## Current Environmental Issues and Environmental Conservation Measures by the Government

Part Two of the Quality of the Environment in Japan 2003 introduces the environmental conservation measures implemented in FY 2002 based on the state of environmental problems and in line with the Basic Environment Plan, in the chapters structured as shown below. Part Two of this booklet will make clear the issues and current state of environmental problems in the major fields.

Chapter One: Measures for Various Environmental Problems

Chapter Two: Basis of Various Measures, and Measures Facilitating the Participation of Various Actors

Chapter Three: Promotion of International Activities

Chapter Four: Effective Implementation of the Basic Environment Plan

### 1. Conservation of the Global Atmospheric Environment

## (1) Global Warming

In recent years, expanding human activities have discharged vast quantities of carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. These gases have enhanced the greenhouse effect and have given rise to the threat of global warming.

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Third Assessment Report—Climate Change 2001, the global average surface temperature has increased since 1861. Over the 20th century the increase has been $ 0.6 \pm 0.2^{\circ}C $ . The progress of global warming may have far-reaching and serious effects on both the living environment of humans and the natural habitats of other living organisms. According to the 2001 IPCC Report, global mean sea level is projected to rise by a maximum of 88 cm between 1990 and 2100. According to observations conducted by the Japan Meteorological Agency, Japan has also experienced an increase of about $ 1.0^{\circ}C $ in the annual mean temperature over the last one hundred years. The effects of global warming on the natural environment have already become apparent, as shown by the decrease in the area of sea ice in the Sea of Okhotsk and range shifts of plants and animals.

Secular Changes in Deviation from Japan’s Annual Average Surface Temperature (1898–2002)

Note: The bars represent annual values. The blue line indicates 5-year moving average of annual values. The red line shows the long-term trend.

Source: Japan Meteorological Agency

Emissions of Carbon Dioxide in Japan

Of the amounts of greenhouse gases emitted in Japan in

Source: Ministry of the Environment

FY 2000, carbon dioxide emissions were 1,237 million tons, with a per-capita emission of 9.75 tons. Compared to the FY 1990 figures, total emission has increased by 10.5% and the per-capita emission by 7.6%. A breakdown by sector shows that emissions from the industrial sector have increased by 0.9%, the commercial/institutional sector by 22.2%, the residential sector by 20.4% and the transport sector by 20.6%.

In May 2002, Japan revised the “Law Concerning the Promotion of the Measures to Cope with Global Warming,” and in June of the same year concluded the Kyoto Protocol that sets legally binding quantitative targets for greenhouse gas emissions in developed nations. Drastic initiatives will be needed to devise a solution to the problem of global warming. These initiatives include strengthening policies in all areas of our socio-economic system, organically structuring the various policies, and in the future reengineering our current socio-economic system of mass production, mass consumption and mass disposal.