Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, centre

The World Economic Forum wound up in Davos, Switzerland yesterday. An annual event, many of the world's most powerful people get to hang out in a ski resort, sipping fine cognac by a roaring fire in an old-wood (read unsustainably harvested) lodge, this year perhaps kidding Sven about how he broke his leg... you have your idea of how these meetings go and I have mine.

Among the many topics discussed is climate change. Is it just me or does the idea of men from the world's largest and most powerful corporations and banks discussing climate change make it seem like they are figuring out how to make more money from environmental degradation (probably figuring out what will be beach-front property in fifty years from now, or how to get more tax dollars to pay for cleaning up their blunders)? Anyhoo, the Japanese Prime Minister wowed audiences with his new "Cool Earth Partnership", a ten billion with a b dollar (US) fund to help developing countries deal with rising shores and higher food prices... I mean:

Japan will cooperate actively with developing countries’ efforts to reduce emissions, such as those to enhance energy efficiency. At the same time, we will extend the hand of assistance to developing countries suffering severe adverse impact as a result of climate change. -- Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda as quoted in press release from the World Economic Forum 2008

The funds will be up for grabs this year, though the PM didn't mention who is slated to receive those funds...or who is supplying those funds as a matter of fact.

Also not mentioned by the PM is how Japan is going to cut their own emissions. I wrote last week that Japan is the fifth-highest contributor to carbon emissions.

Surprisingly, even Reuters pointed out that the Japanese PM doesn't delineate how Japan will lead by example.

"The world as a whole must strive to improve energy efficiency until revolutionary technology which will dramatically reduce greenhouse gas becomes available," he said. Fukuda made no mention of the details of the country's planned targets on reducing emission. -- Reuters

And Reuters is one of the World Economic Forum's Strategic Partners. So maybe partners shouldn't be calling each other out, y'all.

I wonder if the "Cool Earth Partnership" has anything to do with the Fukuda's "Cool Earth 50" plan. If so, then nuclear power is one of the answers to cutting carbon emissions. So is making coal cleaner. But on the positive side, he does also call for cheaper solar cells and next-generation cars.

To be fair, the PM does mention a few specific goals in the May speech in the link in that last paragraph. I guess he just forgot to mention those numbers in Switzerland. Probably distracted by that older but still sexy and totally selfless Bono (please read sarcasm in that). Or maybe he was trying not to spill the beans too soon about how Japan wants to move the "base year" in the Kyoto Protocol from 1990 to 2000, in order to put India and China on a more equal footing with the US, Japan and Europe.

The Kyoto Protocol requires major developed nations to slash emissions causing global warming by an average of five percent from 1990 levels between 2008 and 2012. "The base year should ... be reviewed from the standpoint of equity. Without equity, it will be impossible to maintain efforts and solidarity over the long term," Fukuda said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Japan's Kyodo News had reported on Monday that Japan wanted to change the base year for emissions cuts to 2000. Moving the goalposts might help bring India and China -- whose emissions shot up between 1990 and 2000 -- on board in a new deal, although such a change is likely to come up against stiff opposition from the European Union.  -- AFP

If math serves me right, changing the base year may just be an idea. Nearly every country except Russia increased their share of GHG emissions from 1990 levels by the time 2000 came around. So 5 percent of a bigger number of emissions is still a bigger number to reduce by, right? I am sure I am missing something, so if someone can point it out to me, I would be most appreciative.