Kiko Network's Annual Report2019

Steady Prog

ress on the

Coal Exit
But…

Path to aGreetingMoving Toward a Coal Exit
Climate action and COVID-19
2019, a year of rising climate concern andchanging public opinion

2019 was a year of heightened public concern in Japan and around the world about theissue of climate change. There was also some progress with phasing out coal, both inJapan and elsewhere in the world, an issue that has been the focus of much effort by
Kiko Network. In the context for all this we are witnessing changes in public opinion aboutclimate change and coal-fired power plants.
One key factor is that extreme weather is now occurring more frequently in Japan andaround the world, forcing us all to recognize that the impacts of climate change are already affecting us now, not some time inthe distant future, and right where we are, not just in faraway islands or developing countries. In 2018, Japan experienced heatwaves in July, as well as torrential rains in western Japan, followed by destructive Typhoon 21 (Jebi) in September. In 2019much of eastern Japan experienced extensive river bank failure and flood damage due to torrential rains.
Meanwhile, the school strikes started by young activist Greta Thunberg with the message “Our house is on fire” have spreadaround the world, including Japan, as Fridays For Future, and the movement has gained extensive media coverage.

Japan criticized for coal addition,
Kiko Network launches new activities for 2030 targets

Incidentally, we cannot deny the messaging power of the words and actions of Shinjiro Koizumi, who became Japan’senvironment minister immediately prior to the UN Climate Action Summit in September 2019. The COP25 climate conference
could not be held at the planned venue in Chile, so the location was suddenly changed to Madrid, Spain. There, Japan was
unable to make any commitment to raise its greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction targets or express any intention to stopcoal-fired power plant infrastructure exports, and this failure attracted critical message from UN Secretary-General Antonio
Guterres for Japan’s “coal addiction.” That message also reached the domestic audience in Japan.
In the end, COP25 failed to achieve any major results and there was no visible progress domestically in Japan to transition
from coal to renewable energy. Kiko Network has started new activities. For example, we informed the Japanese public abouta Netherlands supreme court decision that orders the country to raise its GHG emission reduction targets, on the basis ofclimate change damage being a human rights issue. We protested Japan’s resubmission to the UN of its nationally determined
contribution (NDC), which left unchanged Japan’s GHG emission reduction targets for the year 2030. We also submitted ashareholder resolution to the annual shareholders meeting of the Mizuho Financial Group, the world’s top financier of coal-fired
power plants.

New lifestyle and economic opportunities can promote a coal phase-out andtransition to a green economy

Meanwhile, the COVID-19 problem emerged in early 2020 and has been rocking the world ever since. Although mortality
rates are relatively low, the risk of causing quick death spread rapidly around the world. Many large cities have taken theunprecedented step of initiating simultaneous lockdowns. Even in mid-2020, no solutions are yet in sight, but we now have theopportunity to think not only about how to respond to COVID-19, but also about issues like how we should live in the future andhow to deal with extreme weather disasters caused by climate change. Everyone is beginning to realize that common underlying
factors have spread and exacerbated these challenges, and that for humanity to survive we need to transition to new forms of
economic activity and ways of living.
The Paris Agreement calls for a transformation of our economies, from production to consumption, and a transformationof society as a whole. We could see the COVID-19 pandemic as having both strengthened the need for transformation andaccelerated real action. Kiko Network continues moving forward in 2020, aware that we are now at a critical moment in time forthe transition to a coal-free green economy.
Mie Asaoka
President, Kiko Network
Kiko Network Annual Report 2019 – Table of Contents
G r e e t i n g : M o v i n g To w a r d a C o a l E x i t + C l i m a t e A c t i o n a n d C O V I D - 1 9 ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ 2
Our Achievements in 2019: More Progress on the Path to a Coal Exit・・・・・・・・・・・・・・3
O u r A c t i v i t i e s i n 2 0 1 9 : I n t e r n a t i o n a l N e g o t i a t i o n s , N a t i o n a l A d v o c a c y, L o c a l A c t i v i t i e s ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ 4
Financial Report and List of Board Members・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・ 7[CAPTION]:
Cover photos: Global Climate March (Kyoto, Nov. 29, 2019), and “Fossil of the Day” award being presented to Japan at COP25 Climate Conference (Dec. 3, 2019)

