Considering the magnitude and severity of their predicted impact, the progress of global warming from greenhouse gases and the resulting climate change are among the most serious environmental issues we are facing today. In order to create a sustainable society, we must come up with strategies to prevent climate change and mitigate its impact. Since the Kyoto Protocol came into effect in February 2005, there is not only a pressing need to achieve a reduction in emissions as prescribed by the "Kyoto Protocol Target Achievement Plan" (approved by the Cabinet in April 2005), but we must also build an international framework to follow up on the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol, and find ways to transition to a future socio-economic system with low greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, we must continue to evaluate climate change countermeasures for the both the medium and long range.
Based on an understanding of the mechanisms of climate change and its impacts, and using predictions of the possible effects of climate change, we will set cost-effective and socially acceptable long-term climate stabilization goals and work towards creating a vision of a society that ceases to induce climate change at both the domestic and international levels. Furthermore, we will participate on the international stage through our contributions to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and other organizations. In order to identify the path to success in these endeavors, we will undertake the following kinds of research during the period of the second five-year plan at NIES. |
