16 November 2010: The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has released the “OECD Environmental Performance Reviews: Japan 2010,” saying that Japan should do more to fight climate change and protect biodiversity.

Although Japan has recently allocated about US$28 billion of its financial crisis response package to environmental issues, the report says that this is countered by support given to polluting industries. The report highlights that although Japan is a green technologies leader, and its energy usage is among the most efficient globally, Japan is also far from reaching its Kyoto Protocol targets.

The report makes a total of 38 concrete recommendations on: greening the Japanese economy; implementing environmental policies; international cooperation; climate change; waste management and recycling; and nature and biodiversity. Many of the recommendations have to do with reforming the overall policy mix and considering inter-sectoral linkages, inter-sectoral cooperation, and improving evaluation. [Report website] [Press release]