Our Achievement in 2019

More Progress on the Path to a Coal Exit
Photo; Masayoshi Iyoda, Kiko Network

Submitting Japan’s first climate shareholders resolution to Mizuho Financial GroupDe facto suspensions or cancellations ofcoal-fired power plant projects
Kiko Network has been monitoring and campaigning on
new construction plans for coal-fired power plants that haveemerged since 2012. In addition to the cancellation of 13
units in previous years, in 2019 we have seen the de facto
suspension of a total of four units at two plant locations.
One is the Nishi-Okinoyama Power Station that was being
planned by J-Power, Osaka Gas, and Ube Industries in Ube
City, Yamaguchi Prefecture. On April 24, 2019, Osaka Gas
announced its withdrawal from the project, and the draftenvironmental impact statement that had been submitted
was withdrawn. Nevertheless, J-Power has stated that it willconsider changes to the plans, so the possibility remainsthat they could submit a revised plan, and we still need tomonitor the situation.
The other location is the Akita Port Power Plant, which was
being planned by Kanden Energy Solution and Marubeni
Corporation. This cancellation avoids a future increase of
15.86 million t-CO2 of emissions per year.

Environment Minister Koizumi publicly
acknowledges criticism of Japan’s “coaladdiction”
At COP25 in Spain, UN Secretary-General Antonio
Guterres criticized countries promoting coal-fired power
generation saying they need to end their “coal addiction.”
Japan is basically the only developed country still promoting
coal power both domestically and internationally and has
shown no intention to raise its GHG emission reduction
targets. Japan’s stance earned it the infamous “Fossil of theDay” award and made it the target of repeated protests atthe climate conference.
In response to these criticisms, Environment Minister
Shinjiro Koizumi, representing Japan at COP25, said at
a ministerial meeting that Japan hears the call to stopits coal addiction and takes the criticism seriously. It is
unusual for the minister of the environment, representing
the government of Japan, to recognize the problems ofJapan’s coal policy at an official forum like the COP. This
could be seen as one positive step toward a change inpolicy. However, the situation remains unchanged, as Japan
has not applied the brakes to its promotion of coal power.
Therefore, advocacy toward the government of Japan must
continue, from both inside and outside of the country.

Shareholder resolution presses Mizuho tostrengthen policies
Kiko Network purchased shares of the Mizuho Financial
Group in the summer of 2019, and on March 13, 2020,
submitted a shareholder resolution calling on the group to
disclose its climate-related risk and plans to manage its
financing in ways that are consistent with the targets of theParis Agreement, in accordance with the recommendationsof the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures(TCFD) under the Financial Stability Board (Bank forInternational Settlements).
Reuters and other media outlets reported that three
institutions – Kommunal Landspensjonskasse (KLP),
which is Norway’s largest corporate pension and insurancecompany, as well as Storebrand ASA, also from Norway,
and pension fund MP Pension, from Denmark – said theywould support our shareholder resolution. These institutional
investors have a total of nearly 200 billion dollars (about
21.06 trillion yen) in assets under management, so ourresolution with the 34.5% support was able to have asignificant impact even though it didn’t pass.
Going forward, we will continue to urge Mizuho Financial
Group to make a commitment to disclose plans for a
corporate strategy that includes investment metrics andtargets aligned with the targets of the Paris Agreement.

[CAPTION] Citizens’ action in front of planned site of the Yokosuka coal-fired power plant

Global People’s Action before G20 Osaka Summit

Leading up to the G20 Osaka Summit (June 28 and 29, 2019), NGOs from Japanand overseas held actions around the world calling on host country Japan to adopt
effective climate actions and coal phase-out policies. In Japan, under the name of
Global People’s Action, prior to the G20 Osaka Summit, we co-organized actions in
Yokosuka and Kobe near planned coal-fired power plant construction projects, andin Osaka near the G20 Summit venue.

