Abstract
Currently, intensive international negotiations are developing in order to establish a Post 2012 Framework, aimed at addressing the pressing global issue of climate change. This initiative, taken up at both national and international levels, is a continuation of negotiations put forth at the 13th Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (COP13, Bali meeting) that was held in December, 2007 and the G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit held in July, 2008. The target of these negotiations is to be able to reach an agreement at the upcoming COP15, which is scheduled to take place at the end of 2009.
With regard to these ongoing negotiations, this paper stresses that there continues to be a significantly large gap between developed countries and developing countries, and progress has been quite sluggish. The primary cause for this is the problem of participation by developing countries in the next framework. In this context, the “Co-benefits Approach,” which has attracted international attention as an incentive for addressing the issue of climate change by developing countries, is introduced. The paper includes an explanation on the development of this approach thus far, the specific efforts being made by Japan, and a discussion on possible future directions.
