The Development of Public Involvement in Decision Making Process of Climate Change Policy of Japan

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  • 我が国の気候変動政策における意思決定プロセスへの市民関与の発展
  • ワガクニ ノ キコウ ヘンドウ セイサク ニ オケル イシ ケッテイ プロセス エ ノ シミン カンヨ ノ ハッテン

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Citizens play an important role and should be actively involved in the decision making process for environmental problems such as climate change. In Japan, the government has used various approaches to involve the public, such as by public comment, in the formulation of the Kyoto Protocol Target Achievement Plan, in the decision making process concerning medium-term reduction targets and long-term targets for the 15th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP15), and so on. It was difficult to say, however, whether these methods were working effectively in generating productive public opinion that is properly reflected in the government′s decision making process. Moreover, public comment and opinion research held for these purposes have not been systematically sorted out, nor have been properly evaluated for their effectiveness as methods to obtain public opinion.<BR>This study has focused on the forms and extent of public involvement in several cases of climate change policy formulation, such as in formulating Japan′s greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets for COP15 and other policies after the Kyoto-Protocol of COP3, to sort out basic information needed for the systematic evaluation of the methods used in these cases. After they were consolidated in chronological order, evaluation of public involvement and trend analysis were conducted to identify future problems for research. Arnstain′s 8-ladder model, Harashina′s 5-step model, and Satoh′s elevator model, which are relatively popular models of public involvement, were used for multilateral evaluation of involvement levels. Although results show that there is lack of innovation in the government′s handling of public comments, governmental approach in generating public involvement in climate policy decisions in Japan is developing gradually.

Journal

  • ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

    ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE 24 (5), 422-439, 2011

    SOCIETY OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE, JAPAN

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