3

Our Activities in 2019

Building an International Framework
Photo; Masayoshi Iyoda, Kiko Network

Youth action event at COP25 climate conference in Madrid

COP25 results unsatisfactory

Full-scale implementation of Paris
Agreement has begun
The COP25 climate conference in 2019, originally planned
for Santiago, Chile, ended up being held in Madrid,
Spain. There, negotiations were held on Article 6 (the socalled market mechanisms, etc.) as part of the detailed
implementation guidelines for the Paris Agreement on
climate change. Also, it was hoped that governments could
reach consensus on calling for countries to raise their GHG
emission reduction targets in 2020 and resubmit themto the United Nations as updated nationally determined
contributions (NDCs). Seeking better outcomes for such a
consensus, Kiko Network worked closely with the Climate
Action Network (CAN), an international network of NGOs,
and reached out to the Japanese government, as well.
Even after a two-day extension, the conference reached
no agreement on market mechanisms, so the topic was
postponed to COP26. Regarding the raising of targets, theconference ended without getting into a proper discussion
on the topic.
Nevertheless, the demands of science and the people
are clear. Even if the discussions on rules for market
mechanisms were postponed, other obligations of theParis Agreement (such as domestic measures to achieve
emission reduction targets) are unchanged. Countries
must continue to negotiate to achieve strict rules and reachconsensus on raising the targets for each country, and must
work domestically on full-scale implementation of the Paris
Agreement.

Japan fails to show leadership2020 must be the year for change
In 2019, Greta Thunberg and other youth of the world held
global climate marches and demanded solutions for the“climate emergency.” In parallel with this movement, using
opportunities such as the G20 Osaka Summit in June, theUN Climate Action Summit in September, and COP25 in
December, a growing tide of voices around the world has
been calling for decarbonization. However, Japan failed totake advantage of these opportunities.
Regarding emission reduction targets, at the end of March
2020, Japan attracted international criticism for submitting
unchanged its 26% reduction target, which was alreadyconsidered lacking in ambition. UN Secretary-General
Antonio Guterres called on Japan to end its “coal addiction,”but Japan continues to promote coal-fired power generation,
which is the largest source of CO2 emissions. Instead ofdemonstrating leadership, Japan is attracting criticism forgoing in the opposite direction from where the world shouldbe heading.
On the other hand, Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi
acknowledged that talk of a “coal addiction” referred toJapan, and it was a positive sign that after returning toJapan he launched a review of Japan’s coal-fired power
infrastructure export policies. The year 2020 must become
the year that the government of Japan makes progress on
the transition to 100% renewable energy and away from areliance on nuclear and coal power.

Japan is awarded “Fossil of the Day” twice at COP25
At COP25 in December 2019, the government of Japan was twice awarded the satirical “Fossilof the Day” award, which goes to countries judged to have done their “best” to block progress innegotiations or in implementation of the Paris Agreement. The awards attracted media attention
and we witnessed an increase in public interest.

4

Photo: Masayoshi Iyoda, Kiko Network

The first occasion was in response to a comment by Hiroshi Kajiyama, Minister of Economy,
Trade, and Industry, who said Japan wants to keep open the option of fossil-fuel power plants suchas coal-fired power plants. His comment was in response to a new report by the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP) recommending, among other things, that Japan phase out
coal-fired power generation. The second award was after Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi,
speaking at a COP ministerial level meeting, failed to say that Japan intended to strengthen its
climate actions, adopt concrete targets to phase out coal, and adopt more ambition GHG emission
reduction targets, all of which are being requested by international society.

Our Activities in 2019

Promoting Climate Action in Japan

Global Climate Marches were held simultaneously around the world on Sept. 20, 2019 (Kyoto)
Photo; Masayoshi Iyoda, Kiko Network

Japan’s Long Term Strategy:
Behind closed doors

Zero carbon cities & climate emergency
declarations

Each country was being asked to submit a long-term low
greenhouse gas emission development strategy under theParis Agreement. Japan submitted its “Long Term Strategy”
to the UN in June. Although some mention of a restrictionof coal was reportedly included in early drafts, it ended upcompletely missing from the final text. Instead, the document
contains dubious solutions that would perpetuate the use ofcoal and nuclear power, using problematic technologies thatcurrently have no clear prospects of commercialization, suchas carbon capture and storage (CCS), carbon capture andutilization (CCU), “space solar power,” and next generation
nuclear power.

In an initiative sponsored by the Ministry of theEnvironment, many municipal mayors have signed a “Net
Zero Carbon Dioxide Emissions Declaration” targeting theyear 2050. By the end of February 2020, 74 municipalities
had signed, including the Tokyo Metropolitan Government
and Osaka City, representing 56 million people (about 44%
of Japan’s total population).
Many local governments have also adopted a Climate
Emergency Declaration, starting with Iki City in Nagasaki
Prefecture, and now including Kamakura City, Hakuba
Village, Nagano Prefecture, Oki Town, Chikuma City, Hokuei
Town, Sakai City, Kanagawa Prefecture, and more.

