US must assume responsibility as major emitter of greenhouse gases

THE FOLLOWING editorial appeared in Monday’s Yomiuri Shimbun:

Measures to combat global warming require thinking aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions of the entire world.

To effectively tackle this task, international cooperation is essential.

It is thus worrisome, when viewed from this perspective, that US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to comprehensively review the country’s global warming measures.

Trump has instructed a review of climate policies advocated by the previous administration of President Barack Obama, including the Clean Power Plan, which curbs carbon dioxide emissions at power plants. These actions are in line with one of his campaign pledges during the presidential election: the revival of the US coal industry.

The Paris Agreement on climate change, a new framework for global warming measures, came into force in November. The United States had come up with a plan to cut emissions by 26-28 per cent by 2025 from levels for 2005. With the USpolicy shift, however, the rolling-back of measures to fight global warming will be inevitable.

Methods of generating power have been shifting toward cleaner means worldwide, including natural gas, photovoltaic power and wind power.

Even in the United States, the percentage of power generation using natural gas is increasing. This means of power generation emits relatively less CO2, and its price has been plummeting. As a consequence, the United States has already achieved nearly half the targeted cuts in emissions. — WP-Bloomberg