Why Japan's Climate Action Deserves a Failing Grade

(Natural Resources Defense Council, New York, 22 October 2015) We have given a "climate grade" to key countries for their climate actions and new targets in the lead-in to the Paris climate agreement. Nobody is receiving top marks - an "A+" - but some countries are receiving failing grades. We gave Japan a failing grade - a "D" - for its climate actions because it is the biggest financer of overseas coal projects, its climate target is too weak, and it is a bit fuzzy on some of its methodologies. Reason #1: Japan is the largest provider of public finance for overseas coal projects. Japan had the largest amount of coal financing of any country by far, more than double any other OECD country's financing, with over $20 billion of financing from 2007 to 2014, according to data from NRDC, Oil Change International and WWF.