Kiko Network had asked for a proper long term strategy
and offered proposals for what they should include. We also
requested the disclosure of the minutes of the long term
strategy committee’s meetings, but only received a highly
redacted version with all statements by members blackedout.

The declarations vary in content, however. Some local
governments say they are developing roadmaps for climate
actions while others did nothing more than adopt thedeclaration. It will be important for their citizens to monitor
actions so that the governments don’t assume that making adeclaration is all they need to do.

An increasingly complex new electricity
marketYouth taking action

In the name of reforming Japan’s electrical powersystem, the government adopted a series of changes
to the regulatory regime, but it is becoming increasingly
complex. It would be no exaggeration to say that the realoutcome of market reforms is over-protection of nuclear
power and fossil fuels (policies happen to be beneficial for
Japan’s existing major utilities) and brakes being applied torenewable energy, all with the aim of achieving the declaredtarget energy mix in 2030 (nuclear 20–22%, renewableenergy 22–24%, coal 26%, LNG 27%, and oil 3%). Japan’s“capacity market” launching in 2020 is essentially a de facto
scheme to pay subsidies to nuclear and coal-fired power
plants, even when they are not operating. It will be important
to monitor Japan’s electricity markets and counter any
regulations that might put the brakes on climate actions.

The climate strikes inspired by the young Swedish activist
Greta Thunberg rippled around the world in the blink of aneye. Youth began to come forward in Japan as well to do the
Fridays for Future climate strikes.
On September 20, Global Climate Marches were held in 23
prefectures of Japan, from Hokkaido in the north to Okinawa
in the south, with more than 5,000 people participating.
Japan’s youth movement is spreading and gaining attention
as young people in many communities demand stronger
climate policies from central and local governments.

Climate Marches lead to Climate Emergency Declarations
Hakuba is a small town in Nagano Prefecture with a population of about 9,000. Three
students from Hakuba High School organized a Climate March on September 20, andmarchers presented a petition to the mayor hoping the local council would declare a
Climate Emergency. Accordingly, the village council issued the “Hakuba Climate Emergency
Declaration” at its regular meeting on December 4, 2019.

5Photo：Keisuke Tezuka, Hakuba High School

Our Activities in 2019

Decarbonizing Communities, Building Human Capacity

Category winners in children’s essay contest, with Seita Emori
Photo; Nao Tase, Kiko Network

Creating decarbonization scenarios andvisions
Working toward a decarbonized society in 2050, Kiko
Network continued with research into decarbonization
scenarios and visions for Japan. We also organizedseminars and symposiums with experts as guest
participants. Based on these activities and timed with Kyoto
City’s plans to amend its municipal ordinance on global
warming prevention, we shared scenarios and exchanged
input, aiming to have decarbonization scenarios included in
the ordinance. We also prepared decarbonization scenarios
for Yao City and Nose Town in Osaka Prefecture, being local
governments that differ in size and characteristics. We wereable to show that a decarbonized society is indeed possible
by enhancing a broad range of policies, including a fuel shift
to renewable energy.

100% renewable energy starts to go
mainstream
As renewable energy is expected to play a greater rolein the future, an increasing number of companies andorganizations in Japan are joining initiatives such as RE100
and RE Action. Kiko Network serves as the secretariat for
CAN-Japan, which is coordinating the Renewable Energy
100% Platform in Japan. To date, 16 organizations havemade the 100% renewable energy pledge and there are
now 110 supporter organizations. The number of local
governments that have made the pledge to have net zeroCO2 emissions by 2050 is also rising. Companies andcommunities are in the process of shifting from making
pledges to the action stage.

Networking and supporting new power
producers
Kiko Network has been supporting efforts to establish new
power producers in order to revitalize local communities
and promote renewable energy. TERA Energy, a new power
producer established mainly by Buddhist monks, was able
to expand the areas it supplies into the domains served by
11th Community and Cooperative Power Producers’ Forum

6

This year the forum was organized in Okayama in November 2019, the first time to beheld in western Japan outside the Kansai region.

several of Japan’s major utilities, including Chugoku ElectricPower Co., Kansai Electric Power Co., Kyushu ElectricPower Co., and Tokyo Electric Power Co. Meanwhile,
TANTAN Energy has started supplying electricity to local
governments. It was established by Ryukoku University,
the Kyoto Center for Climate Actions and Kiko Network as
a new power producer to supply electricity in the northern
region of Kyoto Prefecture.

