The following is from an editorial in today's Sankei Shimbun, which perfectly proves that Sankei Shimbun is now the most decent newspaper in Japan and the world.
Readers of this column should feel that this article proves the correctness of my previous articles.
I am convinced that the turntable of civilization is one of the world's most significant achievements of the 21st century.
Convince China to Reduce Emissions, Apply Diversity to Climate Change Science
The "Sixth Report" by the First Working Group of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has been published.
It is a summary of the current state and future forecasts of global warming.
Since its first report in 1990, the IPCC has sounded the alarm that human activities cause climate change.
The tone is getting more and more severe with each passing, and this time the current state of affairs is "There is no doubt that human impacts have been warming the atmosphere, oceans, and land. There are widespread and rapid changes in the atmosphere, oceans, cryosphere, and biosphere.
It is a red light on Paris's goal.
Future projections indicate that "unless emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases decline substantially over the next few decades, global warming will exceed 1.5 and 2 degrees Celsius during the 21st century.
The report calls for the peaking of emissions in the middle of this century.
If development continues to rely on fossil fuels, temperatures will rise 1.3 to 1.9 degrees Celsius between 2021 and 2040 and 3.3 to 5.7 degrees Celsius by the end of the century, it said.
This prediction is significant in light of the goals of the Paris Agreement, an international rule to prevent global warming that became operational last year.
The Paris Agreement aims to limit the increase in global average temperature to less than 2 degrees Celsius by the end of the century, preferably 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels. Still, this forecast indicates the possibility of exceeding 1.5 degrees Celsius within the next 20 years.
The IPCC's influence is significant, although it seems to be on the front burner. Extreme weather events are also becoming more frequent.
At the First Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP26) in the United Kingdom from the end of October, international negotiations for further reduction of greenhouse gas emissions under the Paris Agreement are expected to heat up.
It is China that should take the lead in responding to the IPCC's report.
China's carbon dioxide emissions account for about 30% of the world's total, making it the world's largest emitter and the second-largest emitter, at twice the scale of the United States.
Despite this, China has publicly stated that it will continue to increase its carbon dioxide emissions for the next nine years.
Furthermore, there is a possibility that low-efficiency coal-fired power generation from China will spread to developing countries.
As long as China does not change its course, atmospheric CO2 levels will not stop.
I look forward to solid persuasion by developed countries at COP26 to ensure that President Xi Jinping does not ignore the alarming findings of the IPCC report.
I hope that Ms. Greta Thunberg will play a role in this effort.
The report will also have an impact on Japan.
In April this year, at the urging of U.S. President Biden, the administration of Yoshihide Suga raised the reduction target for FY30 from 26% to 46% (both compared to FY13). However, thermal power generation using fossil fuels currently accounts for nearly 80% of all power generation.
However, thermal power generation, which uses fossil fuels, accounts for nearly 80% of all power generation. If this trend continues, Japan will not be able to avoid criticism at the COP.
Japan's decarbonization will come from nuclear power.
The government is planning a significant expansion of solar and wind power generation, but since they are variable power sources, it cannot reduce the backup of thermal power generation.
To follow the international trend of decarbonization, the government must promote the restart of nuclear power plants.
To achieve carbon neutrality in 50 years, we should promote next-generation nuclear power plants and high-temperature gas-cooled reactors.
There are some concerns about the activities of the IPCC and the discussions at the COP.
They seem to be limiting the cause of the ongoing temperature rise to the greenhouse effect, such as carbon dioxide, but is that correct?
It is currently recovering from the Little Ice Age, which lasted for 200 years until the end of the 19th century, and there is a theory that the temperature rise is the result.
Some studies have focused on the relationship between the activity of the solar magnetic field and the Earth's temperature.
Since the Earth is part of the universe, the science of climate change is a complex system at its best.
The results of calculations on a virtual Earth built in a supercomputer may be helpful, but they are not perfect.
The difficulty of reflecting the effects of clouds that raise or lower the temperature has long been pointed out.
The Earth's climate has a long history of variability.
Steady but essential research is being conducted to decipher the changes in Antarctic ice and lake sediments.
The glimpses of change are varied.
Climate science should not be overshadowed by totalitarianism.
The issue of global warming is inextricably linked to international hegemony and economic warfare, so it is crucial to keep this in mind.
