business, policy and actors.
Creating a forum for South-South (S-S) cooperation. South-Southcooperation between countries that share a broad range of backgrounds andconcerns has tremendous potential. Opportunities and venues forknowledge-sharing in the areas of designing development pathways andformulation, implementation and assessment of strategies, as well as
capacity-building, potential markets and risks, based on joint research andmutual learning, must be further promoted both regionally and globally.

This brochure is made based on research under a commissioned work from the Ministry of the Environment, on “research to promote international low-carbon societies” in FY2018.

Supporting leapfrog development in natural resource-dependent developing countries

Japan’s international cooperation for a carbon neutral world
Support for leapfrog development in natural resource-dependent developing countries
Long-term carbon
neutral strategies

Residential

BAU

6,000

CM

CommercialIndustry

GHG emissions (ktCO2eq)

GHG emissions

3,000

Ps. Transport
Fg. Transport
LULUCF

0CO2

GHG absorption(3,000)
Balance

Net absorption(2012)

absorption

Natural resource services
as the base for development

Industrial process

Net absorption(BaU)(6,000)CO2generation

Agriculture

Renewable energies
promotion policy

Natural resource
preservation policy

Soil

Net absorption(CM)(9,000)2012 2020 2030 2040 2050 2040 2030 2040 2050

Carbon neutrality scenario

GHG emissions andabsorption scenarios/predictions
GHG emissions andabsorption inventories

Absorption capacity

Forests

Climate change forecasting
Prediction of climate change impacts
on natural resources andhuman society

Biomass

Climate change
impact assessment

Precipitation/hydrology
Energy policy
Industrial development policy
National land-use policy
Transportation policy
Economic development policy
National finance planHydropowerMountainous terrain
Ecotourism

Biodiversity

Climate change adaptation measures
Environmental - protection measures
Forest preservation plan
Climate disaster prevention measures
Land-use plan
Resource productivity
enhancement measures

Natural resource
protection measures

Living environments
Appropriatetechnologies
Capacity building

Good livelihoods
Carbon neutral strategy
consistent with
development goals

Agriculture

Indices for the
9 domains
Psychological wellbeing
HealthNational development planhut nSo io ing
h- at rn
ut er ea
So oop al-lc tuuM

National policy (Example: Bhutan): Based on Gross National Happiness Index
Economic growth and development; Preservation of cultural heritage andcontinuity/promotion of traditional culture; Preservation of rich naturalenvironment and sustainable development; and Good governance

Gross National Happiness
Width of a box shows weight given to each index
Positiveemotion

Life satisfaction
Self-reported
health status

Negative
emotionNumber ofhealthy days

Spirituality

Disability

Mental health

Work

Time use

Sleep

Education

Literacy

Schooling

Knowledge

Value

Cultural diversity andresilience

Zorig chusm skills

Cultural participation

Speak nativelanguage

Driglam Namzha

Good Governance

Political participation

Community vitalityDonation (time & money)

Ecological diversity
and resilience

Wildlife damage

Living standards

IncomeServices

Governance Fundamental
performancerightsCommunity
relationship

SafetyUrban issues
AssetsFamilyResponsibility Ecologicalto environment issues
Housing

The following research is required on carbon neutral development policy.
1

Recognition of current situation of countries’ natural resources that are central to carbon neutrality and ascertainment of climate change impacts
Climate change adaptation policies and long-term land-use planning for protection of natural resources
3 Industrial policies and appropriate technologies to enable leapfrog development
4 Long-term strategies for creation and implementation of carbon neutral scenarios consistent with development plans
2

Joint research, capacity building, mutual learning based on South-South cooperation and international cooperation are essential.
This project is part of Japan’s international cooperation toachieve carbon neutral development through research activities
in cooperation with Asia’s natural resource-dependent nations
A first for modern society. Creating a carbon neutral society based on theleapfrog approach is uncharted territory–a challenge that has yet to beexperienced in modern society. It would require an instantaneous switch in thesource of our energy, the lifeblood of all activities in modern society, from fossil
fuels to renewable energies, and the harnessing of the full power of nature toabsorb carbon dioxide to stave off climate change. This venture into theunknown requires concentration of the world’s vast knowledge and wisdom.
When it comes to coexisting with and utilising nature, today’s industrialised
nations are not necessarily “advanced”. On the contrary, countries that haveingeniously made use of natural resources in the past could be considered“advanced”, and many of them have already built the carbon neutral societiesthat industrialised nations now aim to achieve. However, in order to maintainthese societies, sufficient grounding in scientific knowledge related to climatechange and carbon neutral societies is required. Meanwhile, knowledge on thescientific technologies and policies for a carbon neutral transition inindustrialised nations is indispensable to future policy formulation in thesecountries. The developing country support established in the Paris Agreement
should take place based on mutual learning of such knowledge.
Research-related approach. The Low Carbon Asia Research Network(LoCARNet), launched based on a proposal by Japan at an ASEAN+3
Environment Ministers Meeting in 2011, has to date leaned towards knowledge
exchanges on climate change mitigation research topics, focused mainly onContact

Institute for Global Environmental Strategies
2108-11, Kamiyamaguchi, Hayama, Kanagawa, Japan
URL: http://www.iges.or.jp Email: lcs-rnet@iges.or.jp

reducing fossil energies based on industrialised nation development patterns.
However, from here on, attention must be shifted to knowledge sharing andcollaboration for policy support to realise a “carbon neutral Asia” based on
reducing emissions and expanding absorption. At this time, the range targetedby the network is to be expanded to encompass expansion of carbon sinks andland-use policy. Further, as climate change impacts the natural resources thatyield hydropower, biomass and absorption capacity, the network should also
include adaptation measures.
Bhutan as a model for leapfrog development. This project has involved
research over a three-year period on the feasibility of carbon neutral
development in Bhutan, an exemplary carbon neutral (in fact, a carbon-negative)
nation in Asia, in cooperation with the National Environment Commission ofBhutan. Hydropower and biomass account for most of Bhutan’s energy, andabsorption is ensured by preservation of rich forests and soil. The country also
carries out an advanced form of governance based on appraisal of policies andbudgets according to high-level targets in the Gross National Happiness (GNH)
Index. Bhutan’s carbon neutrality policy combined with its development plan area good example for many developing countries to work toward leapfrog
development.
Promotion of South-South cooperation. In order to expand knowledge andappropriate technologies for leapfrog development in cooperation with Asiannations, this project held a trilateral workshop in November 2018 for Lao PDR,
Cambodia and Bhutan. Further, the outcomes of research in Bhutan have been
disseminated worldwide, including a presentation in July 2018 at a meeting oflow-carbon researchers from European nations.