COP 24 is at the final stage. All members of the Japanese government’s negotiation team have worked around the clock for the past few days, and entered a crucial stretch. We can see a ray of hope for the success of our work thanks to the team’s efforts. At COP 24, we, the Japanese government, have stressed the following two points:
The first point is as follows. In October 2018, Japan launched the Greenhouse gases Observing Satellite-2 (GOSAT-2) following GOSAT launched in 2009. As I mentioned in Japan’s statement at COP 24, this GOSAT-2 employs advanced technologies in its functionality by means of the world’s first measurement of anthropogenic CO2 emissions and its accuracy of the data observed by it. Consequently, its analysis is contributing greatly to the on-going climate change issues. In other words, these technologies do not allow any parties to the UN Framework Convention on the Climate Change (UNFCCC) to excuse themselves from regulations on greenhouse gas emissions for the reason that scientific analysis of the data on gas emissions is insufficient. At every meeting which I attended at COP 24, I explained to other parties’ representatives saying, “Any information on the results of the data observed by GOSAT-2 will openly be available to any countries, and if you want the information, please contact us.”
In Japan Pavilion at COP 24, a miniature of GOSAT-2 was exhibited and an explanatory video was shown. I brought here just over 20 miniatures, and I handed them to Mr. Michal Kurtyka of Poland, President of COP 24, and the representatives of important parties as well as the executives of the COP 24 after each meeting was over. All of them seemed pleased to receive it. (To my regret, we ran short of the miniatures. We should have brought more.)
