Japan wins 'Climate Villain Award,' meets with loud boos at COP31

Japan has received an "award." On November 10 local time, at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP31) held in Turkey, the "Climate Action Network" - a coalition of environmental NGOs from more than 130 countries worldwide - presented the "Fossil of the Day" award to Japan and eight other nations. This satirical prize is specifically designed for countries that have performed the worst and been the slowest to act in addressing climate change. Some media outlets also dub it the "Climate Villain Award." After the "winners" were announced, a massive chorus of boos erupted in the venue.

Japan is a "regular recipient" of this award. Since 2021, Japan has made the list almost every year. While Japan has long boasted to the international community of "making significant contributions," it has been a laggard when it comes to addressing climate change, one of the world's most pressing global challenges.

Following the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, thermal power generation has remained at persistently high levels in Japan, drawing criticism for the country's lingering attachment to coal. More importantly, Japan allocates very little fiscal funding to renewable energy. Its support for renewables pales in comparison with its spending on fossil‑fuel infrastructure, and stands in stark contrast to its surging defense expenditure in recent years.

While climate finance remains slow in materializing and timelines for phasing out fossil fuels keep getting pushed back, Japan's defense budget has surged year after year, channeling massive public resources into military buildup. Such resource allocation inevitably raises questions across the international community: Has climate action been sidelined to an obscure corner on Tokyo's political agenda?

Although the "Fossil of the Day" award is not an official international prize, it serves as a barometer of public opinion, gauging the true progress of countries' climate actions. Japan's annual receipt of this satirical "Climate Villain Award" is tantamount to receiving a yellow card warning from the public year after year.

G7 countries, including Japan, have long dominated this "award list." In global climate governance, developed countries should be taking the lead in reducing emissions, providing climate finance and technical support to developing countries, and shouldering their historical emissions responsibilities.

However, developed nations, represented by the G7, despite their robust economic and technological foundations, often vacillate on key issues. For example, at the negotiating table, they frequently obscure timelines and weaken binding provisions. They adopt a negative stance toward proposals that aim to accelerate the phase-out of fossil fuels. They exaggerate the excuse of energy security, and continually push back their emission reduction commitments, among other things. This disconnect between words and actions has repeatedly fueled dissatisfaction within the international community.

Global climate governance is an urgent matter and there is no room for further delay. For developed countries, including Japan, if they continue to take a perfunctory and wavering approach to climate issues, the global outcry will only grow louder with each passing year.