COP27 Latest: Japan Stalls Once Again on Carbon-Tax Reforms

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(Bloomberg) — Japan is delaying plans to revise how it taxes carbon, the Nikkei newspaper reported, potentially slowing efforts to wean the country off fossil fuels.

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It’s at least the second time the changes have been pushed back. The environment ministry had requested the introduction of a more substantial carbon levy, but the government backed away amid industrial protests.

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More than 100 world leaders are set to be in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt over the next two weeks for the UN’s annual climate-change summit. They’ve attempting to maintain momentum in the battle to curb planet-warming emissions.

This year, delegates are aiming harsh criticism at each other over issues ranging from climate reparations to funding for mitigation and adaptation in poorer countries.

Rising energy prices, accelerated by Russia’s war in Ukraine, have led many governments to prioritize security of supply over the transition to cleaner energy.

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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, France’s Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak were among the biggest names to speak on Monday. US President Joe Biden and Brazil’s President-elect Luis Inacio Lula da Silva are due to appear later on. 

The most notable no shows are China’s Xi Jinping and India’s Narendra Modi, leaders of the world’s largest and third-largest emitters.

Highlights:

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Here are the latest developments. All times Egypt.

UN Wants to Install Climate Early Warning System (8:00 am)

The EU and US put methane on the map at COP26 in Glasgow — declaring the potent greenhouse gas a threat to Paris Agreement temperature goals and insisting emissions of it must be slashed 30% by 2030.

In the year since, European countries and the US have successfully encouraged more than 120 countries to sign on to a formal methane-cutting pledge, and at Sharm El-Sheikh, about 40 of them are set to outline their plans for doing so, according to a senior State Department official.

PWC Says Emissions Reductions Must Be Speeded Up (7:15 am)

The goals set at the 2021 COP summit in Glasgow aren’t being met fast enough, according to PwC Chairman Bob Moritz.

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“We sit at the table today, a year later, not seeing speed and scale of change” required to meet climate targets, he said to Bloomberg TV. “We need to move much faster. We have a long way to go.”

According to the accounting and consulting firm’s own analysis, emissions reductions globally have to happen 11 times faster than what’s been the case in the past two decades.

Japan Delays Carbon Tax Reform to Curb Living Costs (4:00 am)

Japan is delaying plans to revise how it taxes carbon, the Nikkei newspaper reported, potentially slowing efforts to wean the country off fossil fuels.

The government will postpone the introduction of a new carbon tax that was planned for the fiscal year starting April 2023, the Nikkei said Tuesday without attribution. Policy makers decided it would add to already surging living costs, it said.

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It’s at least the second time the changes have been pushed back. The environment ministry had requested the introduction of a more substantial carbon levy in the previous annual tax revisions, but the government backed away amid industrial protests.

Tanzania Pitches $18 Billion Renewables Plan For Southern Africa (9:30 pm Monday)

Tanzania’s President Samia Hassan will present an $18 billion plan to build renewable power generation in southern Africa, as leaders seek to attract climate finance.

Under the proposal, a bloc of 12 countries in the region would increase generation by about 8.4 gigawatts from sources such as solar and wind, Tanzanian Energy Minister January Makamba said in an interview.

UK, Kenya Agree to Hasten $4.1 Billion of Climate Projects (9:00pm Monday)

The UK and Kenya will accelerate the implementation of climate projects worth $4.1 billion in the East African nation.

Most of that will be spent on a dam on Tana River to support the generation of 1 gigawatt of power and provide water to irrigate 400,000 hectares of farmland, the UK government said in a statement. That followed a meeting between Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Kenya’s President William Ruto.

—With assistance from John Ainger and Stephen Stapczynski.