“Essay for Future“ children’s essay
contestAs the sense of crisis grows about the impacts of climatechange on future generations, Kiko Network held an
inaugural essay contest for primary, middle and high school
students on the theme of preventing global warming. Many
essay submissions came in from around the country.
The best ones were selected for grand prizes, awards of
excellence, future awards, and special awards. An awards
ceremony with presentations was held at a Citizens’
Climate Summit on October 19 and 20. These activities also
provided opportunities to hear the voices of primary, middle
and high school students so that they can be reflected into
climate actions and policies.

Education for climate action
The “Childrens Eco-Life Challenge” climate change
education program reached its tenth year since we launched
it at all schools in Kyoto. We have also supported initiatives
in other parts of Japan and in Malaysia. The number ofchildren who learned grew significantly over the decade. The
message has spread to many households and regions, andwe see examples where the program has inspired children
to take action in later years.

Collaboration + Network activities

We collaborated with and supported many other initiatives,
including the Community and Cooperative Power Producers’
Forum (Okayama), Power-Shift campaign, Green AllianceJapan, G20 Osaka Citizens’ Summit, and Fridays for Futuregroups around Japan, No Coal Japan, etc.

Financial Report & List of Board Members
Kiko Network Financial Report for 2019
In fiscal 2019* our revenues increased slightly from the previous
year, mainly due to an increase in grants and contracts. Expenditures
also rose compared to the previous year, the main reason being an
increase in grant-related expenditures spanning two fiscal years. The
closing balance increased slightly. However, this amount includes
grant periods that differ from our fiscal year, so a portion of the funds
is restricted for uses planned for the first half of fiscal 2020. Thanks toefforts to develop connections and interact with new companies andorganizations, our membership and donation revenues increased. We
will continue working to attract more members and donations. Finally,
the COVID-19 pandemic has made it more difficult to forecast some
aspects of revenues and expenditures, but we will strive our utmost
to maintain stable operations and the effective use of our financial
resources.
*Note: Our 2019 fiscal year was from April 1, 2019 to March 31, 2020

FY2019 Revenues
Category

Amount (JPY)

Memberships

2,977,000

Donations

2,848,979

Grants59,652,459

Honorariums, etc.

1,162,980

Contracts

30,797,069

Sales

70,460

Other revenues

98,646

Total

97,607,593

FY2019Expenditures
Category

Amount (JPY)

1. Program expenditures
Outreach

3,243,092

Research and advocacy

3,337,642

Network building
International negotiations and policy work
Community and NGO support

926,597
1,295,346
652,400

Grant-funded programs

51,825,788

Contract-funded programs

30,802,807

Program subtotal

92,083,672

2. Administrative expenditures
Salaries

1,632,375

Travel

218,930

Communications and shipping

140,011

Supplies

106,113

Office rent

316,747

Printing

128,245

Employee benefits

327,818

Tax and public dues

66,265

Other expenditures
Administrative subtotal
3. Income taxes - current
Total

President Mie Asaoka

140,000
95,198,542

Revenues and expenditures

Revenue Breakdown

38,3662,974,870

FY2019 results

Opening balance

37,215,315

Total revenues

97,607,593

Total expenditures

95,198,542

Closing balance (March 31, 2020)

39,624,366

Closing balance (restricted portion)

29,062,271

Closing balance (unrestricted portion)

10,562,095

List of Board Members
Tsuyoshi Hara

Shunichi Hiraoka
Kuniyasu Inoue

Kimiko Hirata

Takuma Kani

Takako Momoi

Hiroshi Kanda

Motohiro Yamazaki

Ayako Sakurada

Naoyuki Yamagishi

Yoshitsugu Sasaki

Juta Wada

Kenro Taura
Ken Tsuzuku

Auditor; Toshiyuki Ueda

Oomi Nishizono

Auditor; Yoshimichi Sakakibara

Ikumi Hara

Auditor; Shigenori Fukushima

As of June 2019, in random order

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Kiko Network Annual Report 2019o!

ik
Kiko!K

Kiko Network (https://www.kikonet.org)
August 1st, 2020

Change the rules, not our climate.
The work of Kiko Network can only be achieved with your supports.
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research, and spreading our campaigns, etc.
We at Kiko Network thank all our supporters for their past and future contributions to change the world as
we move toward a sustainable global society.
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