Resolution to Achieve the Conservation of the Global Environment and the Sustainable Development of Local Communities by Choosing Renewable Energy as a Means to Protect Human Rights
Human rights violations caused by the climate crisis have already become a reality. The global mean near-surface temperature for each year between 2011 and 2020 was 1.1°C above the pre-industrial baseline (i.e., the average temperature between 1850 and 1900). It is estimated that the number of heat-related deaths in Europe in the summer of 2022 exceeded 61,000. Meanwhile, the number of emergency transport cases due to heatstroke in Japan reached more than 90,000 in the summer of 2023. The WMO (World Meteorological Organization) has also recently announced that the global mean near-surface temperature in 2023 was the highest on record. The damage caused by wildfires and heavy rains is increasing, and water resources, agriculture and fisheries are being severely affected. As a result, the climate crisis threatens the very basis of human survival for both present and future generations, and this leads to a situation in which the right to life, health and property (Article 13, Article 25 and Article 29, Constitution of Japan; Article 6, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; Preamble and Article 3, Universal Declaration of Human Rights; and Article 3, Basic Environment Act), and the right to choose and change one’s residence and to participate in socio-economic and cultural life (Article 22 and Article 25, Constitution of Japan; and Article 3, Basic Environment Act), are increasingly under threat. In June 2017, the United Nations Human Rights Council adopted the "Human rights and climate change: resolution," which explicitly states that climate change has negative impacts on the full enjoyment of various human rights.
The climate crisis is the result of global warming caused by the increase in atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations due to anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions which have taken place since the Industrial Revolution. As temperatures continue to rise, the damage caused by this climate crisis will become even more severe. In order to minimize the impact of the climate crisis and preserve the global environment, the 2018 report of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) indicated that the rise in global temperatures from pre-industrial levels must be kept to within 1.5°C, which has become a common understanding around the world. To achieve this "1.5°C target," it is essential to immediately reduce CO2 emissions and achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Therefore, in addition to the need to reduce energy consumption and improve efficiency, there is also an urgent requirement to shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy. At the 28th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28), held in Dubai in December 2023, it was agreed that greenhouse gas emissions should be reduced by 43 percent compared to 2019 levels by 2030. In order to achieve this, it was agreed that global renewable energy capacity should be tripled by 2030 and the rate of improvement in global average energy efficiency should be doubled. Now is the time to choose renewable energy as a means to protect human rights.
However, despite this situation, Japan’s Sixth Strategic Energy Plan and its energy supply and demand outlook do not aim to significantly reduce electricity consumption by 2030, and such Plan only considers the power mix ratio based on the assumption that renewable energy capacity will increase by 1.6 to 1.7 times. In this way, it has to be said that Japan’s efforts toward achieving decarbonization (i.e., cutting carbon dioxide emissions to net-zero) are grossly inadequate. In order to fully realize the potential of renewable energy in Japan, it is vital that we expand such renewable energy by developing relevant systems such as legal regulations for agricultural land, and necessary systems for electricity supply and demand, etc.
At present, however, the construction of large-scale solar and wind power plants across the country has been binging about related damage such as the destruction of the natural environment, the living environment and scenery. In addition, as the benefits of renewable energy are not being shared with the local community, disputes often arise over the development of renewable energy facilities. Further promoting the transition to renewable energy, including solar and wind energy, firstly requires the development of suitable legal systems to protect the local environment, and the development and use of renewable energy should also be linked to contributing to the sustainable development of the local communities involved.
For the reasons above, the Japan Federation of Bar Association (the JFBA) proposes as follows:
1. National and local governments, as well as companies and citizens, should exert their best efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in a manner consistent with the "1.5°C target" and achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible, well before 2050, recognizing that the current situation of global warming is a human rights issue that is causing extremely serious damage to human life, health, property and livelihood;
2. National and local governments should promote carbon pricing (CO2 pricing), with such pricing to include a significant expansion of carbon taxes, and work to reduce energy consumption by promoting highly insulated and airtight buildings in order to realize the "1.5°C target"; and
3. National and local governments should:
(1) Exert efforts toward increasing the proportion of renewable energy in the energy mix to 50 percent or more by 2030, as well as toward providing 100 percent of total energy consumption, including electricity, from renewable energy by 2050;
(2) Create institutions that guarantee the early involvement of local residents and companies, and provide continuous information disclosure thereto, in order to secure the further expansion of renewable energy, while developing legal systems that protect the local environment and ensure that power generation companies operate responsibly, so that the development and use of renewable energy facilities provide suitable contributions to the economies in affected local communities; and
(3) Implement the following measures, as soon as possible, in order to promote the supply of sustainable renewable energy that contributes to global environmental protection, while making sure to respect local conditions:
(a) For solar and wind power plants, national and local governments should expeditiously implement a system for selecting appropriate sites that minimize impacts on local residents, the natural environment, and the landscape, and for promoting business at such sites.
(b) For solar power generation, national and local governments should establish a legal system to promote the installation of solar power generation facilities on the building rooftops, etc., while also improving the legal system for the use of agricultural land to utilize abandoned farmland or promote agrivoltaics while giving full consideration to the maintenance and revitalization of agriculture; and
(c) National and local governments should actively promote the construction of a highly flexible energy supply and demand system suitable for the expansion of renewable energy, as well as the development of a system to promote local production of renewable energy for local consumption, etc.
It is vital that national and local governments, as well as businesses and citizens, have a deep recognition that the climate crisis is a serious human rights issue, choose renewable energy as a means to protect human rights, and strive to achieve global environmental protection and sustainable development of local communities. The JFBA hereby declares that it will continue to exert its best efforts to realize this resolution.
October 4, 2024
Japan Federation of Bar Associations